To our valued Customers,
The past few months at Harris Farm Markets have posed a number of challenges for our team and our customers in each of our stores and their local communities. We are extremely proud of our superstar team and how they have handled it, smiling all the way. We also appreciate how great our customers have been – loyal, understanding and patient.
Our first concern, since the notification of the COVID-19 pandemic, has and continues to be for the safety and welfare of our staff and customers.
We have worked closely with NSW Health & the Federal Government Supermarket Task Force to install a number of measures in our stores to reduce risks for our team and our customers. These include; decluttering our stores & clearly marking 1.5m spaces to allow social distancing to be observed by our team & customers, installing hand wash stations at the entrance to our stores, ensuring hand sanitiser is available on entrances and throughout our stores, trolley sanitiser wipes are in place, installing screens on our registers, rostering dedicated Community Safety Officers to assist customers on observing social distancing & ensuring customer limits inside our stores, closer queue supervision, more cleaning routines & protocols through-out the store, ensuring social distancing & hand washing information signage is clearly visible in all our stores.
Earlier this week we mandated mask use for our teams in all of our distribution facilities and made a strong recommendation to our store teams to wear the masks that we provide to them. We are now also calling out to our customers to do the same. This simple and effective act can save lives and help get this great country going again. We hope you can play a part with us in achieving that.
We have had our first notification that a customer who subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 had visited one of our stores. Whilst we hope this will be an isolated incident the Victorian experience tells us that we should be prepared to expect more. We will post details of any COVID-19 positive team or customer interactions with our business on our COVID-19 information page here.
Our On-line team have experienced a large increase in the number and size of orders. We have recently finalised a move into a larger space and implemented upgraded systems for orders to be picked, packed & delivered to our customers. Social distancing measures and recommendations from health authorities are in place in all our warehouse & product areas.
To order online simply click here.
In addition to our support of the disadvantaged communities in Western Sydney through the Ignite store in Emerton, we are pleased to have contributed to many local communities by our Thousand Boxes a Day program where we provide fresh fruit & vegetables for free to Sydney’s most vulnerable communities with the support of a range of local charities. We have been able to deliver over 10,000 boxes over the past few months. Fresh food is something we believe everyone deserves.
We appreciate the positive feedback from our customers who have recognised how serious we consider these and other measures in our current environment. We also appreciate feedback where we can improve to ensure following social distancing & safety measures in our stores. If you have feedback on how we can improve you can contact us on our Customer help line 02 9394 3111 or via email at hello@harrisfarm.com.au
We are committed to providing a safe environment for our customers to shop in and our teams to work in. We will continue to review and improve our processes and procedures as new information comes to hand and provide transparency about the facts relevant to everybody that our business touches.
For current government updates on the situation visit nsw.gov.au or contact the Coronavirus Health information line 1800 020 080.
Our Family wishes good health and safety to everybody.
Sincerely,Tristan, Luke and Angus Harris
Co-CEOs | Harris Farm Markets.
