With a background in farming, banking, aged care and supermarkets, Woombye SPAR Manager, Sammy Boxell has a skill set that has prepared her well for the challenges of working with COVID-19 restrictions.

“Right from the start our main priority was to ensure that our shelves were well stocked, because what we saw all around the country was panic buying in supermarkets and the resulting pressure on the supply chain,” Sammy said. 

“Since the first wave of COVID-19 restrictions  we have worked overtime to make sure that everyone can still get their favourite products in the Woombye and Palmwoods stores.

“Our next priority was to ramp up our home deliveries and offer a ‘click and collect’ service. 

“This is so reassuring to many of our customers, particularly those who are elderly and just have to take extra care at the moment. 

“We can basically offer a zero contact service, but at the same time we know how important the personal interaction is. 

“I know there are many people in our community right now who are feeling isolated and afraid” 

“I have explained to our team that personalised service, and taking an active and genuine interest in our customers right now is perhaps the most important thing we can be doing. 

“The major supermarkets are right on our doorstep and they are also offering home deliveries and zero contact shopping. So we have to not just serve the customers who are the lifeblood of our business, but be interested in how they are doing during lockdown as well. We have to keep them and our staff safe.

 “I am incredibly fortunate to have a wonderful team to work with. They are local people who share the values of tight community and the genuine sense of cooperation and teamwork that comes with rural living. 

“We have had to adapt so quickly to a completely new way of working. They have been asked to work longer hours, and to be patient and compassionate when customers are feeling stressed or overwhelmed about social distancing in the store. And they do it all without a complaint, and with smiling faces. 

“My staff tell me I am like a mother hen, because I want them to text me when they have finished their shifts and are safely out of the shop if they have worked later. But it is important to me that they are taken care of.

“Plus, you are really only as good as your surroundings, and the business community here is exceptional. We all know each other, support each other and have each other’s back. We really are lucky in that respect.

“For their part, our customers have been so patient and wonderful. They can see how hard the team are working to serve them and they are overall, very kind. 

“It really is true that we are all in it together, and I think that spirit is alive and well, here in Woombye.”