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Forced closure last night

wa_dave

New member
Had to close the store last night due to water damage in the store.

Came to the store to drop some supplies off around 1 pm and found the front of shop (dining and counter area) under about 1/2 inch of water. I thought the fire sprinklers must have come on or something.

What happened is that someone (the shopping centre cleaner or vandals) got into the fire hose cabinet between my store and the Fish & Chips store next door and either left the tap running (cleaner uses it for washing down the walkway outside the shopping centre) or vandals got in and turned it on. :x

Either way water flowed into our shop. The fish & chip shop owner heard water running and turned it off at just before 1pm … god only knows how long it was running for.

As the other shop has a tiled wall his side (deep fryers etc along the wall) the water was forced back to our side (plasterboard wall) resulting in water damage to our walls. The flooding also knocked out half of our power from under floor cables being emersed in water.

Guess what the power went to? Cool room, prep bench, frezzers, oven, till and phones.

We got power to the coolroom and freezers by running extension leads all over the place from power outlets that were unaffected, plus emergency power outlet from the shopping centre. With leads running everywhere it was too dangerous to open the shop for trading.

By the time we got cleaned up and power operating again without the switch tripping off it was about 5.30pm so we closed for the night. Dropped about $1200 in sales for the night 😦

Luckily insurance covers all the damage plus our loss of trade for the night and wages for fulltime staff that had to be paid, and any lost stock.

All we have to do now is get builders in to replace the walls right along one side of the dining area, get a sparky to re-position the wiring and then a painter to do his job. Have to get a cabinetmaker out to look at the counter as water went under there and looks as if there may be water damage, requiring a new counter (only 16 months old).

Had the night off which was OK as I’ve been doing 7 days shifts as I haven’t been able to replace the manager who left us suddenly a few weeks back.

My insurance broker often commended me about the high level of insurance I took out (especially as he got good commission out of it 🙂 ) but in times like this it really paid off. The insurance company gave the go ahead to my broker to get everything and anything needed to be fixed and aren’t even sending an accessor to check it out.

In the end of the day it pays to have good insurance that covers all aspects like loss of trading, wages, robbery, vandalisim, any type/cause of water damage etc. We pay around $3.5K per year and in times like this it is well worth the money.

Back to the grindstone tonight, with a really super clean floor.

Dave
 
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met with my insurance man today at new building got to have it times like that its worth it. good luck dave.
 
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pizzabarntn:
met with my insurance man today at new building got to have it times like that its worth it. good luck dave.
Back in business today. Everything has dried out well, including the walls, but as they are only plasterboard the strength will be gone now so have to get them replaced with brand new, no imperfections, freshly painted panels. What a shame :lol:

My wife even had the nerve to ask if the old prep bench was damaged so we could get a new one. I think that is pushing luck a bit far. 😦

Good luck with the new store opening.

Dave
 
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Sorry to hear that happened to you! Good thing you had great coverage, and they are taking care of your really well. I hope all is well from here on out for you.
 
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Dave,
You just CANNOT catch a break. I feel for you down there where it is hot right now. I sure hope sanity comes along for you soon . . . great news about insurance coverage, though. Gotta review my coverage!
 
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The adventure of owning ur own u gotta luv it…wat were we thinking when we became owners , at least u got a little time to urself and a new counter… . . keep ur head up dave :?
 
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Thanks guys. Just gotta get a tough hide and laugh about it at times.

You guys now know why Nick, Daddio and I talk about riding the “small bus”.

Here’s another song of woe from the violin that has found it’s way back to me …

Friday night and NO DRIVERS !!! One left last week after a long stay with us and now wants time with his girlfriend (he works a day job as well). The other driver away all week for end of High School (called Leavers Week where they go to certain holiday areas and run amok for the week - 000’s of them). Lost around 12 - 15 orders valued approximately $300 - $500.

You know what? I couldn’t give a s^#t !!! If I haven’t got any drivers I can’t deliver, sorry, just like if I haven’t got any hands I can’t clap. You don’t know how relaxed I was with that attitude tonight.

Anyone who wanted delivery but said they would come and pick up got a free Garlic Bread (valued $3.30) when they got their order. Worked a treat for PR.

Anyway, it’s getting closer to Christmas and Santa may leave a bag of drivers for me seeing I’ve been such a good boy. Oh yeah and Rudolf flies as well.

Dave
 
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Heck, after doing the math of cost of driver labor/insurance/etc versus revenue generated, you may be okay. At least since everyone else there is in the same driver-less boat and no paddles in sight.

I cannot remember if you have a good dining facility to leverage. No could be a GREAT time to maybe by another line cook or two and push for being a dining destination. Some pasta and chicken/seafood sautée dishes could set you up nice what with being by the beach and all. Find the resources and capitalize when you are ready.

(did I mention we don’t cry for you having a smaller market area because only three sides have customers . . . since you are on the beach?)
 
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NicksPizza:
Heck, after doing the math of cost of driver labor/insurance/etc versus revenue generated, you may be okay. At least since everyone else there is in the same driver-less boat and no paddles in sight.

I cannot remember if you have a good dining facility to leverage. No could be a GREAT time to maybe by another line cook or two and push for being a dining destination. Some pasta and chicken/seafood sautée dishes could set you up nice what with being by the beach and all. Find the resources and capitalize when you are ready.

(did I mention we don’t cry for you having a smaller market area because only three sides have customers . . . since you are on the beach?)
You’re 100% correct on the wages side. I think we actually came out slightly in front without the usual $250 wages and delivery allowance, cost of food etc.

Tonight should be OK with 1 driver on and the opportunity for either my manager in training or myself to do some deliveries if we get pushed. Got a couple of extra casual customer service girls in who can also do cutting and making, plus my daughter has suddenly decided she wants extra cash and is now helping out every night. Her ex-partner has a pizza shop, hence how I came into this nightmare lifestyle. 🙂

We have a dine in facility (7 tables / 24 chairs) and do our share but pizza dining is not that big here unless you are in the restaurant areas. Our climate lends more to outside home dining, alfresco cafes etc. We are not far from a major marina complex that has a fair share of alfresco and semi-casual restaurants.

Sometimes it’s good to be close to the beach, but the main drawback is that fish don’t eat pizzas. 🙂

Dave
 
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