COPING WITH COVID: Herald Office Solutions

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Coping with COVID

SC Biz News is speaking with small businesses and community leaders about the impact of the new coronavirus on business and industry, and how this is changing how they operate.
Contact Andy Owens, aowens@scbiznews.com, with any questions or ideas.

Steve Faucette said the last few weeks have been about education for Herald Office Solutions.

The company provides office supplies to businesses in South Carolina, and Faucette, who works in sales and marketing in Herald’s Charleston office, said he’s had to explain to many customers why they can’t order some of the supplies they’re accustomed to.

“Your first question if you want XYZ is, ‘Why can’t I get XYZ?’” Faucette said. “Sometimes you’ve got to go back and, you know, as gently as possible, explain it. It’s just a case of supply and demand.”

Instead, Faucette said Herald has been providing customers with alternatives to their typical orders.

For example, many companies have been trying to order disinfectant wipes, but those are in short supply as offices and the general population try to stock up to keep their world clean.

“As the marketplace is changing, people are used to grabbing that. Sometimes you’ve to remind them, ‘Hey, there’s no wipes available, but basically what it is is a paper towel and a disinfectant,’” Faucette said.

Herald has also been trying to make sure supply and distribution chains remain open to customers who need supplies.

“You can imagine if you’ve got, you know, 100 cartons of toilet paper and everybody wants to buy it, it becomes kind of a challenge in and of itself to try to distribute this product as best you can easily amongst customers,” Faucette said.

He added that Herald has been trying to avoid having its customers hoard products that others need.

“We’re kind of working through to do the best we can currently with the tools that we have,” Faucette said.

Herald has 11 offices across the state, with corporate headquarters in Dillon.

Faucette said the Charleston office is pretty small, with between 10 and 12 employees, and their workspaces are relatively spread out so, for now, everyone has been coming in to the office.

“Physically here, we’re doing the same types of things … to keep ourselves safe as well,” Faucette said. “But we’ve got a small group here so it’s not like we’ve got a big large office with a bunch of people in it.”

Faucette said the best advice he has for customers is to try to be ahead of the curve and be flexible to alternative solutions.

“Backup options that were available in the past and still are available today might not be what you typically buy, but it’s going to give you the same result,” he said.