Olà!
At vida e caffè our staff and our customers are at the centre of everything we do. vida e caffè is fully aware of the risks posed by the spreading Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection and has been monitoring international and domestic communications issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Department of Health (DoH) and National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).
vida e caffè strictly adheres to legislation and policies as issued by the DoH and enforced by our district municipalities. All our stores have been verified by health inspectors and have Certificates of Acceptability on display which can be viewed at any time.
The health and safety of our customers and employees remain our number one priority and vida e caffè follows stringent hygiene practices which include regular hand-washing and sanitising of all surfaces in store and at head office .
We will not take even the slightest of risks and have implemented additional hygiene practices at all our stores. These include:
- Frequent hand washing for 20 seconds with soap and water or the use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer every 30 minutes. This will be enforced instead of the use of rubber gloves, unless staff are preparing food back-of-house, then gloves are compulsory.
- In addition, it is compulsory for our Baristas to sanitize their hands before each and every coffee, otherwise, your caffè is on us!
- We offer our customers alcohol-based hand sanitisers at our store entrances and at the point-of-sale.
- All table tops, sanitizers and card machine touchpads, as well as door handles and any other surface that can house this virus, are cleaned regularly throughout the day.
- All takeaway lids and stirrers usually stored in the condiment unit upfront have been removed. The barista will offer you what you require upon request.
- Staff to be monitored daily and reporting of any flu-like symptoms will be escalated to our operations team.
- We will no longer accept reusable cups, however, we will honour the R 2.00 discount if you bring your cup.
- All beverages to be served in takeaway cups only. We have also removed our complimentary water stations.
- We encourage the use of our Mobile app to pay in-store to avoid cash or card handling. You can also use the Order Ahead feature to collect your order quickly.
- Working from home? Self-isolating? Remember we are on Mr D and Uber Eats, and working closely with these partners to deliver fresh food and coffee.
- Our food menu is now limited, but all hot and cold beverages are still available. We will always try to keep your vida favourites where we can.
We have also shared these eight simple health habits with our staff and encourage our customers to follow the same to reduce your risk of contracting the virus. When practiced these rules also reduce your risk of contracting other flu-strains and bacterial illnesses:
- Wash your hands often, especially after direct contact with people who are ill, or after being in environments where sick people are cared for, like hospitals. Remember to wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds – even if they are not visibly dirty.
- Avoid close contact with people who have acute respiratory tract infections.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Practice cough etiquette – when you cough, keep your distance from others. Cover your mouth and nose with clothing, or with a flexed elbow or a tissue (discard it immediately) and wash your hands immediately afterwards.
- Clean and disinfect frequently-touched objects and surfaces like your cell phone, keyboard, steering wheel, door handles and countertops.
- Avoid eating raw or undercooked animal products. Handle raw meat, milk and eggs with care to avoid cross-contamination with other uncooked foods. Use different cutting boards and knives for raw meat, fish, vegetables and fruit. Wash your hands between handling raw food.
- Do not eat the meat that comes from animals that have died of diseases.
Further to the above, we have sent correspondence to stores with more specific guidelines and processes. We will continually update status and required actions as we monitor the situation in the forthcoming days, weeks and months.
vida e caffè remains vigilant and in contact with the DoH to ensure that we receive all relevant communications and are implementing the correct measures to prevent the spread of the virus as far as possible
Our staff and our customers remain high priority. Your health and wellness is our top priority and we will continue to use the highest health and safety measures to minimise any potential risk.
We are also aware of the risks associated with misinformation and fake news and only follow official and credible resources for information. We encourage you to do the same.
World Health Organization (WHO)
National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NCID)
Yours sincerely,
Darren Levy
CEO