PUNE: As businesses like restaurants, salons, gyms, and malls gear up to throw their doors open, experts have stressed on the importance of taking prior appointments to keep Covid-19 in check.
Experts said an appointment system — in place at several restaurants – could also apply to malls, retail stores, boutiques, gyms, and salons, especially since several establishments can operate with some restrictions.
In its recent orders, Pune Municipal Corporation directed beauty parlours, spas, salons, gyms, and wellness centres to serve patrons at 50% capacity, and that too those with prior appointments.
“An appointment system could be adopted in cities where there is easy access to internet or smartphones.
For instance, if a restaurant table is pre-booked, a patron knows s/he will get a table on arriving at the restaurant.
Otherwise s/he may have to wait, either physically with others on the waitlist, or hop from one restaurant to another, coming in contact with more people in the process and increasing the risk of transmission,” senior epidemiologist Amitav Banerjee told TOI.
Banerjee said this risk was now higher, as there could be long queues of people awaiting their turn at places with a 50% occupancy limit.
“Chances of the infection spreading would be reduced outdoors, but with the rains, people will invariably wait indoors,” he said.
Experts said businesses could opt for easy methods, such as creating appointment or reservation apps, to minimize impromptu walk-ins.
“As per transmission evidence, superspreader events are congregated settings.
If congregations are prevented, Covid superspreading will also reduce.
Prior appointments are thus processes which prevent congregations.
But how this is to be implemented will ultimately depend on the establishments or the administration concerned,” Sanjay Pujari from the ICMR National Task Force on Clinical Research for Covid-19, also director of the Institute of Infectious Diseases, Pune, told TOI.
Some experts also said bigger retail stores could push for appointments to control the number of customers on their premises at any given point.
“Even before the pandemic, we would tell our clients to take appointments for hair and skin services, but sometimes they would show up half-an-hour or an hour late.
We are now strict about appointment timings and tell clients to come five minutes early.
Appointments not only help reduce crowding, but can also make operations better and more efficient,” Manasee Dogra, who operates salons in Kharadi and Kalyaninagar, said.
Kritika Dixit, fashion designer and boutique owner, said the appointment system has greatly streamlined her business.
“Due to the pandemic, we have been seeing clients only by appointment.
This has worked well for me, as I am able to give them my full attention without having to worry about and divide my focus on walk-in customers.
In fact, I have started telling clients to take appointments for online consultations as well, where I get on a video call with them and give them my entire focus for an hour.
Post-Covid too, we will continue to rely on appointments as it provides better service to clients, which in turn translates into revenues,” Dixit said.
Many fine-dining restaurants too are encouraging their patrons to seek prior appointments, although some said an appointment system may not always be feasible.
“We are encouraging senior citizens and families with children to make prior bookings for tables before visits.
In such cases, we suggest that patrons come at the time of the reservation and not be late.
However, there is another section of patrons, who prefer impromptu walk-ins while they are out shopping and feel like grabbing a quick bite.
In such cases, pushing for prior appointments is not possible,” Swanand Bhave, founder and brand owner of a restaurant, told TOI.
PMC additional commissioner Rubal Agarwal said restaurants would be allowed to offer only parcel services on weekends, even though operational hours have been extended till 10 pm.
This will help avoid crowding on weekends, she said.