I don’t want to use my real name, but I want to share with your readers just how tough things are right now for my business.
Every time there is a lockdown, my food business is forced to close.
We do some takeaway like the Waterford restaurant you featured on the front page (MyCity Logan, August 10), however every time it happens we lose thousands of dollars in revenue.
Then, when the government says we’ll be coming out of lockdown, that gives me less than 24 hours to prepare for reopening, to order stock and to notify staff that they can again come into work.
I’m sure some of the staff think I’m being selfish whenever I am unable to give them work, and I know I’m asking a lot of them to work at short notice.
It’s a terrible position to be in when you really want to treat your staff as part of your extended family, just like we have for a number of years now. Now, we feel like we’re letting them down and it is beyond our control.
I have friends who have closed their businesses, and we have considered doing the same thing. Like what was written in the story, we have thought about wearing the cost of a three-month closure, but we really don’t know if that is going to work either.
How long do we have to bear this uncertainty and the pain that comes with it? Our employees are taken care of to some degree by federal government payments, and we’ll probably get $5000 from the state government.
That amount of money covers my rent for a few weeks, but not much more. Yes, every bit helps, but unfortunately the bank doesn’t see it that way. We still have mortgages to pay and personal bills.
I know business leaders and politicians all keep telling us to stay positive. I’d like to, but I’m really not seeing much light at the end of the tunnel, even with a surge in vaccinations.
This might seem like a whinge, but it is really a plea to people of Logan to support their local businesses during their time of need. Please help us by buying a meal, shopping locally, and ordering services from your local neighbourhood.
Business owner,
Underwood.
