THE SCOTTISH BAKER
MEMBER NEWS
MURRAYS BAKERS WARMLY WELCOMED BACK, SELLING 2000 PIES ON DAY ONE OF RE-STARTING RETAIL OPERATIONS! As lockdown measures were eased Scottish Bakers member Murrays Bakers re-started retail operations with a warm welcome on Perth’s high street. Business owner Linda Hill said, “On the day we opened, there were 10 people queuing outside in anticipation and this continued until 2.15pm when we briefly ran out of pies! We sold over 2000 pies that day – it really could not have been better. “On day two I posted on social media that we were starting afternoon teas and it went crazy. The phone rang off the hook and there were over 100 messages on Facebook messenger. It took me all day and well into the evening to get through them all. There was a massive demand. “The Friday and Saturday saw a queue down the street for about 40 metres continuously. We were overwhelmed with the response to us reopening and I felt so emotional with how much we were welcomed back. People were very good at sticking to the two in and two out and the queue was pretty well behaved. Our opening really could not have gone better. It turned out I had not brought enough staff back off furlough, so we brought another bakery worker in on the Friday and two shop staff as well. After releasing the afternoon teas I even had to phone my daughter to plead with her to come in and help as it was bedlam! “The bakers were run off their feet and my husband was doing 12 hour shifts. Definitely a family affair. The first day back I was going from serving, filling the counter, and taking telephone orders to being in the bakery lidding pies, packing up and carrying products to the shop. It has been a long time since I have had to work so hard for so long but I was running on adrenaline, it felt so good. I was just so happy to be open again and people said it felt like there was some sort of normality now Murrays had reopened. “Most customers are happy to pay by card but we are still taking cash if necessary and then using hand sanitiser in between customers if cash is used. We found that masks, visors and a hat is hard to do so its masks and hats on and it certainly gets warm behind the masks. I bought washable ones to use but we also have disposable as well so the staff can choose.
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Customers queue as Murrays Bakers reopens
THE BAKERS WERE RUN OFF THEIR FEET AND MY HUSBAND WAS DOING 12 HOUR SHIFTS. DEFINITELY A FAMILY AFFAIR.” Linda Hill Murrays Bakers “It’s amazing how quickly people have adapted to queuing outside and only one from a family inside for the order. People are more prepared now to wait in a queue, it’s become the norm. We are getting ourselves into a good routine now in the bakery and shop. “I am so grateful that my customers have come out in their droves for our products and have missed our famous pies! We will continue to market the afternoon teas as long as needed and anything else we need to do to keep our business busy and our staff in employment. I am exhausted but happy!”
