Our response to COVID-19
July 14, 2020
Covid-19 affects many aspects of our lives. At Horizon Hobby, we are doing everything we can to promote safety for our customers and employees.
Radio Control is a wonderful hobby which can be done alone or socially distanced, providing hours of fun and challenges. With the spread of COVID-19, we’ve seen dramatic rises in demand and online shopping.
Our Actions:
- Our distribution centers have adjusted policies and processes to include extra time for cleaning and sanitation steps.
- PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is provided to all employees at the entrances to our facilities should an employee need to go into the office and for our distribution center staff.
- Starting in early March, Horizon Hobby office employees transitioned to working from the safety of their homes.
- This will continue through the end of 2020 and into 2021 until we feel it is safe to return to our campuses.
- Implemented extra sick time for employees to use should they contract COVID-19.
- Raised the company’s base wage and made company sponsored healthcare available to all full-time Horizon Hobby employees and their immediate families.
- Provided technology for employees to work from home including laptop PCs and monitors.
- In the process of upgrading our systems to be cloud-based, allowing for more optimal work at home conditions including video, phone, chat, and a technology stipend.
- Eliminated non-essential business travel and implemented a 14-day quarantine request for any employees who travel outside their local area.
- As essential, employees may go into the office for business-critical work. However, no more than one office employee is allowed in an area at time.
Implications:
Like you, your families and friends, we are adjusting with the regulations and guidance established by local, state and federal authorities.
Out of an abundance of care and concern for our Team Family and our customers, we are prioritizing employee safety over speed.
The second wave of outbreaks and decisions by major school districts and secondary education to be fully or partially remote for the Fall 2020 semester means understanding our new normal and helping our employees deal with those challenges.
We are:
- Understanding of the new challenges faced by parents who are now also full-time childcare providers and teachers.
- Offering flexible work hours for employees who are also now teachers.
- Please be gracious if you hear children, spouses, and four-legged kids in the background.
- Dealing with the infrastructure challenges of rural Illinois: a lack of 5G and hardwired robust internet services.
- During large storms, phone lines often drop and sometimes power fails. Other times, online traffic makes things slow down.
- Encountering delays from our overseas manufacturers and shippers due to their own challenges with staffing and shutdowns.
- Due to the slowdown of the global supply chain and prioritization of essential supplies, some suppliers are behind schedule and shipping takes longer than normal.
What this might mean to you:
- Delivery time: Shipping and delivery date will show longer than what we have come to expect in the past few years.
- Once we give your package to a shipper, it might take them longer than normal to deliver it.
- Please contact your shipper to see if they have delays in your area.
- Backordered Items: Higher numbers of products and parts are no longer In Stock and Backordered.
- We have ordered more supply, but it is taking longer than normal for supply to be refreshed.
- Returns: Due to shipper delays and essential goods prioritization, it may take longer than usual for us to receive your return, follow sanitation protocols, inspect the return, process it, and complete your refund.
- Repairs: Likewise, the shipping of products back to us for repair could be longer, as well as the time to repair the product.
- Customer Service & Support: Services & Support times are currently extended. We apologize for the lengthened hold times on our phones and extended delays in responding to emails. Due to long hold times, we encourage you to check your order status by logging in to your account or entering your order information at My Account
Taken together, these adaptations help us to follow social-distancing protocols to help keep our team and customers healthy.
