Huge rush to garden centres, DIY stores and hairdressers

Buying flowers, spicing up the garden or finally having your hair cut: those who longed for these things can now enjoy them to the full again.

Thomas Lerche was lucky. The man with a beard and short hairstyle contacted his hairdresser on the day on which the reopening of the hairdressing salons was announced, and obtained one of the first appointments. "I normally have my beard cut every two to three weeks – and my hair every three to four weeks." He has now had to wait about seven weeks. "I'm glad that I was here just a week before the lockdown began. And I’m relieved that my beard and hair have been trimmed again."

As with all hairdressers at the moment, the haircut at Erdem's Barbershop on the Schmidgasse in Zug was a special one: with a mouthguard for both the customer and the hairdresser – the neighbouring chair deprived of its actual function with tape. And when the beard is being trimmed, shaped and trimmed, the coiffeuse even has to wear a visor. And everything with gloves, of course. Cutting hair while wearing glove poses no problem for business owner Erdem Tatlici. But he has much more trouble working with a mask and visor. "I find it uncomfortable to breathe, and the visor fogs up quickly – then you can hardly see anything."

Tatlici and his team are currently working in two shifts. The first runs from 7.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. and the second from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. "This allows us all to serve our customers on a daily basis." Preparations for the reopening after six weeks without customers lasted all the last week, explains Tatlici. Everything was cleaned, materials were rganised, processes were determined and – appointments were accepted. "Since last Monday, when the Federal Council confirmed the reopening of the coiffeur salons, the telephone has been ringing almost continuously." The first free dates will now be individually re-released from mid-May.

Florists, on the other hand, were a little less overrun – or at least that was the case for the Bluemelaube in Zug. This is probably also due to the fact that, although it was closed to walk-in customers, it had still been able to provided flowers to order or could distribute them through various delivery services. For the reopening of the store for walk-in customers, owner Albin Wismer is nevertheless a little more lavish than usual. "We currently have an extra large offer." Customers are greeted inside and outside by many flowers and arrangements. "We also want to bring some colour to the city. After six weeks, people are happy to select their flowers in person again."

His customer Christina Schmitt confirms Wismer's words: "I am delighted to be able to freshen up the house a bit." She also ordered flowers online during the closure. "But it's much nicer to choose them on site again." For florists, the daily work has changed only slightly. Only the reference to the restriction on the number of persons, plexiglass panes in the checkout area, marking strips on the floor and, of course, disinfectant, draw attention to the special circumstances. "In addition, we have increased the working area for our employees," adds Wismer.

Photo 1: Thomas Lerche has his beard trimmed by employee Lea.
Photo 2: Hairdressers, such as here in Erdem's Barbershop, can work again – with a protective concept.
Photo 3: Long wait in front of the Coop Bau & Hobby in Cham
Photo 4: Hauenstein employee Luzia Schatzmann prepares tomatoes for sale.
Photo 5: Bluemelaube owner Albin Wismer in the middle of his lavishly decorated shop.

Mouthguards as an indication of the special situation
More effort is being carried out at the Hauenstein garden centre in Baar. Two employees assign parking spaces to the customers, each customer has to take a shopping cart – in order to count them – and all the employees wear either a mask or a visor. "We want to show customers that we have not simply gone back to normality," explains Sandro Schärli, head of the garden centre in Baar. In addition, thanks to the visor or mask, you can also get closer to the customers to advise them. It’s up to each garden centre to decide how the measures are implemented, however – wearing masks is not a uniform obligation in the industry.

During the first weeks of the lockdown, the Hauenstein Garden Centre in Baar operated a delivery service, as well as the possibility to pick up pre-ordered plants outside the company. This was extremely expensive, however, as it required as much work for the smallest order of a few seedlings as for a large order.

A lot of work was also carried out in preparation for the reopening: "We not only had to clean everything, but also had to refill entire tables with plants." Because the spring plants had to be mostly written off, and it’s mainly summer flowers that are now on offer. Long before the re-opening, a queue had formed in front of the garden centre. But the customers were then well distributed throughout the centre according to Schärli. Tomatoes and herbs are mostly in demand. The reopening was also important for a school project. Instead of drawing or handicrafts, ten-year-old Matteo Coradi chose to design and help in the garden. "We now have to buy seedlings to plant in our new beds," he explains. And it’s now high time, as the school starts again in two weeks.