COVID-19 fears put tearoom’s future in doubt
Food plant outbreak has scared customers
in a letter to Perthshire MP Peter Wishart, which she has shared with the PA.
Carol is wondering about furloughing her staff again – who had been off during lockdown and only returned to work in July – because she fears as September dawns, business is not going to pick up regardless of the situation improving at the 2 Sisters meat processing plant where workers have been sent home to self-isolate.
In the letter, Carol described her heartache about a situation she has no control over: “My husband and I have spent the last two and a half years putting blood, sweat and (plenty of) tears into making our small rural tearoom a desirable social centre for our local community, the area in general, and a tourist destination.
“We hoped 2020 was to be the year we turned a financial corner and started to recoup our considerable investment.
“Over the last few months, during my regular visits to Coupar Angus for supplies, particularly during lockdown, I have watched with increasing sadness and concern, staff members of 2 Sisters chicken processing plant sharing cigarettes, car sharing, not social distancing, not wearing face masks and a host of other actions that run contrary to the Scottish Government’s guidelines.
“Conversely, our staff are sanitizing, taking contact-tracing details and generally being responsible towards our customers and themselves.
“Sometimes people do not see the bigger picture, or have an appreciation of the long game, and their selfishness can have wider ripples than anyone can imagine.
“We have invested well over £1000 in creating an outdoor space for a barbecue and socially-distanced customer seating under gazebos.
“We have invested not only a substantial amount of money but time and effort into developing our staff, who we consider to be part of our family, and it saddens me to feel like it is all going to be taken away from us due to the inconsiderate actions of others over whom we have no influence.
“Our staff have mortgages and rent to pay, as well as other costs of living, and rely on our remaining open to honour their financial commitments.”
Speaking to the PA yesterday, Carol said: “Business in Coupar Angus right now feels like being on a merry-go-round. You get on thinking ‘this is going to be good’, and then it’s really terrible and you want to get off.
“Customers are scared by the chance of catching the virus as they see the outbreak numbers in Coupar Angus grow.
“We are living day to day. Sunday 23 was quite good, business almost felt normal. Then on Monday trade was awful. We served no breakfasts, the customers just did not come and in the whole day, we did not make over £80. Last year on the same day we made three or four times that amount.
“It made me steel myself to knock out Tuesdays and Wednesdays which can be quieter days and I’ve told staff I will have to decide whether to continue or furlough them again. It’s extremely upsetting for everyone. There’s a question mark hanging over us.
“The hospitality industry is going from one winter to another winter without the benefit of a decent summer season.”
A 2 Sisters Coupar Angus spokesperson insisted it was “a responsible business who put all colleagues’ safety as a number one priority”.
They added: “In March, we put in a robust safety framework at the site, its effectiveness underlined by the fact we didn’t record a single positive case for six months, unlike other food businesses in Scotland.
“Our measures will be refined and reviewed again before we reopen our facility, and of course this is an environment we can fully control and manage.
“However, outside of the workplace, there is a limit to which we can influence and enforce the rules, but we would expect all colleagues to take personal responsibility for their own behaviours and as good citizens respect the guidance in relation to self-isolation, face coverings and social distancing.
“We take these issues very seriously indeed. Any colleague found to be in breach of the current strict self-isolation rules will forfeit their right to full pay whilst they have been away from work.”