Checking in with White Wall Wood, Hadley & Asher’s Candy Emporium and Whitecourt Delivers

With many restrictions lifted, and most local businesses able to open, business owners are finding their flow in a different world. Providing sanitizer has become second nature, and installing barriers is more standard now than not. Some, including White Wall Wood, implemented restrictions on the number of customers allowed in the store. Owner Ashley Heinrich said that the “buy local” movement that kicked up during the lockdown was incredibly supportive. She noted that curbside pick up and online orders made it possible to keep selling even with her doors shut.

Usually, her store would be a place to attend craft events but, for now, the classes are on pause. “I don’t predict classes will come back this year.” She said that providing hand sanitizing and limiting the number of people in the store will be steps that stick around even once restrictions ease because they make sense. Heinrich said they are also ready to pop back into an online-only store should restrictions return. “I can’t predict the winter cold and flu season, so we’ll take it day by day and be prepared to go back to online again.”

One of the biggest hurdles to running a business during a pandemic was getting her hands-on products. “People need raw materials to create a product for our store. Canada Post was delayed, craft stores were closed, and vendors were managing their own stress with homeschooling, etc.” She said that things are much better now. “We are incredibly happy with business. It was a scary time to own a business that is less than a year old. There are lots of bills riding on my shoulders.”

Through the pandemic, Heinrich said that she learned that having a robust online presence and pivoting with trends is essential for her customers. She said that being honest is important too. “Don’t be afraid to be honest with your customers. People will rally if you let them know you’re struggling to regain footing after the lockdown.” Just down the street, at Hadley & Asher’s Candy Emporium, owner Leslie L’Heureux said opening an online store and providing curbside pick up a few days a week, was an essential step for her too. “Then we started doing curbside for our hard ice cream, which turned out pretty well. We had a good response to it.”

The candy store officially opened on Mother’s Day. “We are now running five days a week with shortened hours.” Similar to Heinrich, L’Heureux said that getting stock was a hurdle. “We carry a lot of international products, and things that would normally be always available are now scarce. She said she is incredibly happy to see her customers again after such a long break. “Things have been going well since we reopened. It is so wonderful to see all my customers pop in to say hi and have a chat and support us. The town has gotten behind the shop local movement, and it is so appreciated.”

One of the significant changes in the store came in the form of upgrading their system to a POS system so they could get online up and running. Another change was that the bulk candy generally in the centre of the store is now pre-packaged. “Of course, sanitation is a given, and gloves are always available.” Cleaning was always happening at Hadley & Asher’s anyway, so that was not a big change for them, but she said that they do extra now. “Pretty much all the changes have been incorporated into day to day business and are old habit now, so everything stays. None of the changes were a bad thing. They were done to keep people safe, and that is the most important thing of all.”

One company that saw its need increase during the shutdown was that of Whitecourt Delivers. Owner Operator Charles Cseppento officially opened for business on March 1 of 2019. “We deliver everything we’re allowed to by law. Due to insurance, no people and, due to provincial law, no cannabis.” During the shutdown, when people did not want to leave their houses, the service proved to become more of a necessity than a convenience.

“We became busier. We have had to make changes to avoid COVID spread within the business and changes to our policy to allow for contactless deliveries. People are generally quite happy that they can have anything they need brought to them, quickly, and conveniently. Once the version2 server I am working on is complete, our app will allow people to order anything we can legally carry.” Cseppento has been working on computer systems for years and built the operating system that runs the business. He also works as a freelance technician locally.

He said that clients have been supportive of the COVID protocols and that most are very comfortable using the service. When a customer calls in, they are linked to a dispatcher who then takes down their information, order, and method of payment. “It’s then assigned through our in-house app to the driver, who goes and gets the order, or picks the groceries off the shelves, and brings it to the customer.

We aim for under 30 minutes, however, as we are so busy, some nights we sometimes stretch that out a little bit.” He said that being able to offer a contactless delivery has been nice too. “If it is requested, we will call them back with a total and have them EFT their payment. The driver will then leave it on the doorstep and observe from a distance to make sure the correct person receives the order,” Cseppento said. Residents are encouraged to “like” the Whitecourt Delivers, White Wall Wood and Hadley & Asher’s Candy Emporium Facebook pages to keep up to date with changes to service and business hours.