As this Indian summer ends, we thought we would take a moment to detail how Meaco adapted its working practices under lockdown to deliver a record-breaking number of cooling fans.
Life as we know it changed after March 24, when strict lockdown measures were enforced by the UK Government to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Following this announcement, the health and safety of our team, our suppliers and customers, retailers, and everyone connected to Meaco became a top priority.
Having assessed the new guidelines, we immediately implemented several new changes to working practices across Meaco’s teams of office and warehouse staff to enable us to continue to provide top quality products and services. To give you an idea of what was involved this included:
PPE, sanitising and social distancing in the workshop
For our engineers who service Meaco appliances, we made sure they had suitable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and could work in accordance with the new social distancing rules in the workshop. As you can imagine with lots of tools, equipment and increased sanitation this meant lots of carefully planned changes needed to quickly put in effect.
PPE, sanitising and social distancing in the warehouse
The warehouse, where hundreds of orders per day are picked, parcelled, and shipped out to customers is always a busy and productive workplace. In addition to providing the team with PPE and increasing sanitisation, we rearranged staff working patterns to comply with the new distancing guidelines. All the while keeping on top of customer and reseller demand for units.
Quarantining new stock
Many of our of air purifiers, air conditioners and dehumidifiers contain air filters. As a precaution, on arrival, new stock is quarantined for 48 hours to further minimise the extremely low risk of filter contamination. Only then are they accepted into the warehouse.
Customer service and administration went virtual
Like most UK offices our Guildford HQ immediately closed, and the office-based team switched to working from home conditions. We have lots of secure equipment, virtual systems, and processes in place to be able to remotely answer calls and respond to email delivery and service queries.
This has extended to working collaboratively with our suppliers and customers. The Zoom platform has proven to be very valuable to the team who have kept in touch with each other with regular work and team social activities to ensure everybody is keeping well.
Lockdown results in an early start to the summer season
Being confined indoors from late March onwards prompted people to look for ways to help improve airflow, creating a more refreshing and comfortable work from home environment. We immediately saw a sharp increase in demand for our cooling fans, air purifiers and air conditioners which combined with the new working rules around social distancing made sure we were kept very busy from April onwards.
From customer reviews, we learnt how fan purchases were not solely down to the working from the home phenomenon. Families reported that the cooling presence of the fans helped people having trouble sleeping from the stress of COVID and that school and college students were using them to help with home studies.
The arrival of the new portable MeacoFan 260C which has a built-in night light and the rechargeable battery was gratefully received by our customers and the media. Freedom from wires has proven to be very popular for people on the move with its 13-hour battery life. We received feedback from people using them when exercising, in the garden, in bed, while reading, driving and even whilst overseas on holiday!
Heatwave see record temperatures and record orders
Having successfully adapted to remote working and social distancing working conditions, the Meaco team worked hard throughout June and July to keep up with the demand.
When the European heatwave arrived in early August bringing with it unusually humid heat, the team had to rise to the challenge of meeting unprecedented levels of orders which truly tested everybody, including our supply chain and delivery partners.
We experienced an increase in engagement on social media, with notable journalists such as Harriet Marsden who writes for the Times and the Independent, even started her own ‘fan appreciation’ thread on Twitter to share her love for her MeacoFan.
Meaco Managing Director, Chris Michael said: “We are delighted to have been able to help so many customers this year to keep cool while working from home or to get a good night’s sleep during this particularly humid and challenging year.“
He added:
“By the end of the heatwave, we had sold seven times the number of fans we sold last summer, which considering the circumstances of working under lockdown conditions is a testament to the hard work and commitment of the entire Meaco team.”
Products featured: cooling fans, air purifiers and air conditioners, MeacoFan 260C
