KARACHI: Yes, the supermarkets, stores and chemists have remained open. Yes, the greengrocer, fruit shops and butchers, too. But there have been so many other things that had to be put on hold during the past month of closure during the coronavirus lockdown such as getting haircuts, getting your broken glasses repaired or finding a new frame, getting the fridge or air-conditioner fixed, getting your computer or troublesome smartphone checked with so many other things that have needed attention or maintenance. The cobbler, the tailor, the dry cleaners, the list has been unending.

Now everyone who was waiting for these people and places to provide service just had to come out and visit the markets, which opened on Monday after more than a month. They couldn’t risk not getting the errands done and then what if some other fresh notification shut down everything again. So out they were on Monday, very much out and about!

That they were refused by the shopkeepers is another story, a story which had to do with following of standard operating procedures (SOPs). Most shopkeepers had to turn away everyone coming to them to buy anything.

‘Please note down my WhatsApp number if you need anything; I’ll have it delivered to your place’

All the markets, whether they were in Saddar, Gulshan, Clifton or Defence seemed closed at first. But on closer inspection the padlocks at the bottom of shutters were missing. There were also one or two people roaming outside. Someone was making use of their motorcycle seat, some sitting on the steps outside the shop and some just sitting on the footpath while most stood around looking awkward and out of place.

“Please note down my WhatsApp number if you need anything. I’ll have it delivered to your place. Kindly don’t crowd this place,” said a paint dealer outside his shop.

The luggage shop owner in Saddar also had something similar to say, as did the electronics dealer. Meanwhile, some shopkeepers just said that they were not even offering home delivery services. “We are just here to see what our other colleagues are doing. We are not opening shop,” said one shopkeeper at Gizri.

A mobile phones shop in Khadda Market, off Khayaban-i-Shamsheer, with half of its shutter open beckoned a customer to bend and peep inside to inquire if they had a particular kind of data cable he wanted. They did. And the customer bought not one, but three in case he won’t be able to find it again under these circumstances. The shopkeeper wished him well and informed him that he was his first customer. Then a woman, who noticed the interaction, also approached the shop.

Speaking to Dawn, secretary general of the All City Tajir Ittehad Association Mohammad Ahmed Shamsi said they had only been allowed to open their businesses provided they abided by the SOPs given to them. “So only five or 10 per cent of the shops that could operate online, as per the SOPs, opened shop,” he said.

“Several of the shopkeepers who were just standing outside their shops, as you have described, with the shutters closed behind them were probably those who have not registered with the commissioner’s office. All shops are to register their entire staff, including riders, with the commissioner’s office. Yes, all shops must have riders now if they want to sell something, which will then be delivered at the customer’s doorstep,” he said.

When asked how one could shop when they did not get to check something themselves such as trying out footwear to see if it’s comfortable, put on a new pair of eyeglass frames to see how you looked with them, etc, he said that times were changing and one must move with the times. “The pandemic lockdown is pushing the world into new directions for which the technology had been developed already but we only need to embrace it,” he said.

Meanwhile, many of the shopkeepers after pacing up and down outside their half open shutters went home within two hours even though the time allowed to them was from 9am to 3pm. Still, many stationery shops and dry cleaners remained open during this while as did the usual stores and chemists with shops selling savoury items, fruit and vegetables.

President of the All City Tajir Ittehad Association Sharjeel Goplani also said that the first day of reopening businesses was not so bad for all those following the SOPs. “There are the yellow pages to refer to. Besides, many businesses also had their Facebook pages, etc, through which they had plenty of orders to fill and they did, too. Business owners now need to display and market their merchandise online by developing their websites or through the use of social media.

“Delivering the orders was also no major issue because we can include delivery charges, which covers the fuel charges,” he explained. “There were also business-to-business purchase exchanges so I wouldn’t say it was a waste of time for everyone. It is just something that one needs to get used to in present times.”

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2020