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KUCHING: Most coffee shops and restaurants, which have been allowed to have customers during the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), were seen observing the standard operating procedures (SOP) established by the government.
In a survey conducted today by The Borneo Post, Heng Ki Kopitiam at Gala City Street Mall had their tables set up about two meters away to fulfill the SOP’s social distancing aspect.
The smaller tables had two chairs, while the larger tables had two to four chairs as described in the SOP under the “new normal”.
Heng Ki Kopitiam owners Kapitan Tan Yit Sheng and Shirley Lai said that even though dinners were now allowed during the CMCO, they would still pay attention to the government POE.
“We still need to be prepared and be very cautious about hygiene. That is why we organize the tables with a separation of at least two meters and only place a few seats per table.
“After the customers leave, we will sanitize the tables before clearing them,” Shirley said when asked to comment on the first day of the CMCO.
Kapitan Tan Yit Sheng (left) and his wife Shirley Lai, who are the owners of Heng Ki Kopitiam.
She said that during the Movement Control Order (MCO) that was implemented starting March 18, Heng Ki Kopitiam had remained open albeit for a shorter period than its regular 6 a.m. opening hours. at 10 p.m.
“During the MCO, we open from 7 a.m. at 2 p.m. We observed that many customers who came only carried food orders, so our drink orders suffered somewhat during the MCO. For example, before the MCO, our beverage orders represented between 10% and 15% of our daily business. Therefore, our revenues suffered somewhat due to the lack of drink orders during the MCO.
“We found it difficult to sell our drinks, so my team and I reached out to customers who brought takeaways to ask if they would also like to bring takeaways, but out of 10 customers we asked, perhaps only three would drink- drinks away, “Shirley wailed.
The arrangement of the tables outside Heng Ki Kopitiam in the Gala City Street shopping center.
However, circumstances during the MCO have not deterred Shirley from remaining open and optimistic that the business will recover during and after the CMCO.
“Today is only the first day of the CMCO and business is looking better than it was during the MCO period because now people can sit down and have dinner, and now we can sell our drinks.
“We need to remain persistent and prepared during CMCO. As a business owner, it’s understandable if customers don’t dare come over for dinner, since the Covid-19 pandemic is still not completely under control. So far, we have not seen more than four customers in a group come to our cafeteria as well. I think the public mindset has really changed after the implementation of the MCO, “said Shirley.
The table layout at Chopstick Garden in Icom Square, with certain tables etched to indicate the two-meter social distance requirement.
Meanwhile, Chopstick Garden in Icom Square, pending here, had a large crowd at lunchtime, but owner Peter Lin said there was a lot a cafe could do under SOP guidelines.
“Some of the conditions under the SOP will be quite difficult to implement. For example, getting the names, ID cards, and phone numbers of each customer who comes to dinner. Not all clients will be comfortable providing that personal information to us, making it difficult to implement that part of the POE.
“What we as business owners can do is organize the tables so that they are at least two meters apart, assign two to four chairs per table according to their size, disinfect the tables after each client, ensure that our workers wear masks and provide hand sanitizers, “said Peter.
Chief Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has clarified that only clients’ names and phone numbers were required as part of the new guidelines.
He noted that it was more difficult to monitor customers in terms of entry and exit, as the cafeteria was more open in design compared to a restaurant with a single entry and exit point.
Peter Lai
Peter said that Chopstick Garden had remained open during the MCO, opening from 7 a.m. at 1.30 p.m. compared to their usual opening hours of 5.30 a.m. at 7.30 p.m.
“I noticed that many clients who came during the MCO carried takeout, not takeout. Even now, during the CMCO, some would choose to carry because we cannot accommodate everyone in the same way as before the MCO, as we have to limit the number of tables and chairs, “said Peter.
He also urged the government to take into account the plight of business owners, especially cafeteria owners.
“We hope that the government will consider our situation more, especially for us cafeteria owners because the MCO was a struggle for us. We have to consider the wages of our workers and our expenses are too high, so the lack of income from the MCO has really affected us, “said Peter.
Most of the members of the public who were seen in the cafeterias were seen wearing facial masks.
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