I wanted to write to you again as we have received an overwhelming number of messages from our clients supporting the decision we announced on Tuesday 24th March, to temporarily stop operating. So much so, that I felt it right to continue to update you on our decision to remain closed at this time.
I am sure that many of you are aware that the announcements issued by Government have been unclear, particularly with regard to which businesses can and cannot remain open. The question ‘what exactly does that mean?’ will no doubt be a familiar one to you, just as it has been to us. I do believe everyone, including those in Government are working under the most difficult and demanding conditions and to extremely tight deadlines. Whilst we have been patient in waiting for clear guidelines, it has been necessary for us to adopt a pragmatic view on whether to continue working or temporarily stop operations at this time.
It has been a difficult decision to make, as the service we provide to you is predominantly to maintain the growth in your garden or grounds . However, we do know that our service goes beyond that, particularly for our residential clients; we provide a friendly face and a sense of normality. Something in these abnormal times, should not be underestimated.
However, the situation we find ourselves in has forced us to examine our social conscience and think through the possible consequences to all our stakeholders if we continue to operate without a full understanding of how this virus is spreading, the speed at which it will spread and the pressure that it is and will continue to put on the NHS over the coming weeks and months.
As an small local business, we strongly believe that we have a social responsibility to our clients and our staff to protect their health and wellbeing in these uncertain and totally unprecedented times and so, in addition to the wider implications for remaining to operate, it is also equally important to recognise that by asking our staff to work under these conditions, it may have a detrimental effect on their health and wellbeing as well as their mental health.
We are doing everything possible to retain our current workforce so that we can return fully functional as soon as possible. However, in order for our business to survive we will need the continued support of all our clients.
Please be assured our decision to remain closed will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. However, where emergency work is required, we will consider each request on an individual basis and look at the possible level of support we can provide. Where we can help, we certainly will. However, requests to cut overgrown lawns is not deemed an emergency.
In the meantime, we will continue to update all current clients by email as well as here on the website.
We have been extremely moved by the responses we have received so for now, thank you all for your continued understanding and support.
Best regards
James Hislop
Managing Director