Building support together
May 26, 2020 | News | By John Bampkin
To anyone who is wondering who this unfamiliar face is, I’m John Bampkin, now Group CEO of the Norman Piette Group. I joined the company in April and although the news was sent out, we have all had a lot more important information to deal with so I fully expect that I may have slipped under the radar!
As the new man at the helm, I did expect a few challenges, but global pandemic and lockdown have got to be amongst the strangest and most difficult anyone can face. However, I consider myself so lucky to have been locked down in Guernsey, not just because of the island’s stunning natural beauty, but also because of the way the island responded, coming together to overcome the virus in a very well managed way.
That response has been echoed by all of our staff who have adapted to ever changing circumstances to keep materials available for anyone that needed them. We have had to radically change the way we operate with split shifts; late working for sanitising and restocking; marshalling on site and increased demand on delivery services, and our team has taken it all in their stride. Our number one priority was, and still is, to keep them and everybody associated with us, safe and healthy at all times.
Of course, our other priority is to keep the island supplied with top quality building materials and as more of the trades are able to return to site, we have been working hard to ensure supplies come in and that busy tradespeople are served as swiftly as circumstances will allow.
“The response from you, our valued customers, has been tremendous and I would like to thank each one of you, for your patience and understanding”
We are not back to normal yet, but we are well on the way and as we enter the next phases Norman Piette will keep refining our operations to speed things up as much as possible. We have already brought our deliveries down to a more normal turnaround and as more of our staff are permitted back, we are reducing queues, but we ask that you continue to bear with us whilst restrictions are in place and during our busy periods.
The response from you, our valued customers, has been tremendous and I would like to thank each one of you, for your patience and understanding whilst we get to grips with the new ways of operating and continue to adapt to make sure that the Norman Piette is here for you when you need us. Your dialogue and support have been fantastic whether it’s with our delivery drivers on site or with the staff on the telephones or in the business when you have been in to collect, it’s been magnificent. Thank you!
There are positives to take from this situation and one of those will be to act on the feedback we received and to continue to engage with you on how we operate, and the products we offer. Whatever the new world looks like going forward we will listen to you and work with you to make our service and support the best it can possibly be – Guernsey together!