Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Coronavirus “COVID-19” Second Lockdown 
Sent to all customers 3 Nov 2020 via email

We hope that your loved ones are well during this unsettling time.

This weekend the UK Government announced that we will be entering a mandatory lockdown for one month in England from this coming Thursday 5th November, and we wanted to reach out to you to explain how we’re responding to this announcement at Cybertill.

To start with we’ll be providing  a “business as usual” service  to our customers.  Many customers will be forced to close your shops (please see our guide on safe shut-down of in-store technology at our self-help site https://help.cybertill.co.uk/ but many of you won’t so it’s really important that we’re here for you all. This time around not all UK countries are following the same path and we’re mindful that variances in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland’s strategies means that we need to be able to respond to different needs in different areas and can’t simply reduce our staff numbers using the  furlough scheme like last time.

Pleasingly our supply chain is operating as normal, but engineer maintenance and installations visits will only take place for customers who are allowed to remain open. All others will not be permitted under the new Government safety legislation, so we’ll have to postpone non-essential installations. 

We’ve asked our key suppliers if there’s any financial support they can offer and are currently awaiting news – if we get any support, we’ll pass it on to our customers. However early indications are that supplier assistance is not going to be available because the lockdown does not affect the entire UK at the same time or in the same way.

Whilst we understand that the situation is somewhat challenging and the picture changes almost daily, we wish to assure you wherever possible, we are operating on a “business as usual” basis however this may change depending on Government policy.  We will continue to take every effort to ensure our customers can continue to operate your business in the same way. We will issue further updates to keep you informed. 

We know these next few weeks may be difficult, but we would like to reassure you that we are in fact ‘all in this together’ and Cybertill will continue to offer the best service and support throughout this time.

We want you to know we are here for you, and to help you trade in whatever way you can.

Yours sincerely,

Cybertill

Coronavirus “COVID-19” Update 4 Equipment Re-start Letter
Sent to all customers 1 May 2020 via email

We’re writing to you because there is a building consensus that in the near future the Government will lift some of the Coronavirus restrictions and we want to help our customers prepare their Cybertill system in readiness for when they re-open any closed stores.

We’ve prepared a step by step guide Equipment Best Practice Pro-active Checks for Stores Re-opening After COVID-19 Lockdown to help you re-start your machines using the recommended “best practice” method to help reduce the chances of any technical issues occurring on the first re-boot after a dormant period.

Some key pointers:

1. If possible, re-start the equipment you use to access Cybertill a few days before you open for trade so if you do encounter an issue there’s time to sort it before your customers visit the store
2. Use our step-by-step guide to help you as this will limit the chances of issues and help us diagnose them if you need our help
3. Your machines may need some time to run Windows updates, anti-virus checks etc, so expect them to be slow and/or to take time before operating as normal again
4. Our Servicedesk is available and is contactable in the normal way but please bear with us if wait times are slightly longer as we may receive a high volume of calls upon re-opening
5. Our partners are planning their resource to meet call volumes but may also suffer some temporary service degradation if call volumes are high upon re-opening
6. We now supply perspex personal safety screens for counter tops to help you maintain staff safety post-Coronavirus (please see click here for more details)

We hope you find the guide useful and that you are able to re-open stores and begin to adapt to the future retail landscape as smoothly as possible.

In the meantime, we hope that you continue to remain safe and well and we thank you for your continued support during this testing period.

Yours sincerely

Cybertill

Coronavirus “COVID-19” Update 3
Sent to all customers 24 March 2020 via email

Now that we are seeing a change in Government strategy, we felt it was the right time to provide a further update to our customers concerning the effects of the Coronavirus CORVID-19 situation.

The situation is becoming extremely concerning for all and our employees’ safety remains our priority. With this in mind we have taken some additional steps to protect those most at risk and our engineers are now attending customer sites wearing face masks and using hand gel. Furthermore, we have had some field engineers come forward as being in the “at risk” health category and so they have been removed from field services for the time being which has led to an extension on service visit times in some more remote areas of the country. We have also been advised by our partners that DPD express deliveries (next day) have been suspended and so this may lengthen delivery timescales (though our teams will liaise with any affected customers to ensure that those affected are aware and can plan accordingly).

With the exception of the aforementioned changes we are pleased to advise that our supply chain is still operating as normal and in the event of a lock down we have deemed engineer visits as being “necessary travel” and therefore intend to keep maintenance and installation programs on track. We have secured additional stock of components to buffer against supply issues and our configuration and distribution facility is designed to operate on a BAU footing at 25% staff reduction, but this may become affected depending on how long the threat lasts for. And we will waive cancellation fees in the event that the Government puts the country into a lockdown phase.

After a full week of home working we can report that our business is operating as normal and all normal service is being provided to our customers, including our critically-important platforms and Servicedesk.

We have introduced a package of measures to provide our staff with increasing work flexibility so that those most challenged by Government policies, such as school closures, are able to balance both their work and home responsibilities. Other measures have been introduced to ensure our staff remain well and healthy during this time.

Whilst we understand that the situation is somewhat unprecedented and that the picture changes from day-to-day, we wish to assure you that wherever possible, we are operating on a “business as usual” basis however this may change depending on Government policy. We will continue to take every effort to ensure our customers can continue to operate their businesses in the same way. We will issue further updates to keep you informed.

Yours sincerely,

Cybertill

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COVID-19 Equipment Best Practice for Closing Stores
Sent to all customers 24 March 2020 via email

Now that we are seeing a change in Government strategy, we wanted to share with you a document advising what you need to do if you are closing your stores following government guidelines on COVID-19 recommendations.

Click here to download the document.

Yours sincerely,

Cybertill