Midcounties Co-operative Travel could adopt some of the protocols it has put into pharmacies in order to bring its agencies out of lockdown.
Chief executive of specialist retail Alistair Rowland said: “We are working on a plan now about how to come out of lockdown.
“We have put Perspex screens up already in our food stores, pharmacies and funeral outlets. We have got an offer for travel shops. The screens are not that pretty, but it may be what we need to do. We are looking at that now.
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“If we did put it in, we would do it so it isn’t permanent, but we may have to put it in.”
Rowland said social distancing initiatives that are in place at Midcounties Co-op pharmacies were also being considered for high street travel agencies.
“You would have someone front of house, with hand sanitiser for people coming in. You might limit the number of people in the shop at one time, you might have lines on the floor, use only every other desk, and you would have the ability to shut the shop for a period of time to allow the staff inside to catch up before more people can enter,” he said.
“It’s all largely practical steps.”
Rowland pointed out that any return to the high street was likely to be phased, with only some shops opening initially.
“It will depend if there’s any furlough option after the end of June. If there is, then there may be an opportunity to have some people still furloughed; the partial reinstatement of shops where you only use every other desk; and the continued operation of a virtual call centre, to carry on dealing with all the rebookings,” he said.
“Everyone is just about getting used to operating virtually and it’s working very well. People calling this centre are strong potential clients, and you have to consider, are you going to get a better result in terms of a rebooking by keeping a dedicated call centre open to handle those rebookings, or by opening shops?” said Rowland.
“Obviously, agents want to see customers and customers want to see agents, so we would open some shops, but most likely in stages. What we have built works very well and it would be shame to pull everything apart immediately.”