How COVID-19 Has Changed Our Lives

While many people are making eyewear purchases online and through various other platforms, it might be beneficial for them to work with a licensed optician who can give them glasses and other requirements that work and don’t have any adverse effects on their eyes.

We were running a store well before COVID and found it quite challenging to maintain ourselves during the pandemic. However, with the changing rules and new restrictions, it seemed like things were getting better. 

While there were so many changes taking place and we had to adjust to them, we cannot predict the ones to come in the next six months. A lot is happening, and it would depend on various factors. Primarily, the impact on our business would be directly reliant on how much more inflation we see in the future. As the product price goes up, the business naturally slows down. We also struggled with sourcing materials which were quite challenging because there were restrictions on travel and various changes we had to get through.

The pandemic disrupted most businesses. We had to close for a certain amount of time and lay off a couple of staff members. Additionally, whenever we thought of the opening, we had to deal with the new changes and rules that were relevant at that time. 

For the most part, we run an office or store where we communicate with our clients and assist them with their requirements. When there were work-from-home mandates, we could not just move our work to the virtual medium because of the nature of the work we handled. While some communication was online, for the most part, a majority of it was done in person. Whenever there were changes made to the rules, we had to make it a point to shut shop and get back when things started getting better. We were running a hands-on, face-to-face service, so we did not have much of a chance to work remotely.

When it came to working from the office though, there were no changes there either. For the most part, we had to shut shop and maintain a smaller number of people coming in, which was not that challenging to do. We made sure everyone we worked with followed the rules prevalent at that time. Additionally, we make sure that the office is regularly cleaned and has enough hand sanitizer to go around. We want everyone working with us to be as safe as they possibly can.

Running a store is not the same as running your own office, so we have to adhere to the timings that we were in the past. For the most part, we were working the same hours we did in the past. There were other changes we made, but we did not want any of our clients to find it challenging to meet us so the store was always open during working hours.

The pandemic taught us a lot, and all we could do was adapt to the changes that were taking place. We also noticed that with natural limitations on travel and vacation, the sale of sunglasses dropped. However, we are optimistic and things will start getting better soon.

If you need a licensed optician or contact lens fitter in Burnaby, BC, connect with us at Hannam Optical. While we assist with a variety of requirements, we also understand the needs of our clients before we get through the process so that we are better equipped to assist them. We have one of the best locations and a team that is always happy and waiting to serve them. If you want a better understanding of the services we provide, please click here. If you are looking to get in touch with us or think that we can assist with a requirement you have, please click here.