Business back up and running
Supporting our community NZME’s GO NZ! campaign
When the entire country went into alert level 4 lockdown on March 25 to prevent the spread of Covid19, Rone´ l Morgan, new owner of Katikopy & Print, locked up the shop and went home to Welcome Bay.
“I was not technologically prepared to work from home. I could get into some administration and management stuff but I could not access Katikopy folders.”
Rone´ l only bought the business five months ago.
“I hold artwork for businesses from 2012 from previous owners Bev and Jane, and then John and Kate Sutherland. Most of the artwork is on file so when businesses call up and need a copy of, for example, their business cards, I can access the artwork.”
She said she had a couple of inquiries and then that was it for four weeks.
“When the Government said business owners could go into work to prepare for alert level 3, I was in there so quick and have uploaded all files onto the cloud (digital data storage) so I now have access at home.”
Katikopy & Print is now operating a contactless service between 9am and 3pm weekdays only. Between these hours there is a tea-trolley at the front door for people to drop off or pick up their documents.
Customers are not permitted to enter the store.
Rone´ l said she still runs a cash till because she has a lot of people who prefer paying in cash.
“But at this point in alert level 3 people cannot pay with cash.”
In October she decided not to go with payment via Paywave due to the fees attached, but due to Covid19 guidelines she has had no choice but to bring in Paywave.
“This means I am paying a percentage merchant fee on every transaction, similar to a credit card transaction.”
In regard to customer service, Rone´ l said with the elderly, a lot arrive with what they want to have printed on their phone.
“Many don’t know how to email the information from their phone so we usually help them. Under alert level 3 (and probably level 2) customers need to be open to the idea that I can tell them, but I cannot touch their screen, so they will need to get advice.”
Rone´ l sees a huge gap in upskilling elderly customers with the technology on their mobile phones.
“I’d speak to a number of people a day asking how to do this. I’m not sure how that gap is going to be filled. Maybe there is scope for the community centre to run courses.”
During alert level 3 Rone´ l said their scan to email service had been “quite active”, involving legal documents being scanned and sent overseas, also applications for passports and Immigration with forms filled in needing to be scanned and emailed.
She is now waiting to hear what the government’s level 2 guidelines will be and whether people will be able to come into the shop.
Staff member Ashley Donaldson is also back part-time doing graphic design, working from home at alert level 3.