Artisan Office Services Ltd. and Artisan Express is offering free delivery to islanders and households in self-isolation or who are referred to them by health professionals.
Couriers will pick up items from participating businesses (there are currently nine) and deliver the items to homes.
“The businesses I know it's a real quandary for them,” says Heather Miller of Artisan Office. “[They’re] starting to try and do delivery individually themselves but nobody has the staff and how to manage it and that's the piece that we have here.
“So it just sort of made sense and also to give it like a one stop shop for it all.”
The 10 businesses and organizations participating so far are: Snug Cove General Store, Alderwood Farm, The Ruddy Potato, Cates Pharmacy, Bowen Vet, Bowen Building Centre, Bowen Pet Supply, B.I. Library and the Village Baker. Miller says that she’s happy to add other businesses and deliver other things, with the exception of hot food (for hot food she directs people to Food on Bowen). Artisan Office cannot deliver tobacco, alcohol, lottery tickets or non-prescription cannabis products.
Ideally, customers will call the store in question and making the order (and pay by phone or email) and then either the customer or the store will let the Office know when it’s ready for delivery, though Miller expects the process will be refined in coming days.
“Some community members and I think a lot of the merchants are concerned about our elderly people, [who] are particularly vulnerable,” says Miller. “A lot of them don't want to impose or don't want to feel that they're an imposition so we want to make this as smooth as possible.”
On the webpage dedicated to this service Artisan office asks that people not abuse the service by requesting delivery if they’re not in need. “We are offering this to support those in our community who have to self-quarantine or isolate, whether through exposure to COVID-19, formal travel restrictions, or following medical advice due to current illness, vulnerability or pre-existing conditions,” reads the website.
“This is basically also to reassure people that if they are in that situation, that they are in their home or they feel like they need to be in their home, that they can get everything that they need to get by,” says Miller.
The other thing Artisan Office can do is pick items up in town, but that does cost money. “I can't do that for free but depending on the situation, and if somebody is in self-quarantine or isolation, and it's something that they desperately need, I'll do it at a cost basis, so I'm asking them to contact me in that situation,” says Miller.
For the deliveries to those in self-isolation, couriers won’t be going into homes and they won’t be taking anything back or handling anything from the home, says Miller. “We'll arrange with you, we'll drop it off outside.”
To request a delivery contact Artisan Office at [email protected] or call (604) 947-9119.
For more information visit: artisanoffice.com/a-community-response-to-covid-19/.
