Can Social Distancing Bring You Closer To Your Customers?

At 4:30 p.m. on March 22, Angèl and Brian Foster saw the news: All nonessential Oʻahu businesses had to close the following day. 

Just like that, the coronavirus foreboding killed the lights, spun the “Closed” sign around, and forced the Fosters to lock up their shop. Reluctantly, they told their staff not to return to work, unclear whether and when they would reopen.

But over the next few days, the phone started ringing. Concerned customers called, wondering where they were. Since Island Olive Oil Company is a retail store that sells food, it was categorized as essential. 

The Fosters realized that not only could they reopen, but they also needed to reopen to serve their customers. 

For six weeks, the couple ran their two stores in Kakaʻako and Kailua with a modified schedule – two days a week, five hours a day – with the help of one manager. 

The Fosters changed their business model and reverted to grassroots marketing, but staying financially afloat with drastically reduced sales remains challenging. Still, they have managed to find the silver lining: The requirements of social distancing have connected them to their customers more deeply than ever before. 

The Fosters were not always in the retail business. Angèl Foster has a degree in fine art and a background in interior design. Growing up, she worked in her family’s restaurants. Brian Foster put himself through school by cooking at California Pizza Kitchen before entering the world of finance and project management. He later joined the military, where he specialized in military-weapons systems and missile defense.

Angèl Foster’s creativity and Brian Foster’s background in operations make them the perfect team. 

“Between the two of us, it’s been a great business because we can both stay in our own lanes,” Angèl Foster said. “We cross over on certain things … but we also have our very separate roles.” 

With a mutual passion for food, nutrition and health and a desire to build a business together, the couple opened Island Olive Oil Company in 2012. The shop carries premium, freshly pressed olive oils, vinegars and specialty groceries in an interactive setting. 

The Fosters had to modify their business model to comply with social-distancing regulations. Island Olive Oil Company had been a sensory journey from the moment you walked in the door. Customers had been free to sample over 60 kinds of olive oil and vinegar while a staff member educated them on what they were tasting. 

“We are all about experiential and tasting and people really exploring through taste and sensory experiences,” Angèl Foster said. “And so, because of the health concerns, you know, the first things to go were the bread samples.” 

The company transitioned to a primarily e-commerce experience, created a drive-through pickup station and introduced home delivery.

“We were already prepared to do a lot of online sales,” Angèl Foster said. “Our website was intact, and we had actually recently updated it. … We were really lucky that we had all of those parts in place because a lot of other small businesses and restaurants didn’t necessarily have that aspect.” 

Customers appreciate the new safety protocols that the company has adopted in its stores. The staff disinfects everything constantly, guests wait their turn to enter to give everyone adequate space, and everyone must wear masks.

“It’s all about training and reinforcing that [safety] with our employees,” Angèl Foster said. “We are super regimented. I mean, our health, the health of our customers, the health of our employees are the most important things.” 

The company is trying to make its shops as accommodating for guests’ comfort levels as possible, she said.

Since foot traffic has diminished, the Fosters had to come up with creative ideas to communicate with their customers. 

The company’s custom selected gift baskets took off when pasta became scarce in grocery stores. Now this specialty shop had something people wanted but could not find. The Fosters learn about the person the gift basket is for, curate personalized meal kits, and deliver them to their home. 

The kits are a treat for the elderly who cannot leave their homes and for customers who want to do something special for their loved ones. 

“The response has been overwhelming,” Angèl Foster said. “People have been really excited. … They call us and they want to get some for their friends and then they order some for their friends, so it’s like a coconut wireless. They keep paying it forward. So, that’s been great.” 

The company extended its typical $2 off the purchase of any oil or vinegar when customers returned their bottles for recycling on Tuesdays to include Saturdays in March and April. On Earth Day, it offered $3 off and threw in a free sample bottle for customers who purchased two or more bottles. 

Handwritten thank-you notes accompany deliveries and shipments. 

“The other thing I’ve been doing … is I’ve been tackling every newsperson I see walking down the street,” Angèl Foster said. “Seriously, in this whole past COVID-19 thing, any time I’ve seen some cameraperson on the street, I go up to them and I say: ‘Hey what are you doing? What are you shooting?’ I’ve had three different local news stations cover us because of that.”

Still, affording to stay open has not been easy. Sales were down 18 percent in March, 46 percent in April, and 75 percent so far for May. 

Like most businesses, the Fosters have been in negotiations with their landlords and struggle to keep staff employed. One landlord offered a deferral. 

“I see where the landlord is going,” Brian Foster said. “It’s a partnership and a relationship, right? If we close, they lose space. It’s a lot harder for them to go in, spend those dollars to refill those spaces, but you need to come up with something that’s a little bit better.” 

He disagrees with deferrals. 

“You’re kicking the can down the road because you’re saying deferring rent now for six months from now when there’s barely any revenue coming in now,” Brian Foster said, “while you’re saying that I’m going to have future anticipated revenue later on, which we don’t even know where this thing is going yet. It doesn’t make very good business sense.” 

Although the Fosters are grateful for receiving a Paycheck Protection Program loan, it has come with challenges. The company has eight weeks to spend the entire loan from the date it receives it, Angèl Foster said. It needs to spend 75 percent on payroll and to hire back all of its employees. It can spend the other 25 percent on rent and other fixed expenses, such as utilities.  

“Because of the fact that they force you to use it right away, it doesn’t really give small businesses the flexibility to use it where they need to use it or to stretch it out where they need to stretch it out to,” Angèl Foster said. “… So, you bring all these people back on, you pay them full salary, and then, all the sudden, the money runs out, but you don’t have the revenue to back it up. … And then what? You have to lay them off again?” 

Still, the couple holds on and focuses on the positives. 

“As much as this has been difficult, there has been a big heartbeat of humanity come out,” Angèl Foster said. 

With the added offerings, personalized service, and special attention to safety, a new layer of love and appreciation has been flowing between the Fosters and their customers.

“It’s just being human,” Angèl Foster explained. “Just being good to people.” 

Island Olive Oil Company extended its hours last week. You now can visit its shops from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.