San Diego Businesses Planning For Eventual Reopening

Speaker 1: 00:00 Earlier today I spoke about reopening business in San Diego, Jerry Sanders, president and CEO of the San Diego regional chamber of commerce. Jerry Sanders, welcome to the program. Speaker 2: 00:10 Thank you very much, Maureen. I'm happy to be here. Speaker 1: 00:13 Give us an idea of the types of preparation San Diego businesses are making to reopen. Speaker 2: 00:18 Well, there's a couple of task forces that are working on that. Uh, we've got the mayor Faulkner and Greg Cox, uh, task where, uh, there's several, probably about 30 different business organizations that are part of that. But we also hear from a lot of individual businesses about what they're going to need to open, what kind of assurances they're going to need and what type of, uh, uh, lead time they're going to need to get back into business. Speaker 1: 00:43 Do you think some businesses will have to reinvent themselves to operate in this new environment? Speaker 2: 00:50 You know, I imagine probably most businesses are gonna have to reinvent themselves in one way or another. Uh, it's certainly going to be a different customer experience and it's going to be a different experience for the people that work in those businesses. And that's because of the social distancing and a lot of the guidelines that will probably go with opening business. Speaker 1: 01:09 And do you expect some kinds of businesses will have to make actual physical alterations to their spaces? Speaker 2: 01:15 Well, you know, we've already seen that, uh, in supermarkets and in, uh, liquor stores and all that where they have the plexiglass shields. Now, uh, I've talked to some restaurant tours who are talking about, uh, Troy doing increased capacity by putting plexiglass around, uh, different tables and different ways. You know, I also think that we're gonna find that a lot of businesses, uh, are going to be segmented in certain ways that will allow people into some areas and not others until they need to go in there. So I think there's going to be a lot of talk about that. Uh, one of the more interesting conversations I had the other day on something I hadn't thought of at all, and obviously I should have, but, uh, in talking with building operators and owners of high rises, uh, how many people do you let on the elevator at one time? Speaker 2: 02:03 Uh, how do you have lines that cue into that, that are socially distanced and do you need to stagger, start times for different companies on different floors so that you don't have too many people crowding the lobby waiting to get into an elevator. So it's going to require a lot of thought by business. And I think a lot of the associations have already done this. I know the restaurant association has been planning on opening and working with our members and the building owners and uh, even SeaWorld has a tremendous plan put forward, uh, that they'll be able to implement when they're allowed to open. Also. Speaker 1: 02:36 Now the governor is talking about a phased reopening of business. How would you like to see that happen? Speaker 2: 02:41 I'm not sure how you do the phased part. Uh, when we surveyed about 700 members, uh, they said to be back in business and to uh, make it so that it's profitable to be in business. They needed a lot of businesses open. Uh, so they, they rely on foot traffic and things like that. Um, I think the phase part of it will come in with a, you know, we're already seeing the beaches being opened for a water. Uh, then we'll see other things being opened in different ways, but it's going to be a difficult thing to, to phase in unless you, uh, kind of unleash it a little bit. And I think that most business owners want to be safe. They want their patrons to feel safe. Uh, but it's going to be a difficult thing to phase out. Speaker 1: 03:23 So you'd rather see it if it's going to be phased in by area rather than by industry. Speaker 2: 03:28 You know, I think that's probably one way to do it. Uh, industry, uh, we know that they have plans, they'd like guidelines, but they'd also like to be able to work within those guidelines to do things that make sense. And probably that's phasing also so that maybe not everybody comes back in, uh, to an office building at first. Maybe a, they come in on different days. I think it's gonna look entirely different when we come back. And I know just from our staff's experience, many of them feel more productive at home because they save the commute. Uh, they can get right into the calls they have to make and do the things they do. And I see other businesses that are probably going to want to have everybody in and that's going to require a certain phasing to. So you don't crowd the workplace. Speaker 1: 04:11 Now some members of the County board of soups along with some North County mayors, they are urging a May 1st reopening what's the chambers stands on that, Speaker 2: 04:20 you know, we're, we haven't taken a position on window reopen. We certainly think everybody would like to get back to work. Um, certainly the economy needs it and there are a lot of people who are really hurting right now, but we've left that up to the public health experts to set that date. So, you know, I don't consider myself qualified to do that. All I can say is that a lot of our businesses are just chomping at the bit to get back into business. Speaker 1: 04:45 Is that ultimately who decides when and which businesses can reopen public health officials? Speaker 2: 04:51 Well, I, I think it's going to be a combination. Uh, it's going to be the County board of supervisors is going to be the mayors, uh, in consultation with the public health department. Um, because I, I mean, you've got two different interests there and I think that a lot of things are going to have to be weighed, uh, before a mayor or a County board of supervisors going to feel comfortable in opening it and they're probably going to take the lead. But at some point, uh, those are decisions that have to be made by the people who are elected. Speaker 1: 05:19 What have you heard, Jerry, about how the federal, state and local relief packages are helping local businesses stay afloat? Speaker 2: 05:27 Well, you know, I know a lot of them have gotten the relief. I know a lot of, uh, unemployment's going out to the employees who, uh, were laid off. I also know that, uh, it's been very difficult for the banks to process the SBA loans or the PPP loans, uh, because they're just being slammed by so many people who need them and they're spending hundreds of hours and working around the clock to get those into the system. And it seems like the second they get them in, then they run out of money. So, you know, I think that the assistance is coming. Uh, and you know, I don't, we were probably a little unrealistic in thinking it could turn on the spicket that quickly when you think it's the federal government involved and banks and everything else is pretty complicated, a lot of those rules. So I think it's working fairly well now and I think it'll continue to get better. Speaker 1: 06:13 Are the local relief packages more helpful at this point? Speaker 2: 06:16 Well, the local relief packages are great, except they were out of money almost the day they opened. For instance, the city of San Diego, I think by the, uh, by the close of business after they opened that day, they had already had enough, uh, applications. If they couldn't fund all of them. So I, you know, there's just tremendous need out there when you think about the number of people who are unemployed or the number of businesses are just closed down. So I think whatever we do, it's going to be difficult, uh, to get that relief. But I think that that Relief's on its way. And, uh, that's one of the things that opening up businesses again will help out in is that people start being rehired. Speaker 1: 06:51 How much longer do you think some small businesses can hold on before reopening? Speaker 2: 06:56 Well, I'm sure that's going to be individual on all of them. Uh, you know, most small business, uh, is literally, um, you know, their businesses on a credit card almost because they've put their life savings into these businesses. And, uh, there's slim margins and most of them, uh, I talked to a lot of businesses. Our, uh, staff goes, has calls with different groups. Uh, and I, I admire the spirit. A lot of them are transforming the way they do business. Uh, they're changing their business models, they're doing different things with their business. And I think that's what's going to get people through is the innovativeness of the, of the small business. Speaker 1: 07:31 Now many San Diegans have jobs in the gig economy. How is that sector of the business community doing? Speaker 2: 07:37 Well, I think that's tough. Um, you know, I don't see nearly as many lifts or Uber's or, uh, that type of thing. Um, you know, if you're a shopper for the grocery stores, you're probably doing okay. But I don't know that anybody feels real good about it right now. And I don't know a lot of people who really want to get into somebody else's vehicle right now. So that's just, you know, a lot of people are, are, are trying to figure out how to adapt better. Uh, but that's a difficult thing. Getting people to feel good enough about, um, the, you know, catching the virus and being in public. Speaker 1: 08:11 What about our business partners in Tijuana? What's the situation across the border? The Speaker 2: 08:17 situation is almost exactly the same as here. I mean, if you look at the two border cities and uh, you know, our region, they really mirror what we, uh, look like here in terms of business and opportunities and all of that. We know that they've led a lot of the manufacturing, uh, began again, uh, because it was vital to the cross border region. A lot of the businesses in San Diego depend on that cross border traffic in terms of supply chain and it's the same way into one or they really need to have the manufacturing goods that they're working on each good that's produced between the two regions or between the two cities goes back and forth about times. So, uh, having them working and having us working on that is really critical. So we keep the supply chain going. Speaker 1: 09:02 Now the number of covert 19 patients is still on the rise in San Diego County. We've had more than a thousand new cases in just the last two weeks. Six Bay area counties are extending the lockdown through may. So my question is, is it wise for us to begin opening up? Speaker 2: 09:19 You know, once again, I, um, I, I'm only working on the business side, the public health side. I think that's a difficult issue. I think the, uh, uh, the politicians are having to do some soul searching on what's right. And I think the fact that they're so deliberative, uh, and they're trying to get information from both public health and business. I think it means, uh, really thinking through this before they make a decision to switch the economy back on. Speaker 1: 09:44 Okay. Then I've, I've been speaking with Jerry Sanders, president and CEO of the San Diego regional chamber of commerce. Jerry, thank you very much. Speaker 2: 09:52 You're welcome. Thank you. Maureen.