‘If you do anything today, be kind’ says businesswoman

This is the advice of a small business owner who is taking the Covid-19 pandemic in her stride despite the threat of order cancellations and falling demand.

Victoria Bebbington, the owner of Jute Adore Gift Hampers, has been trying to make a difference to those who have been affected by the pandemic.

When she found out a customer’s birthday trip to New York had been cancelled, she offered a free hamper to help soften the blow.

‘She was 21 on the weekend and she was flying out with her mum to New York to celebrate her birthday,’ Miss Bebbington said.

‘They had tickets to an event but they took the very wise decision to cancel.

‘The insurance company were being less than helpful – it’s a lot of money lost – event tickets in NYC lost and, of course, a lot of disappointment.

‘The trip was her present, which left no time for arranging any other gifts.

‘I had to do something to help turn a bitter situation into something sweeter so I made the birthday girl a Lindor bouquet and delivered it, with my compliments, as a complete surprise.

‘The way I’ve been brought up, it’s not about the material gifts but about going out with the family. But in this situation, the trip together was the gift so I just wanted to reach out and do something for them.’

Miss Bebbington said she had tried to help customers in whatever way she could and has even changed the way she works so she can offer full refunds to anyone cancelling events due to social distancing guidelines.

‘Not knowing how seriously people over here were going to take that advice I contacted my customers who were planning baby showers, weddings or other events and told them I won’t make anything until the day before the event because a lot of things can happen,’ she said.

‘That way I can issue full refunds if they decide to cancel before then.’

She had experienced some cancellations, including three birthday parties, a baby shower and a wedding reception that could yet be called off. However, she was just glad that people were following the guidelines laid out by Public Health.

Miss Bebbington has been impacted personally as well as professionally by the pandemic. Her boyfriend is stuck in the UK at the moment and she did not know when she would see him again.

Despite these difficulties, she believed focusing on little acts of kindness could make a big difference to the community.

‘It’s just being thoughtful and being proactive and that is what the community needs,’ she said.

‘Even if it is just popping in to see your next door neighbour to see if they need anything from the shop.’

Miss Bebbington posted on Facebook about how she had tried to make a small difference through her business.

‘If you do one thing today, please make it one of these: Be Thoughtful, Be Humble, Be Grateful, Be Understanding, Be Considerate, Be Kind,’ she said.