No other choice but to close on Sunday

Overwhelmed by the shortage of labor and pandemic fatigue, more and more merchants and restaurateurs are posting “closed” on Sundays or another day of the week in order to relieve their employees.

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“It was a purely human decision and not a business decision,” explains Geneviève Gagnon, president of the Gagnon hardware stores, located in particular in the Laurentians, Outaouais and Montérégie.

From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, his company decided to put an end to the 7 days a week and to take Sundays off in order to first allow its employees to rest in a period of uncertainty and during which the hardware stores were very busy.

Faced with the beneficial effects, she never considered going back.

Her company can keep and attract staff more easily in the context of a labor shortage, in addition to “diluting” its expertise less and offering better service to customers, she explains.

Many hardware stores like his now close on Sundays.

Moreover, the Quebec Hardware and Building Materials Association continues to ask the government to impose a closure on its entire industry that day.

Difficult for restaurants

However, entrepreneurs don’t always make this kind of decision lightly, as evidenced by several other merchants consulted by the Log (see other texts below).

The restaurant L’Express, a real institution in Montreal, which was open every day except Christmas, is now closed two days a week, Sunday and Monday, since the pandemic.

“We have the impression that we are not fulfilling our mission, deplores the owner, Mario Brossoit. It hurts us a lot, and our customers too. »

He is “bending over backwards” to find the necessary staff to open at least one more day, but he is still very far from the goal, since he is losing “a third” of his usual turnover.

“We barely operate with more than half the staff. We have had announcements everywhere for a year and there is no result, ”observes Mr. Brossoit

A day off

In Quebec, the ImMédia resto-pub is experiencing a similar situation. The director, Marianne De Angelis, must close on Sundays, otherwise she would not be able to take time off.

“For us, it’s the solution and it’s really not because we’re on top of our business, but it’s the only way that we too can stop,” she explains. .

In the restaurant industry in general, the labor shortage is so severe that closing days have become “commonplace” in recent years, according to Martin Vézina, of the Association restauration Québec.

In August 2021, a CROP poll revealed that two-thirds of Quebecers agreed with the closure of non-essential businesses on Sundays. The Legault government had however closed the door to imposing this measure which divided in different industries.

Also open less often

BUSINESS IS ROLLING

A gift shop in downtown Joliette, in Lanaudière, which has not opened on Sundays for seven years, has decided to do the same on Mondays without great financial loss.

“It didn’t affect our turnover, we explained it to our customers, they understood it very well and they come back for other days,” says Claudine Coutu (left), co-owner with his daughter, Caroline Gagnonfrom the Amandine store.

“Often, on Mondays, they are retirees or people who work 3-4 days a week,” adds M^me Gagnon.

However, the store will be open seven days a week in December for the Joliette Christmas Market.

– Simon Dessureault, collaboration special

FAMILY TIME

A better quality of life and family time means a lot to Sylvain Houle-Gélinasowner of the Uniprix pharmacy in Louiseville, Mauricie.

“I may be old-fashioned, but I think it could be beneficial on the human side if it were a trend that was widespread in other companies. When you are closed on Sunday, it allows people to spend a day with their loved ones on the weekend. »

The 23-year-old pharmacist began closing his shop on Sundays in March 2020 when COVID-19 hit.

He wanted to give his employees a break during this stressful period, but he also realized that this decision is beneficial in a context of labor shortages.

“Having an automatic weekend day off is an asset in attracting employees. »

– Louis-Antoine Lemire, special collaboration

HELPED BY THEIR CHILDREN

The Lebanese restaurant Taouk in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, on the South Shore of Montreal, first had to close on Sunday, then on Monday since the pandemic.

Staff are so hard to come by that the owners’ son and sister, who have degrees in marketing and finance respectively from Concordia University, have come in full-time to help out.

“My parents gave a lot during my life, explains Steve Metlej. It’s the least I can do, to help with the business. »

“It hurts my heart that my children, who have wasted a lot of time studying and graduating in the field they wanted, end up working in a restaurant,” laments his father, Marwan Matlej.

The business loses a lot of revenue by closing two days a week and anxiously awaits the arrival of new curriculum vitae.

A TEMPORARY DECISION BECOME PERMANENT

Even with reduced hours, there is a shortage of staff, note Andrée Roberge and Josée Piloteowners of Chant-O-Fêtes Party, in Quebec.

Since the start of the pandemic, the store’s schedule has changed. It closes on Sundays and Mondays and hours are restricted on Thursdays and Fridays.

“We have never been able to reopen as before because there are not enough employees. We already work 50 hours a week. That’s enough,” they say.

They had to give up reopening on Sunday, which was nevertheless a “very profitable” day. They have also had to abandon certain aspects related to the events sector because they do not have the necessary manpower.

“Despite everything, we are still here. It is our livelihood. This is our baby”.

– Diane Tremblay

A MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE

Marianne De Angelis and her mother did not take the decision to close their restaurant on Sundays since 2019, and on Mondays, from the following year.

“It’s the new reality. It’s been a couple of years since it took hold, but there, it’s made dramatic, even nightmarish, the lack of employees, “says Marianne, of the restaurant-pub L’ImMédia, an institution in Quebec for 30 years.

“There is an advantage, it preserves our mental health, she adds. We have a good team, but it has become really cumbersome to manage staff. People have a lot of requests, ”she breathes.

To be able to give respite to its employees and allow itself a break, the restaurant closes during the construction holidays, as well as between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

According to M^me From Angelis, this trend is here to stay.

– Diane Tremblay