Day 1: Frustration sets in
By Deborah Adamson
Advertiser Staff Writer
Even before bus workers went on strike yesterday, Wally Soares started feeling its effects.
Bus strike blues? Here's what small businesses can do. • Stagger employee hours to cover for those who might be late finding alternative transportation • Set up an office carpool • Since a bus strike means more traffic on the roads, choose pickup and delivery times that avoid morning and afternoon rush hours • Be flexible with schedules • Be patient with employees Source: Small Business Hawai'i
On Monday night, his Kapahulu business had to stay open about two hours past the regular closing time because customers wanted to make last-minute purchases before buses stopped operating.
Tips for owners
Because Island Skill Gathering sells products and services to the disabled and elderly people who rely on the bus, Soares' business is particularly vulnerable to a prolonged strike.
"It actually affects our business quite greatly," said Soares, who owns the business with his wife, Valerie. "Disabled folks, a lot of them take the bus ... Seniors that come here rely on the bus."
Just before noon yesterday, Soares sent an employee to pick up a customer; he said other clients have called in to say they would wait out the strike. Some Maui customers are arriving and he'll pay for their $50 roundtrip cab rides from the airport.
The bus strike is costing him money, and he doesn't like it.
"Small businesses like us are continually picking up the tab," Soares said.
The O'ahu bus strike that began yesterday has affected small businesses to varying degrees, with those serving the elderly and handicapped or directly on bus routes facing the biggest challenges.
Some owners are frustrated about confronting yet one more obstacle in the difficult world of entrepreneurship, especially at a time when the economy is staging a recovery.
The effect on business goes beyond a decline in sales but also affects manpower. Employees who take the bus to work now have to find car-pool partners or alternate means of arriving — which could play havoc with small-business schedules. In mom-and-pop operations, usually the owners take up any slack. They cover for late workers, or pick them up if possible — all of which adds to their work hours and costs.
They don't have the deeper pockets of larger businesses such as Hilo Hattie, which has its own bus and trolley system. Paul deVille, its president and chief executive, said the company changed its policy to allow employees to ride company buses and trolleys in anticipation of the strike.
"I feel for other businesses who aren't quite so lucky, with no transportation already built in," he said.
For her part, Violeta Arnobit, co-owner of Ace Medical Inc. in Waipahu, tries to understand if some employees come in late because they car-pool.
"It's important to be flexible," she said. "We have to help each other."
Others are setting limits.
Lee Martin, general manager of the Personal Touch computer store in Kaka'ako, said he'll pick up employees who live around him. But if workers say they can't come to work because of the strike, "I'll say, 'Start walking,' " he said.
Arnobit said the strike could put a dent in business from walk-in seniors who buy medical supplies and equipment at her company's Salt Lake and Waipahu stores and comprise 15 percent of sales. Furthermore, if Ace has to make more free deliveries because of the strike, costs will rise.
"I think it will have a big impact," said Arnobit. "It really affects all of us."
The strike hit Chinatown hard, with traffic at some restaurants falling by 40 percent, said Terrill Chock, president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
"The crowds are substantially less," he said.
Even the Chinatown tour for tourists attracted no one yesterday, Chock said.
"There was nobody there. It hasn't happened in years," he said.
So far, businesses aren't complaining about the falloff since the strike just started, Chock said. The real test will come if the strike lasts for more than a week and Chinatown remains in a slump.
Some business, such as retailer Cinnamon Girl in Kaka'ako and Dave's Ice Cream in Pearl City, say they haven't been affected yet.
"It's too early to tell," said Thomas Oh, Cinnamon Girl's chief financial officer. "Hopefully, the strike will be over in the next few days."
David Leong, president of Dave's Ice Cream, said people are adjusting to the new situation.
"Once people are pulled out of their normal routine, they will behave differently," he said. However, "it's stressful for everyone involved."
Reach Deborah Adamson at dadamson@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8088.
