MITCH COHEN

We’re staying in constant contact with both clients and candidates right now, and are trying to be reassuring. In some industries that are deemed essential and are having trouble meeting the staffing demand, we’re working handin-hand with them to help them fill their company’s needs. We’re providing PPE to those essential employees to keep them safe and are also providing our clients with resources to keep them informed. They are navigating Covid-19 as a business, just like we are. Our value to our clients and candidates isn’t inherently tangible, so we’re making sure they stay informed by providing resources on proper hand washing protocol, guidance on navigating financial relief resources, etc. As we go through this, the most important thing is to know that Spherion cares – we care about our customers, employees, and community. We are local and we are human-focused. We will carry that same approach with us into the next phase of our business beyond Covid-19. As a human-focused business, we will use this experience to continue our relationships and build strong foundations.

Luckily, we have not yet had to make any changes to our supplier relationships. Spherion went through a crisis planning session to develop a course of action for each office at the local level – my plan is percentage-based. Thankfully, I have not reached that number yet, but if I were to, ceasing our advertising and asking our landlords for rent forgiveness would be two of the next steps.

In addition to receiving a 90-day deferment through our bank, we’re also reviewing and evaluating the government programs to see what makes the most sense for our business and employees.

From the franchisor perspective, I’ve been truly impressed with their response thus far. All I would ask is for their continued perspective and support. In terms of government, I do feel that they’ve done the best they can to support small businesses with such a strong demand and quick turnaround. I think we all want to get back to business as normal, and Georgia appears to be heading in that direction. There’s no perfect way to navigate this pandemic as a business or as a government. But one thing that would make me feel much more secure as a small-business owner is having access to testing to ensure that all of my employees, candidates, and clients are safe and remain healthy when they do get back to work.

One thing we’d like to implement as we reopen is to make sure PPE is available and provided to protect our people. We want them to feel comfortable knowing that they can get back to work safely. 

Mitch Cohen, who has been in franchising for more than 30 years, operates 3 Jersey Mike’s Sub shops in Long Island, New York. Those shops have seen a 25% drop in sales since mid-March. He recently signed a 6-unit agreement with Sola Salon Studios. He also is a founding partner of Performax Franchisee Advisors, a team of experienced multi-unit franchisees who provide operator-focused strategies to improve franchisee performance, engagement, and trust.

Our three shops are down about 25% in sales since March 13. We’ve had a few employees go out on unemployment, but for the most part everyone is still working.

We are working in the communities more now than ever before, using social media to let our guests know that we are following the CDC recommendations. We have calls with our staff on a regular basis to make sure they are doing alright at home, providing help there if we can, and making sure they feel safe working in our shops.

Jersey Mike’s has been helping with ad fund deferments, $1,000 per location, to offset donations of food. They’ve altered TV advertising and are sharing in the discounting programs they have run nationally.

We have given our employees bonus pay during this time. We

have sent them home with food and have made donations to family members outside their household.

We have had 50% off Thursday to Sunday one weekend, a 25% off Thursday to Sunday for another, and made a 20% donation to Feeding America food banks. We also offered free delivery for 3 weeks.

We only have one major supplier and they have not offered any relief.

We have applied for PPP and are still waiting. We have worked with our landlords for some relief.

I would like the PPP program to be more clear so we can understand it. I would like to see funding happen more easily, and for states to reduce the extra unemployment money so people will want to come back to work.

We are preparing our locations with the proper PPE and cleaning supplies, and training our staff once the dining rooms open back up. We have bounce-back coupons we add to every offer good for the month of May and will give out one for June.