Is your business equipped for a lockdown? The Coronavirus hits...

Originally Posted by Barney

“I like to do my best, love to get things down to the nitty gritty...... I was going to say at least this gets us away from the humdrum topic of locks.......... But talking about lockdowns and lockouts will just encourage it....

 ”

Hahaha that's the first time I've laughed in days. Thanks Barney!

Who on earth are the upper class? What ho chaps, here comes the squire arriving in his carriage.

Or does that make us all lower class? Personally I work for a living, so I guess I'm working class

I think you'll find everyone is struggling. To be honest, unless you are Apple or Amazon, it's tougher for the big boys. Imagine running an airline right now, or a High Street Chain? I think SME's will have the flexibility to ride out the storm better than corporations with stationary assets, or empty stores hemorrhaging money and making no revenue.

Unfortunately, I suspect a few big names that were already in financial distress, the likes of Debenhams, John Lewis etc won't be coming out the other side.

Obviously not you.......

on a serious note, I just work a couple of days a week now... weirdly doing the job I wanted to do when I was in my 20s..... driving a bus.... anyway the company has furloughed 80% of people at my depot.... with more to follow this week...... the company itself is haemorrhaging £11million a week at present.... we’re just driving around in empty buses....

Both my wife and I are furloughed for the foreseeable future... Although we in this country are extremely lucky to be able to get this ..My friend In Oz is getting on 15% of her salary and my friends in South Africa are battling to get help as well

Originally Posted by Barney

“Obviously not you.......

on a serious note, I just work a couple of days a week now... weirdly doing the job I wanted to do when I was in my 20s..... driving a bus.... anyway the company has furloughed 80% of people at my depot.... with more to follow this week...... the company itself is haemorrhaging £11million a week at present.... we’re just driving around in empty buses....”

You packed up the plumbing? I know you said you were going into semi-retirement. Now I started out driving wagons and buses, and still miss it  

Bus companies must be crippled, you can furlough staff, but you still have depots, maintenance, and overheads.

I see my prediction about Debenhemans didn't take long, twitter is full of noise that they have alerted the administrators and are on the brink of collapse

I think overall the Government response hasn't been too bad, although I seem to have fallen into the 5% that isn't entitled to anything. So I've pasted a few more adverts on the site to keep the amazon deliveries of wine and chocolate going. Bugger, prob will get arrested now for saying that  

On a serious note though, I do genuinely worry about the impact post-crisis. As a country we're taking on a lot of borrowing, but it still won't stop some big names from folding. So we'll have a double whammy of higher unemployment and some kind of new austerity measures to stop UK PLC going bust. But we are in a much stronger position than a lot of countries, so it could rebound into opportunity.

Obviously once Brexit has been sorted (remember that?) 

I don't get any help either as I've only been earning decent money the last tax year and it doesn't even count it.

Being furloughed when you’re on £100k a year can’t be bad though?

Yup.... made some seriously bad decisions over the last couple of years....... spent £25k on a new transit van.... to go couriering for Amazon..... told them to shove their parcels where the sun doesn’t shine... after 3 days..... went to another courier company told them to shove it where the sun doesn’t shine after 10 days......  sold van for £17k....  delivered food for Uber...  then saw an advertisement for bus driver apparently they are always looking.... wasn’t looking for a career or anything just something part time..... pay really is rubbish...... but there are a lots of perks, pension, shares, discounted shopping and healthcare...... first time I’ve ever been in a union too... good ole Len... top geezer on his £150 k plus wage....... weirdly I enjoy the job as you’re left alone to get on with it during the day........ lots of pettiness with the controllers and management..... and also oddly the amount of ‘bus spotters’...... who’d have thought......just plain weirdos young and old...

Originally Posted by Steve.Richardson

“You packed up the plumbing? I know you said you were going into semi-retirement. Now I started out driving wagons and buses, and still miss it  

Bus companies must be crippled, you can furlough staff, but you still have depots, maintenance, and overheads.

I see my prediction about Debenhemans didn't take long, twitter is full of noise that they have alerted the administrators and are on the brink of collapse ”

Nowt wrong with a bit of bus and lorry spotting 

Blimey, now a union man!! One out, all out...

I preferred driving lorries because I'm naturally antisocial, and coach jobs tended to be driving round drunken squaddies to various events or going round in circles on camp shuttle getting abuse! So prob pretty similar to you