Hello KuSakura community!
My name is Gaetan, most of you already know me from a few discussions that we may have had when you contacted the customer support or from the blog articles that I post as often as possible on the KuSakuraShop Blog.
KuSakuraShop is run by Budoka and we always privileged transparency, honesty and quality towards our customers and given the hard times we are all going through recently and as KuSakuraShop Manager, I feel it is now more necessary than ever to stay on this line. So, it is to keep you all informed about the real Covid19 situation and consequences in Japan but also on the consequences on the shop, for our team.
First of all, on behalf of all KuSakuraShop’s team, we would like to express our sincerest support and encouragement to all persons who are suffering from the current situation, those affected physically or mentally, those confined at home, those worried about their health or their surroundings’, those working relentlessly day and night to save lives amidst all this tensed environment, carriers, drivers, cashiers and all supermarkets and convenience stores staff.
As a manager, my role is to always make certain that you all get the best equipment quality, the best service and that you always get the right pieces of information. As of April 10th, there are 4,768 confirmed cases in Japan and despite all the measures taken by the government, this number is actually still increasing and no one can naturally know to which point this number will grow. Although the outbreak is more likely to be under control in Japan, as social distancing is a cultural aspect along with the mask that Japanese often wear when they have a simple cold, the state of emergency has been declared. As Japan does not have the legal means to restrain individual liberties, this special measure only allows local governments to shut down some public institutions, schools, private facilities such as entertainment one and to have better control over hotels and hospitals that are facilities used for the fight against the Covid-19.
Although we are not forced to shut down our workshop, the impact on our activity is significant. KuSakuraShop already took measures since last month in order to reduce the risk during commuting for the staff. But now with the new government measures and the outstanding evolution of the situation, we have to adapt once again and we implemented the following measures, starting from today:
- KuSakuraShop's office will be closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Our staff will work from home and handle all email inquiries, order tracking, order management, etc., as usual.
- KuSakuraShop will be open but work on a special schedule on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. To avoid crowded trains, working hours are set from 10 am to 5 pm but part of the staff is encouraged to leave early if possible.
- Non-essential staff are working on a partial basis with the guarantee of receiving 90% of their salary.
- We will be in close contact with all our partners and especially the craftsmen, ready to help as much as we can if necessary.
KuSakuraShop will not only follow government guidelines but will go even further by implementing measures that have been taken by European countries as much as humanly possible.
Finally, a word about the orders and how the activity is going on here. All our staff are working hard to keep your order fulfilled, to keep up on the quality of our service and to answer all your questions in a record time. Nevertheless, is still a business and this time, we would need your support as much as you need ours, and this is why to keep all these wonderful people working here in our workshop, your participation is more than welcome. If you feel like placing an order but wait for the situation to get better, it might actually be the best moment to place it as it would greatly help our staff and in the end, our workshops. If you cannot, please don’t.
During April, we will keep our “5% of all orders for the fight against the COVID-19” campaign running, even on our next discount that will be running from April 15th. If you would also like to participate in the fight while helping us, we will be more than happy to process your order, as fast as possible, as usual.
Please stay all healthy, motivated and ready to enjoy life and get back to the Dojo once this crisis is done. Together, we will be able to stand back up and hopefully, everything will be back to normal soon.
Take care, protect yourself and your family!
