Central England Co-operative has launched a new call and collect service to help vulnerable people with their shopping.
The service is available to all Central England members, who can access it by calling a dedicated number to place their order. Their local food store will pick and pack the order and have it ready for collection the afternoon of the following day.
The items can be collected from the store by the member or a nominated person. Payment will be taken over the phone from the retailer’s head office.
Chief executive Debbie Robinson said: “Supporting our members is at the heart of what we do. We know some members may need help in getting the food they need during these uncertain times.
“This is why we have launched our call and collect service, exclusively for mMembers who may need that help.
“All members have to do is follow some simple steps and they, or a nominated person, will be able to place an order and pick it up with ease.
“We have been committed to helping communities access food and vital essentials during this global pandemic and this is just another way we can continue to do just that.”
The retailer, which runs 240 stores across 16 counties, has also recently announced that opening hours at its stores are returning to normal based on feedback from customers.
Paul Dennis, retail director at the society, said: “I would like to thank our members and customers for their support during these uncertain times.
“We have all had to change the way we shop to keep our colleagues and customers safe and we continue to monitor and update what we are doing in our stores to ensure this remains the case.
“With that in mind we have listened to the feedback of our customers and this is why we are returning the opening hours of our stores to normal.
“Our supply lines have been great during the coronavirus pandemic and our shelves stocked with all the food and essentials our communities need.
“Thank you to our customers once again for their continued support and also to our hardworking colleagues who continue to go above and beyond.”
Since the start of the pandemic, the society has introduced a series measures in stores aimed at keeping customers and colleagues safe including social distancing, gloves and hand sanitiser, over 1,000 checkout screens, 7,000 face visors for colleagues and over 150 security guards to help with queues.
