It's not business as usual but we're still open - an update from Christine & Jenny
First of all, and most importantly, we hope that you and your families are well in these uncertain and unprecedented times.
I just wanted to give you an update on what we’re doing at Charley Chau, on behalf of Jenny and I, in the midst of these previously unimaginable circumstances.
Charley Chau is open and dispatching orders daily, and we plan to keep our online store open as long as it is safe for us to do so, and of course as long as the UK Government allows us to do so.
We have made some changes to how we work.
Staff at Charley Chau HQ
The first major change is that our team are under strict orders to stay at home and not to come into the office but they very much remain part of our team. We very much look forward to welcoming them back into the building in the future.
Only Jenny and I are allowed into our office and warehouse. It is off limits to anybody else. Jenny and I will be working at HQ to dispatch orders received through our website as long as the UK Government advises that is safe to do so.
Our office and warehouse is in one building with over 4,000 sq. ft. of space and, with only Jenny and I working in the building, it means that we are able to work safely within the guidelines for social distancing in the work place.
We are of course following the Government guidance on heightened hygiene precautions with regular and frequent hand washing, and regularly disinfecting surfaces and objects that are used/touched frequently.
Dispatching Orders
Please see our latest stock update before ordering as we are having stock issues with deliveries fro our sewing teams and manufacturers experiencing delays at this time.
The Government has specifically advised businesses that:
Handling post or packages
Staff should continue to follow existing risk assessments and safe systems of working; there are no additional precautions needed for handling post or packages.
We have agreed a delivery and collection process with our courier drivers that also enables the couriers to deliver and collect our parcels without either Jenny or I to have to physically receive or hand parcels to the driver.
On a personal level, Jenny and I are also following all Government advice and restrictions regarding staying at home. Basically, we are doing everything we can to minimise risk.
Delivery Services
We have posted a blog about delivery services that we are updating on an ongoing basis as things change: Impact on Shipping Services as a result of Covid-19.
All couriers around the world are experiencing some disruption to their delivery schedules. Your patience is very much appreciated under these exceptionally challenging circumstances.
In the UK, all orders for Charley Chau beds and blankets will be dispatched with Parcelforce on a standard service which ordinarily takes two working days to deliver. We currently expect most parcels to arrive within this time frame but we also expect more parcels than usual to experience some short delays of perhaps 1-2 days.
Couriers are signing for parcels on behalf of the recipient on delivery to remove the need for our customers to provide a signature.
International Shipping Services
We continue to monitor courier updates for international delivery services and are checking the relevant service updates for all international orders before we dispatch the orders and will advise customers individually if there are any service impacts before we send a parcel.
Availability moving forwards
Quite a few of our sewing teams and other suppliers have closed temporarily as their facilities are not suited to social distancing in the the workplace which is absolutely the right thing to do. This has caused stock issues but we are doing everything we can to resolve these issues and your patience is very much appreciated.
Please keep safe, enjoy the company of your dogs and if you need anything please don’t hesitate to drop us a line: hello@charleychau.com or by phone on +44 (0)1616 848 8702.
Best wishes,
Christine & Jenny and the monkeys