Swiss Farms, Delco’s drive-thru store, sees big upsurge in customers
MARPLE » For residents practicing coronavirus stay-at-home protocols, shopping for food is the time they are most exposed. One longtime Delaware County business may have been ahead of its time with a solution - drive-thru shopping.
Swiss Farms drive-thru markets, which have been in Delaware County for more than 50 years, has seen a 45 percent rise in sales since Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home orders hit Delaware County, according to CEO and President Chris Gray.
“Our business is going extremely well. We’re trying to be out there for customers,” said Gray in a phone interview Friday. “People appreciate the drive through. They don’t have to get out of the car. It’s been really good for our business. I hate to say it; it’s at a high cost.”
There are 11 Swiss Farms stores, all in Delaware County, which have dual drive-in lanes with the store clerk in the middle allowing for a high volume of cars to enter. They have between
180-190 in-store employees and carry more than
1000 grocery items.
Gray said there have been challenges from the coronavirus pandemic affecting the supply chain, which, like at other stores, have led to short-term shortages of items like eggs and toilet paper. That’s forced the company to get creative in finding some products.
“Certain items
-
toilet paper, eggs, basic items, paper products - we’re sourcing from venders to try to keep in stock of these high-movement items,” Gray said. “Kind of the trick now is when you get the stuff in, you’ve got to get there or it’s gone.”
Gray said customers have been really great and the feedback the firm gets has been getting is overwhelmingly positive, with many crediting specific employees.
He said to protect employees, the company has issued gloves and has looked into masks, but like many others, have found the availability limited. Staff is welcome to wear their own wish.
“Safety is paramount,” Gray said. “We have a coronavirus committee meeting three times a week on how to deal with customer and employee safety.”
Gray said the stores have proper cash-handling procedures, product-handling procedures, and are following up every day. Some customers take the items through the car window; others have them placed in their trunks. Workers practice cleaning and sanitizing of the stores throughout the day and employees who are not feeling well are
if they told to stay home. Gray said full-time employees have sick time built into their paid time off policy; part-time employees are being handled on a case-by-case basis, so if someone is truly being affected by the virus or worries about being sick, they will be taken care of.
To handle the thorough cleaning and stocking of the stores, they have adjusted hours to a 7 a.m. opening and 9 p.m. closing.
The company has a Level Up phone app that allows customers to pay by holding up their phone which the sales associate scans. They also offer fresh food, heat-andeat items, which can be delivered through Uber Eats or GrubHub, depending on location.
Gray is hoping to maintain some of the new business he has seen and believes that after the pandemic is over, social distancing will continue to be a part of the culture.
While bemoaning the way it happened, Gray said the sales growth has helped his business. “We’re a small company. This is really a shot in the arm to assure we will be around the next 50 years,” he said.
In the past, the company has only had a small numbers of stores outside Delaware County, with one in Goshen and another in North Carolina. The residential density has been a better guide to their business than traffic counts past the stores, but they have some aggressive expansion plans in the works for later this year.
“It’s been crazy, but we’re ready to keep doing this for as long as we have to during this pandemic,” Gray said.