Race to be ready for new level 2
Long backlog expected as businesses adjust to restrictions
Bay of Plenty business owners have been scrambling to set up their premises in time for the first day back in level 2 today. Hairdressers, barbers and businesses providing personal care services must wear a face covering and keep two metres apart from their clients, except when close physical contact is needed, according to the official Covid-19 website.
Indoor sports facilities such as gyms, swimming pools, dance studios and health clubs can open but they also need to stick to the 2m rule, clean equipment after use and wear face masks unless exercising.
Snap Fitness Pa¯pa¯moa manager Georgia Mcculloch said staff worked throughout the day yesterday to either move equipment 2m apart or mark it as out-of-bounds.
The group fitness classes would be suspended throughout level 2, she said, as the space was too small and they were focused on keeping members safe.
Equipment that was difficult to sanitise, such as boxing gloves, has been removed to avoid any risks.
Members and staff would need to wear a mask every time they weren’t exercising, like filling up a drink bottle, when they entered and exited or when having an extended rest break.
Mcculloch said while members were understanding and cooperative, she had told staff to stop those not wearing masks when they needed to, explain the importance and ask them to leave if they continued to refuse.
“The key for us is making sure we’re over-communicating . . . Once we deliver a message, we never have any issues. Our community is amazing.”
The 24/7 gym would continue to operate in full, with staffed hours ending at 7pm every weekday except Friday, no staff on the weekend, and surveillance monitored when there was no staff.
There had also been a “surprising” number of online inquiries over lockdown from people keen to join the gym, which Mcculloch put down to people reflecting on their health and fitness goals.
During lockdown, the gym paused memberships but continued live classes through Zoom and promoted mental health.
Assemblage Hair owner Hayley Pullyn said it was “a bit stressful trying to accommodate three weeks’ worth of clients when fully booked all the time anyway”.
She said hair was very personal for people and there was anxiety from clients who wanted to have their hair done as they headed back to work.
“The challenge is trying to rebook everyone.”
Pullyn said it was “sad” to have to turn away new clients who may have to wait a month for a weekday appointment, and up to three months for an evening or weekend slot.
The trickiest thing to manage, she said, was navigating how to cut and colour around the mandatory masks.
She also said there was some confusion over whether clients needed to wear them or not, but they would insist clients did.
In terms of fixing up lockdown home jobs, she said “most people had learnt from experiences last time”.
In Rotorua, Caged Kickboxing and Muay Thai co-owner Chris Leigh said financially the business had about two more months before it would have to shut for good.
The 2-metre distance and masks were an “impossibility” for the 250sq m gym, and it could not open under current level 2 restrictions.
“I thought we’d put all this work in to actually get somewhere. It’s not really fair.”
He said it was “not a typical gym” as it taught not only self-defence but self-respect in the tight-knit community of 50 members.
He said though the business had made it through last year, he thought it was likely it would need to shut for good.
The gym was a non-profit that didn’t make money or fundraise, relying on people to pay their fees.
Leigh and his business partner both worked full-time and took no money out of the gym, he said.
“We don’t do it for the money. Basically, the gym’s got two more months, then we’ll be closing up. ”
The business partners worked their way up from eight years in a shed to a year at a storage unit until they split the rent for the building they are in now to be able to afford it.
“We’re not begging for help . . . if it goes, it goes and then we just try again.
Jenny’s Beauty Spot is already booked out this week and said the backlog would be at least two weeks as she got through her regular clients.
Eyelash extensions and laser treatments for skin pigmentation or hair removal were the most indemand service, owner Jenny Zhong said.
She said her regular clients were “like family” and she was prioritising their needs before taking on new clients.
Lockdown had been anything but a break for her, she said, with new equipment and products coming in that she worked through the three weeks to train up and keeping her business running.