Naughty or nice: Which businesses pleased or peeved Santa in 2020?
Which businesses stood out this year for going above and beyond for customers and staff, and which will be remembered less favourably for their pandemic policies?
The last year has certainly been one that will not be forgotten. The last 12 months have been widely been touted “the worst ever” by people around the world, beginning with the threat of World War three, fires across Australia, and reaching a crescendo when the coronavirus wreaked havoc across the globe, killing more than a million people and decimating economies worldwide.
According to PR specialist Kirsty Leighton, founder of Milk & Honey PR, which has worked with the likes of the University of Cambridge and charity Macmillan Cancer Support, a crisis shows us the best of business behaviours – and the worst.
“Tough times demand inclusivity and mutual support, not defensiveness and self-interest. Modern media, like the ghost of Christmas past, records all: customers, partners and employees will reward those who met bad times with good deeds, and haunt those who muttered ‘bah humbug,’” she said.
With that in mind City A.M. has compiled a festive list that has stood the test of time: Santa’s naughty and nice list, to identify which businesses stood out this year for going above and beyond for customers and staff, and which will be remembered less favourably for their actions during the pandemic.
The ‘naughty’ list
Parcel couriers
If Twitter was in government, parcel couriers would be chained up in the Tower of London. Courier companies have been under pressure during the pandemic for obvious reasons, and having had a run in with Parcelforce myself during lockdown (four phone calls, countless emails and a barrel of tears later I Ubered my package across London instead), I sympathise with all affected.
Twitter has been aghast at the number of late or missing packages – and in November a Hermes delivery man was even caught pretending to place a package outside someone’s front door, only to steal it for himself. One Twitter user summed it up perfectly when she tweeted a screenshot from Hermes that informed her it had her package, and alongside the picture quipped: “Why does this feel like a threat?” For a delivery service that would leave notoriously prompt Father Christmas appalled, parcel couriers in general find themselves on the naughty list.
JD Wetherspoons
JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has had quite the year. From telling the general public Covid-19 – a virus with no concept of the UK’s love of local watering holes – did not spread in pubs, to telling his 40,000-strong staff to go and work in supermarkets when the going got tough, he has never been far from a controversial opinion. For putting profit ahead of public health during the peak of the pandemic, and having seemingly small regard for his staff, Martin, and with him Wetherspoons, has surely earned a place on Santa’s naughty list this year.
Zoom
Zoom has in many ways been our friend and saviour in 2020. Without Zoom, where would all of those phone calls that could have been emails have taken place? Or those weekend quizzes with friends? But alas, even the practically pandemic-perfect business ran into trouble this year.
In 2020 ‘Zoom bombing’ – when trolls exploited Zoom’s technical deficiencies to traumatise individuals using the software – became a thing. Examples of Zoom bombing ranged from pornography to child molestation, and interrupted business meetings and online hangouts with friends across the world. For not updating its security software quite fast enough (and inadvertently forcing employees to watch porn with their bosses), Zoom nabs a place on the naughty list.
Sport Direct
Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley famously argued the shop, which sells trainers, athletic wear and some exercise equipment, should be considered an essential service. When the rest of the high street was shutting up shop and heading into lockdown, Ashley argued Sports Direct provided an essential service and should remain open, at the time with the likes of pharmacies and supermarkets. For suggesting tracksuits carry the same importance as medicine, Sports Direct is on the naughty list.
The ‘nice’ list
Brewdog
Brewdog this year has embodied everything any sensible person needs to get through a pandemic: booze, laughs and hand sanitizer. In March it kicked off the pandemic by producing a hand sanitizer to be distributed to the most in need, and according to an update on its website it has now packaged and distributed more than 50,000 units to the NHS and local charities.
Brewdog needed a way to ensure it could continue to produce the hand sanitizer in the longer term. Following news that Boris Johnson’s right hand man Dominic Cummings drove to Durham when he had coronavirus, Brewdog produced a limited edition IPA called Barnard Castle Eye Test – 100 per cent of the proceeds of which went to funding production and distribution of the hand gel. For taking the edge of, giving us a much-needed laugh, and helping to keep NHS staff safe, Brewdog places firmly on the nice list.
M&S
As has been the case for almost all retail stores, the coronavirus pandemic has not been kind to Marks and Spencer. For the first time in its 94-year history the crisis pushed the retail and food store into the red. The disappointing year has not stopped the chain treating its staff with kindness, however. Following the government’s relaxation of social distancing for five days at Christmas, rather than gearing up for a massive day of sales, M&S granted its staff Boxing day off to spend an extra day with family. For a business decision that provokes an involuntary “aw”, M&S is on the nice list.
Tesco
In recent weeks supermarket giant Tesco announced plans to pay back £585m of business rate relief it received from the government to protect it from the impact of coronavirus. It said returning the funds was “the right thing to do” as many of the risks from the pandemic were now behind it.
The move prompted a domino effect among the UK’s largest supermarkets, with Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Aldi and Asda each pledging to return the emergency funding from the government, the combination of which meant grocers will collectively return more than £1.7bn. For helping to find nearly £2bn during one of the most economically challenging times in history, Tesco earns its place on the nice list.
Timpsons
High street chain Timpsons has long vowed to put the customer at the centre of its business, taking its ‘great service by great people’ slogan literally; for years Timpsons has offered to dry clean the suit of an unemployed individual for free should they need it ahead of a job interview, for example. Timpsons staff have also been consistently treated well, referred to as “colleagues,” and enjoy extra days off for their birthday, bereavements and their child’s first day at school.
The business was no different in its approach to the pandemic. When the shops had to close under lockdown and the business made use of the government’s furlough scheme, Timpsons topped up its employee’s wages to ensure they were still receiving 100 per cent of their salaries. For helping staff during a hard time, Timpsons places on the nice list.