Hello, followers, clients, and friends! We hope you are well & safe during this crazy time.
As Vermont begins to re-open, we’ve been working hard to implement new policies in procedures to make sure everyone stays safe, and we do our part to reduce the spread. With this, we can re-open on an appointment-only basis; this may change as time goes on, and our understanding of the virus progresses but is current as of today, May 19th, 2020. Below is the procedural document we will be sending out anytime an appointment or site visit is requested. If you have any questions, please reach out to us via email at office@northshireliving.com
We will be in the showroom more as time goes on, working on our displays, organizing, making improvements to the building, and doing client work and cleaning. If you happen to catch us there, we *wish* it was safe & straightforward for us to catch up with you in person or have you into the shop, but we cannot accept walk-in visitors. We’d love a wave through the window or hello from the sidewalk. Our door may be open as you pass but roped off, this is not an invitation to come in, but part of our effort to comply with state guidelines to have windows open for increased ventilation, as our first level doesn’t have many operable windows. Work is scheduled to begin soon on our sidewalk in front of the shop, so if there is no sidewalk when you arrive, you can enter through our back door marked “Office” typically for employees only.
If you are interested in purchasing something from our retail shop, items are listed in our “Insta-Sale” Highlight on our instagram profile. We are working on setting up an official online store, but as we were also in the middle of switching website design & hosting providers and overhauling our site, this is proving not to be simple. If you don’t have instagram, you can also reach out to us via email at office@northshireliving.com
Much Love, Niki
Northshire Living COVID-19 Procedures :
The following are procedures & precautions we are implementing to continue conducting business during this time. We know it seems like a lot (it is) but please read them thoroughly as they are for both your safety and our own. Whenever possible, our preference is still to conduct business through email, phone or video conferencing. With the nature of our business, site visits & meetings will be necessary to complete projects, we have implemented the following:
If you or anyone in your family feel sick, or you believe you may have been exposed to COVID-19, please do not come to our showroom or have us come to your home for a site visit. We would love to help you at a later date.
Our Showroom:
- For the time being, our showroom is open by appointment only for the safety of our clients, customers & staff. Please provide 24 hours notice for cancellations.
- Masks or Face Coverings are required for entry into our showroom & our staff will be wearing them as well
- Please plan to maintain a 6 foot distance between yourself & our staff, we will place floor markings to guide you at points of interaction like our front desk.
- Hand Sanitizer will be provided at our entrance, front desk, & meeting space.
- A maximum of two people will be allowed into the showroom per project, if a contractor or architect needs to be present in addition, please let us know so that we can try to accommodate with distancing requirements.
- Children are not welcome in the showroom at this time, as much as we enjoy meeting your kids, please plan to come without them to your appointment.
- Restrooms will not be available at this time, please plan accordingly.
- In general, we have ramped up our regular cleaning procedures, as well as sanitizing all samples & surfaces touched during our appointments
- Please do not reach out and touch anything without thinking first, per regulations everything touched must be cleaned. Relevant samples will be cleaned & set out for customers prior to our appointment, if you need something from one of our displays or sample racks, please ask & our staff will retrieve it
- All appointments will be scheduled with a cushion for cleaning before and after so that we can ensure we are providing as safe an environment as possible & avoiding cross contamination of households.
- With cleaning cushions in mind, if arriving early for your appointment, please plan to wait outside until your time slot begins. If arriving late, we will likely be unable to run longer than scheduled and may need to schedule another appointment to make up that time. Please plan accordingly. .
- Weather permitting, we will have all windows in our showroom open for increased air dilution. If it is not warm out (as Vermont often is unseasonably) please have a jacket or sweater with you.
Site Visits:
- Site visits for measurements or quoting labor will continue to be done on a no contact basis, for clients currently occupying their homes, they can choose to hang out upstairs, another wing of the house, outside, or go for a walk during our scheduled visit.
- We ask that clients vacate the spaces we will need to be measuring or looking at at least 15 minutes prior to our appointment. We suggest also waiting 15 minutes prior to re-entering the spaces.
- Upon arrival we will call to ensure you are ready for us to enter, if you do not have cell service at your home please give us instructions on how we should enter & find the space at time of scheduling.
- To discuss details with clients we can talk on the phone during our visit, if that isn’t possible we can take thorough measurements, discussing the project and any questions we may have in a later phone meeting.
- We may also talk briefly outdoors at a 6 foot distance with masks on.
- We will wear masks entering & exiting the space, but will often remove them during the course of the measure for clarity when speaking on the phone. Please let us know if you’d prefer we wear them the entire time we are in your home.
- If a payment or retainer is due at our meeting, please plan to have a check left out for us made payable to “Northshire Living”
Construction & Installation:
- Homeowners are asked not to enter the construction area or staging zone while tradesmen are onsite, If you need to be in an area where you may interact with one of our trades, please wear a mask or face covering.
- Our trades are social distancing, stepping up cleaning, and wearing masks whenever possible but please note that there will be times they will be onsite with masks off or in close proximity due to requirements of the work (or needing some air). This is why we ask homeowners to limit their interaction.