Every so often a phenomenon occurs that interjects new terminology into the vocabulary of our world.
This terminology can consist of individual words or groups of words that no one may have previously heard before and now seemingly overnight one cannot escape their presence.
These words and the actions associated with them can be due to something fun & exciting (such as the term “lit” which many in the younger generation use to describe something as being extraordinarily “cool”) or they may be associated with something that is overwhelming tough to bear (such as the term “social distancing” which is described as the practice of maintaining a greater than usual physical distance from someone else).
A phrase that (due to all that has been in the news lately) has become increasingly popular is “the new normal”.
Although I have heard it used sporadically in the past, the rate I can recalling having heard it pales in comparison to the pace that I have been currently coming across it.
When I have heard it recently, it references a number of different situations, all shaped by a variety of government rules, regulations, and “strong” suggestions of what society should be doing to help in “flattening the curve” of the way that the Coronavirus is affecting all of our daily lives.
From distance learning to a multitude of closed small businesses (restaurants, hair salons, etc.), “the new normal” indeed is a way to describe how we are all learning to live life as we work through things.
Thankfully, given the time of year, “the new normal”, although certainly having an effect on our business as a whole, still allows us to function as a business as long as we approach the work we are doing on a day in and day out basis with the best interests of our Clients & Employees in mind.
Ironically, this “new normal” way of approaching things, does not really change the way we have been going about discussing potential projects and landing new work than we have been doing already.
When someone reaches out to us to talk about work they were thinking about doing on their home or business, our staff has always spent time on the phone discussing what needs to be done, arranging for photos to be sent in of the areas to be worked on, and then setting up time for me to talk through the project on the phone with the potential Client and provide some idea of what they are looking for from a pricing standpoint.
From there, the biggest difference would probably be the social distancing that is now commonplace on my on-site meetings where I would schedule time to meet with someone to tighten up the paperwork on a project that they were looking to book.
But heck, even that could be done virtually to a degree as we could arrange to get the paperwork signed electronically if need be and then figure out whatever payment arrangements make the most sense given someone’s existing situation.
The biggest challenge for us with everything currently going on, is walking through the way we approach things and ensuring the comfort level of the Client aligns with reserving the work and locking in a spot, even if it is for some time down the line.
This is really important because our schedule (thankfully!) is becoming more full by the week, and I would hate to not get someone in there and be able to help them simply due to a delay in paperwork being completed.
“The new normal” certainly describes the way life is being approached these days, probably more relevantly than it has ever been used to previously define a specific way of existence.
With that being said, I believe there is an essential need that exists for people in order to prevent their homes and businesses from enduring rotted wood leading to long-term structural damage, peeling paint creating prospective health hazards, water leaks sourcing as ripe environments for mold growth, etc. even though the process of approaching such scenarios to correct them, may be drastically different today than it was even a very short time ago.