Does Moncton-Area ‘Circuit Breaker’ Put Some Businesses Back On A Rollercoaster?
DIEPPE – New Brunswick’s decision to implement circuit breaker measures in the Moncton area a week ago was met with responses that ranged from trepidation to indifference.
Jessica Hamilton, the owner of BARE Beauty Boutique, said she’s seen fewer customers come into her Dieppe-based studio since the circuit breaker was implemented and is worried pandemic measures could put her back onto the “roller coaster” that was weathering the pandemic’s early measures.
“It’s been such a rollercoaster again – it’s not always easy,” Hamilton said.
New Brunswick implemented the two-week circuit breaker on October 8 for parts of Zone 1 (Moncton region) and Zone (Fredericton region) and all of Zone 4 (Edmundston region) to clamp down on rising Covid-19 transmissions.
With the recent uptick in Covid-related hospitalizations, Hamilton said many of her customers are nurses cancelling appointments because of greater demands on their time.
Hamilton said a lot of uncertainty and fear has led to a jump in last-minute reschedules or cancellations, adding she’s certain that she’s seeing fewer customers come in the door than in October 2020.
“It’s just a little bit harder now, in the fall for aesthetic salons, anyway. There’s always a decrease in the numbers,” Hamilton said.
“So far, it’s manageable, it’s still okay, but the circuit breaker impacted me for sure. It’s not terrible, as it is, for now. It’s not our busiest time of the year. It should pick up again closer to the holidays.”
Hamilton said her uncertainty was compounded when the Cosmetology Association of New Brunswick mandated all salons in the province ask for proof of vaccination on Sept. 27 – only to reverse the decision the same day.
When asked for specific impacts to how many customers she saw per day, Hamilton said it’s difficult to be certain about that since it varies depending on the service rendered.
Hamilton, who is adjusting to a spacier 1,000-square-foot home for her salon since moving from Moncton to 331 Champlain Street in Dieppe, said some work requires more time – and it all depends on who is booked for what, on the day in question.
“I could probably do 25 clients who want facials in one week and about 50 who need their brows waxed,” she said.
Hamilton said she has exclusively been doing appointments to avoid having too many clients in the studio at once and to be able to adequately clean up.
Hamilton, the sole employee of the salon at this time, said she’s more concerned with hiring and weathering the coming weeks. While there is less business than usual, Hamilton said she already has appointments booked into November and December this year.
“I find it’s really hard to find employees right now. I’ve been posting jobs online and I don’t have a lot of inquiries and applications.”
Despite the challenges, Hamilton is optimistic, noting 80.1 percent of New Brunswickers have received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose, and hope she can find workers and not have to ask for proof of vaccination at her business anytime soon.
Chamber concerns
John Wishart, Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce CEO, said the measures cut into business in Greater Moncton, adding another burden to a gamut already faced by by small businesses in particular over the past 19 months.
“There was the expectation this past weekend, with the circuit breaker in effect in Zone 1, that restaurants may have seen a surge of business because they were allowed to operate with proof of vaccination. We’re hearing that didn’t happen,” said Wishart.
Wishart said the reluctance to go out over the long weekend was likely on account of people not feeling safe doing so.
Any business that relies on face-to-face commerce has been impacted, Wishart noted, adding that restaurants, tourism operators, hotels and even manufacturing plants are feeling the crunch.
“Anywhere where they need customers coming through the door, they’d be the hardest hit. Restaurants, tourism and, to a certain extent, retail,” he said.
Wishart noted the pandemic is also hurting small businesses’ bottom lines and employee recruitment and retention.
While larger corporate entities have deeper pockets and policies to handle Covid-fluctuations, independent retailers and restaurateurs suffer greater financial impacts, with fewer customers.
“Moncton is a hub for commerce – a lot of people come here to shop, stay here overnight, spend money in restaurants, that sort of thing,” said Wishart, adding there’s a “sense of normal” achieved in time for the holiday season companies can recoup as much as they can before the end of the financial year.
Wishart echoed Hamilton’s concerns, noting many business owners tell him that emergency government subsidies like the CERB and CRB – while necessary before – are now disincentivizing people from going back to work.
“I talk to a lot of business operators every week, and every one of them brings up the fact that they can’t find workers,” Wishart said.
Wishart said 57,000 New Brunswickers collected EI in June 2021, versus 27,000 people in June 2019.
“That’s an extra 30,000 people who aren’t actively seeking employment. Just a time when companies are trying to staff up and get some traction again. That’s a significant issue,” he said.
While Wishart stressed there was a need for support earlier in the pandemic, many of the wage subsidies of the past two years have outlived their lifespan. Wishart said he wants to see the province move away from blanket policies to targeted support where it’s still needed.
Not everyone is affected equally
Not all small business owners are hurting on account of the circuit-breaker measures.
Georgio Paulin, owner of Moncton-based home audio, furniture and electronics retailer Sounds Fantastic, said his business was unaffected by the circuit breaker.
“I wouldn’t say business has gone down. We’re a retail store, so there are no additional mandates for people – I don’t have to check if people are vaccinated,” Paulin said.
Paulin said the only real difficulty he’s facing is getting stock, with supply chain hitches forcing him to order earlier – sometimes months in advance.
“We sell a lot of stuff that people like to use at home, and people are home more, so it’s been good in that sense. Just getting a product here in a timely manner has been the biggest challenge.”
Sari Weinberg, the owner of Sackville-based Bueteaful, which sells organic loose-leaf tea at the Moncton Market, said that business slowed down for her on the long weekend.
Whether that was because it was a long weekend, or the weekend the circuit breaker measures were implemented that cut into customer traffic, she’s not sure.
“It was roughly about the same. It’s obviously been different since the pandemic, but it was roughly the same for me, in terms of my sales,” Weinberg said.
“I’ve probably been less affected than other businesses in Moncton.”