When the coronavirus crisis hit, none of us were sure how long it would affect us…and we still don’t know. The only thing that was certain was that the NHS would be put under enormous pressure. When I say NHS, I am not just talking financially, but rather the human beings who will be taking the daily strain.
As the Thursday night homage to NHS staff has shown, we are all grateful for what they are doing right now. But as a business, it makes you feel powerless. It was not until my sister-in-law said she was looking for a new pair of comfortable shoes as she was returning to work for the NHS that I thought we could at least make a gesture of some sort.
Sadly, I could not help my sister-in-law, as we do not stock a vast array of women’s shows (yet) and many NHS staff will need to wear shoes that can be easily cleaned, but we could at least offer them a discount on the shoes they wear to work or for when they are away from work.
We quickly launched our 40% discount for NHS staff to show them our appreciation. It felt like it was the least we could do in very trying times. And as it become evident that NHS staff were not the only ones taking the strain, we opened out a 30% discount to healthcare workers, such as those working in care homes.
To date, these discounts have equated to more than £20,000, so we are proudly aware that some of our shoes are being worn by our healthcare heroes. In comparison to what NHS and other healthcare workers are doing, it is small thing really, but we just wanted to do something.
Meanwhile, our customer services, IT and accounts teams are safely working from home while our warehouse workers are respecting the two-metre social distancing rules to ensure these shoes deliveries can be made as quickly as possible.
Like you, I hope this is all over as quickly as possible. From everyone at Herring Shoes, please stay safe.