TTC_04_29_20_Vol.16-No.27

April 29, 2020 www.TheTownCommon.com
Page 3
Businesses, from page 1
Price offers hand sanitizer,
gloves and bleach spray for shoes.
“We’re surviving,” she said. “Customers
have been very supportive.
They want to have their local pet
store here when this is over.”
An encouraging event: Sweet
Paws, which rescues orphan dogs
in the South and brings them to
New England, just transported
100 to 150 dogs to Massachusetts
and all of them were adopted, said
Price, who helps find food donations
for the dogs.
Seven of the 47 most at-risk professions
are in dentistry, noted Dr.
Peter St. Clair, who has a large practice
at 151 Central St. in Rowley.
Dental professionals have always
been at risk from flu and other viruses,
but nothing like the coronavirus,
he said last week. “Fortunately,
I don’t get sick much.”
Since St. Clair closed his office
in mid-March, he has seen only
a handful of patients who had
emergency dental problems. Some
patients are seen on-line through
tele-dentistry. But most of time
is filled with learning about and
Businesses hanging in
planning how to make his office as
virus-proof as possible.
He already has a list of 27
things he wants to change in his
office – from seeing more patients
on-line to getting rid of
plants and stuff on the counters
that may catch viruses. He is investigating
installing negative air
pressure machines to change the
interior air more frequently.
St. Clair is waiting on guidance
from the Centers for Disease Control
and the state dental society for
what steps he must take before reopening
the office.
“It’s going to be a different
world,” he said, but hopes “we
don’t go crazy.”
At the popular 1634 Meadery in
Ipswich, Dan Clapp said his tasting
room traffic is way down, but
he continues to ship orders of his
bottles of mead. Others are picking
their mead up at the curb. And the
liquor stores have put in new orders.
“We’re doing okay considering
other people who cannot stay open,”
Clapp said. “People like to drink.”
He had to furlough his employees
when revenues cratered by 40 or 50
percent after the Covid-19 struck.
He too has applied for a government
payroll loan so he can bring back his
staff. “Hopefully, they won’t give it
all away to the big companies.”
Beverly Buccheri at BC Essentials
in Newburyport is selling a lot
of hand soap, sanitizer, essential oils
that keep away colds and flu and
the diffusers to dispense them with.
But there is a slim market for the
handbags and dresses she would
normally be selling in the Spring.
There are always birthday presents
to be bought and pajamas,
robes and gift baskets for Mother’s
Day. She is thinking of making
some baskets of her products
and placing them on the Pleasant
Street sidewalk outside the store.
Asked how the revenues were
holding up, she said she did not
even want to talk about it. Selling
soap for five dollars and not
handbags and larger ticket items,
she believes her revenues have
dropped by 90 percent.
Coming to work with the streets
and the stores empty, Buccheri
said, can be very depressing. “It’s
tough, but we have lots of loyal
customers, and they get me out of
the house.”
Brighter smiles ...
Support Your Local Businesses
By J. Peter St. Clair, DMD
There's a lot more to consider with
regards to the steps needed to provide
a safe environment when we return to
our routine medical and dental appointments
following this global pandemic.
Unfortunately, it seems there is plenty of
time left to discuss these. We are all waiting
for more guidelines from the CDC
and other professional organizations on
any necessary changes that need to occur
before and upon opening to patient care.
Many of us have not been affected
directly by the virus, other than watching
the numbers, following reports,
and grieving for those who have been
plagued by its wrath. Most of us however,
have been affected indirectly in some
way or other.
The effects this tiny virus has had is
mindboggling. Small businesses have
been hit hard. Many businesses are not
sure whether they will ever be able to
re-open. Others are struggling to get
by with government payroll protection
loans. Will this money last long enough
to keep the businesses afloat? There are
many unanswered questions.
While we are all ready to get back to
'normal', we are also aware that this will
be some new kind of normal. Is it a temporary
new normal or a permanent new
normal? We just want to know now!....
so we can get on with our lives. Many of
us are going stir-crazy.....if you can't tell!
Will our restaurants be a half or a
third full to comply with new guidelines?
How long will that last? Would
any small business be able to operate on
a half to a third of the income?
Will the barber shop have a virtual
waiting room in the parking lot where
people are called on their cell phone to
come in after the chair has been disinfected?
And is your barber now gowned
in PPE , looking like he's on the next
rocket to the moon? You can barely understand
him trying to have his 'usual'
conversation through his N95 mask.
He can't understand you either through
your mask. He gives you a buzz cut. I
hope it doesn't come to that, or at least
to that degree.
We must continue to follow the
guidelines we are given. At the time of
this writing, our state is peaking in cases,
which hopefully means the downslope is
right around the corner. We are all sick
and tired of this, but we must continue
to be patient and be vigilant about protecting
ourselves and others.
In this spare time that many of us
have, may I suggest doing some Google
research on the many services that each of
us use and find indispensable? Have you
ever Googled your car mechanic, restaurant
or barber shop to see what kind of
content they have on their website?
Does your local pharmacist, hair stylist
or local brewery have a Facebook page
that you could connect with and follow?
Have you looked around your dentist's
website and read the biography of your
favorite hygienist or dental assistant?
While you're exploring and learning
more about the people and places that
you miss, I am sure they would LOVE
for you to leave a nice review for them.
Reviews are important to these small
businesses from a marketing perspective
,and I am sure they all would appreciate
kind words during this difficult time.
There are many platforms to leave
reviews. One of the more valuable at
this time is Google Reviews. If you are
a gmail user it is easy to leave a Google
Review. Get typing and support your favorite
local businesses.
Dr. St. Clair maintains a private dental
practice in Rowley and Newburyport dedicated
to health-centered family dentistry.
If there are certain topics you would like
to see written about or questions you have
please email them to him at jpstclair@stclairdmd.com.
You can view all previously
written columns at www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com/blog.