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Booksellers have reported customers are “very happy” to keep Covid safety measures in place, as shops opened for trading on so-called Freedom Day (19th July)- a government-coined phrase describing the lifting of all restrictions, including mandatory mask wearing and social distancing.
Indies had overwhelmingly said they intended to keep some sort of restriction in place ahead of the day, and so far are experiencing compliance and positive feedback from customers, with Waterstones reporting the same. However, some are having to close for short periods owing to staff shortages as the number of people being told to self isolate via the Track and Trace app soars, and many are concerned that the government’s attitude to scrapping restrictions is “premature”.
A spokesperson for Waterstones said yesterday: "The first day in the absence of mandated rules in England has been going well and, in the spirit of current government guidance, the vast majority of our customers have continued to wear face masks and observe social distancing. We have had very limited instances so far of staffing shortages due to self-isolation, and have been able to trade normally excepting an occasional late opening. Sales in our shops continue to exceed expectation and we are looking forward to a strong summer of bookselling."
Zool Verjee, head of marketing and publicity at Blackwells, said the chain was “communicating a message of personal responsibility” across its shops in England. He told The Bookseller: “Our point of sale makes clear that while wearing face coverings is no longer mandatory, some of our staff feel comfortable continuing to wear them, and that our customers are welcome to do so as well. We’ve also asked customers to respect others’ personal space while shopping. We trust our customers and our booksellers to do what’s right and to remain sensibly cautious even though the rules have been relaxed, so that we can all feel safe and comfortable in the coming weeks.”
Jon Woolcott, publisher and staffer at Little Toller Books, a Dorset-based bookshop and press, said the shop would proceed as if “nothing has changed”. Customers are being asked to remain socially distanced, wear masks and to use sanitiser, while staff will operate the till from behind a screen.
“When my colleague Gracie tweeted this on Saturday, in the midst of that bizarre government U-turn on self-isolating, because, you know, rules only apply to some people, we had nothing but positive comments,” Woolcott told The Bookseller. “As an industry, I think we’re lucky - most readers seem to be considerate people keen to do the right thing. But we also believe that this last stage of opening up was premature in the face of rising case numbers," Woolcott added.
Jim MacSweeney, manager of Gay’s the Word, will display a “Masks Preferred” sign in the London shop this week, and has decided to implement the use of a “Shop Full” sign whenever the staff feel it it too crowded, in addition to asking customers to santise their hands. MacSweeney is positive about trading, reporting queues over the weekend. “The shop is extraordinarily busy and we now have a website as well,” he said. “We've been discovered on TikTok and at least two posts have had over 100,000 likes each. We're kind of pinching ourselves wondering how long this will last.”
Chrissy Ryan, owner and founder of BookBar in Islington, north London, is asking customers to wear masks while browsing, and to keep socially distanced. “The response we've had from our customers so far has been really encouraging,” she said. “ We've had lots of messages of support on Instragram and via email so I'm hoping we'll see that support reflected in the shop itself. Business continues to thrive — both the bar and book elements of the business are working well and our book club continues to grow! I think that having clear messaging around safety is going to encourage people into the shop as they will see how seriously we are continuing to take the pandemic and our responsibility as a business to keep staff and customers safe.”
Richard Drake, of Drake The Bookshop in Stockton-on-Tees, said there was no need to police shoppers and that he’d had “next to no” issues with customers regarding safety measures throughout the pandemic.
“[Yesterday was] really no different to any other for the past 16 months and masks have been on as people have entered the shop and people who want it are still seeking out sanitiser, which is all good,” he said. “We won't be policing things formally, because we haven't had need to — business is also good, but since we opened up the extra space [the shop has doubled in size] only three weeks ago we have seen an upsurge in traffic and turnover anyway.”
Sue Lake, director of White Rose Book Cafe in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, also reported customer adherence to the shop's continued safety measures. “Lots of visitors are shopping with us and there were not issues with any customers regarding maintaining Covid-secure measures. It felt like business as usual as customers came in with their masks on. We didn’t’ have to ask anyone to wear one,” she said.
“The general feeling, I’m picking up on, regarding Freedom Day, is that it is’ too much too soon’.”
However, despite the uptake in safety measures, some indies are having to close while staff self-isolate, with a loss of trade and increased pressure on non-isolating staff. Hazel Broadfoot, owner of Village Books, said: “I’ve got one bookseller self isolating. We were down to a last woman standing on Friday, but we are nearly back to full strength today.” She said the number of people being told to isolate via the government's Covid app was “a real worry” and “very concerning for bookshops with a small number of staff”.
She added that her customers “seem very happy with us keeping all our safety measures in place and everyone today has worn a mask without us having to ask — trade is generally pretty good.”
Jess Allan, manager at Queen’s Park Books, had to close the shop last week due to staff shortages. Commenting on the removal of restrictions, she said: "It’s madness. Half of my guys are not eligible for their second vaccine yet. They have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic in any way shape or form they could. We have done deliveries, we have done collection, at the door, we’ve done all these kinds of things and it’s been very stressful to try and serve people.
"Freedom Day for us is three weeks after the last member of staff gets their full vaccination."