At the heart of Kibsons is a family, who from their very humble beginnings 40 years ago have always worked towards creating a business and brand that is known for its quality, transparency, support towards the community and that truly cares. Never were these values and mission as a business so important as in recent COVID-19 times. As the Kibsons team come up for a breath of air, they’d like to share some of what went on behind the scenes during this time, some key facts and figures and some of the initiatives and commitments they put into place for their customers and employees during this time.
As COVID-19 spread, there was a rapid increase in people shopping online and demand on Kibsons daily operations was like they’d never experienced before and with little warning. As a business they had to implement many changes very quickly, keeping the health and safety of their employees and customers at the centre of all they did, as well as dealing with the ever changing import and distribution landscape that came with new laws and regulations.
These changes resulted in Kibsons delivery promises being longer than usual during lock down as same day and next day delivery moved to 5 days and 7 days. Throughout Kibsons made sure they regularly communicated with their customers and they have been so grateful for everyone’s patience and understanding throughout the past months as we all adjusted to what is the new normal. The good news is they’re now back to the same free same day delivery that we’re all come to love and expect, along with the freshest, most premium quality fresh produce at their usual incredibly affordable prices.
What Kibsons have done for their customers:
- Kibsons remained committed in their price promise and to offering affordability to customers and did not increase any prices, even when their own operational costs increase due to extra processes and costs of international logistics. They are fierce advocates of fair pricing and are against those seeking to profit from the COVID-19 crisis.
- Kibsons have ensured that there is the availability of household staples and other high demand products at all times.
- Capacity for grocery delivery has been increased as quickly as possible and is now almost four times what it was, with new delivery vehicles and employees being brought into the business.
- New payment processes were implemented with upfront online payment required on all orders to prevent cancelled or turned away deliveries and the loss of important delivery slots.
- Contactless delivery and payment were implemented to reduce contact between customers and employees.
- Cleaning and sanitisation were enhanced at the Kibsons headquarters and in all their vehicles.
- All customer care emails and enquiries were handled within 24 hours, often within 2 hours.
What Kibsons have done for their employees:
- Kibsons consider their employees their family and as such their health and safety is their primary concern, as like everyone else they are extremely vulnerable to COVIID-19. Kibsons acted quickly and updated all their operational processes with employees wellbeing at the heart of them.
- All employees were provided with personal protective gear, including masks and gloves and received daily temperature checks.
- Kibsons created designated areas in their employee accommodation and facilities for those who test positive to COVID-19. Thankfully they have not had to use them.
- They created more than 400 new jobs since March and are still adding more to help meet the increasing demand.
- Kibsons increased pay for their employees and gave all a 40% bonus in addition to benefits for the overtime hours worked.
- They added a function to their website allowing customers to leave a tip which was allocated to the specific packer and driver of the order, giving staff a further boost to their pay packet. Over 100k AED per month is received in tips and distributed directly to staff. A big “Thank you” to all our customers for their generosity.
