Our COVID-19 Update

12 May 2020

What does Level 2 mean for us?

We are pleased to be able to open our doors to you under Alert Level 2 on Thursday 14^th May.  This will require some cooperation from you in order to do so, and to help ensure the safety of our community.

All branches will have a sanitisation and sign in station.

The first thing we ask of you when you enter any of our branches, is that you stop at the designated spot to sanitise your hands, and fill in the Contact Tracing form. Your privacy is important to us, however in order to remain open and operating we are required to gather this information. We will not use this information, or share it with anyone other than the Ministry of Health. After 2 months these records will be destroyed.

Follow the guidelines instore, and maintain social distancing with other customers and staff.

To make it clear we have marked on the floors to indicate a walkway, and ideal distancing if there are multiple people in the area at the same time. Please follow these and the guidance of our staff.

Minimise contact at all times.

We have set aside a collection area for those who have ordered ahead (we still need you to sanitise and sign in even if you are just popping in to pick something up). If you need to talk to our staff please follow the guides on the floors and allow at least 1m of space from other people. If our staff retrieve something for you, allow them to place it on the counter and step back before coming forward to collect. If you are waiting in a queue, please be patient and only approach when a staff member indicates it is ok to do so. Counters will be wiped down between each transaction.

If you are unwell at all, please stay at home.

If we can all continue to work together as we have been, then hopefully all will run smoothly, and we can keep your operation running smoothly too!

Regards,

Tim Brown
Group Manager

23 April 2020

We are available for all non contact services from Tuesday 28 April 2020

In line with the Government’s announcement on Monday 20 April 2020 on moving to Alert Level 3 we have reviewed this information and it is clear that we will not be able to open our doors to the public during Alert Level 3 (as much as we would like to welcome you into our showrooms!).

HOWEVER we can still operate a full safe and contactless service from behind closed doors.

All customers are asked to still please phone or email ahead for any service they require.

Your sales, service, parts or account query will go to the person covering that department, to ensure contactless delivery or pre arranged collection
 

FOR SALES:

Our Sales team have been and continue to work from home using their mobile phones and emails to communicate with customers for essential sales. However at Alert Level 3 they are now available as always to assist with ALL sales related queries be it for a new stock or custom built forward order tractors, lawncare rideons, compact tractors or any of our quality used tractors and equipment.
 
And don’t forget competitive finance rates are available to approved customers and finance can be applied for online here
 
As per the Alert Level 3 government guidelines we can only provide a contactless service at this time but we will do our best to offer you the best possible SAFE sales service we can.
 

FOR PARTS:

Our full parts service for all equipment is available

• Parts can be ordered and shipped to you directly - you can use the John Deere online catalogue to find your part and send the order direct to branch
• Contactless pick ups can be arranged. In these cases your parts will be left in bins outside our locked premises, with signage and clear labelling to guide you.
• Urgent parts ex our Australian logistics centre are still available, and in general most freight is arriving in normal timeframes, this situation may change, please be patient if delays are experienced. Our teams will keep you informed as much as possible.

 
John Deere Toys, Clothing and Gifts are available - from ride-on toys to jigsaws and replica models! A range of Jackets, Hoodies and T-Shirts are also available.
 
You can view our latest toy catalogue here
 
Please email marketing@sfml.co.nz if there is something specific you are after.
 

FOR SERVICE:

Our service team is back to running at full capacity in the workshop and field services. We ask that you respect the social distancing limit of a 2 metre minimum if one of our team is at your place.
 

Again, please email or phone ahead for any bookings or requirements.

 
We continue to thank you for your patience and support in these challenging times and be assured we are doing all we can to support your business. We look forward to being able to open our doors to you again, once we move from the current Alert Level 3.

Regards,

Tim Brown
Group Manager

26 March 2020

We are open for Essential Services to our

Essential Business customers.

Late yesterday we received confirmation through our John Deere network, and the Ministry of Primary Industry’s, that we are an essential service to our farming community and customers, and can continue to provide essential services to our Primary producer essential clients.

More information on this is available on the MPI website here: https://www.mpi.govt.nz/news-and-resources/media-releases/mpi-sets-up-a-register-for-safe-practice-for-essential-covid-19-businesses/

In doing so we have some limitations we need to make you aware of, but be assured we will continue to work with you, so you can continue to operate your essential business.

The public facing parts of our branches are closed. We cannot allow customer access to our buildings at this time.

All customers are asked to please phone ahead for any services they require.

We are operating normal business hours initially, and will update you if this changes. In addition, our service department will continue to run an afterhours call out service, again the same restrictions on Essential Services only does apply.

Your service, parts or account query will go to the person covering that department – before any work is undertaken we are required to check on the nature of your job to ensure it is essential to your business, and check if there are any risks to our staff - please don’t be offended.

Please do not contact us to request any non-essential services.

FOR PARTS:

For machinery parts that are essential to your business please note the following:

• Parts can still be ordered and shipped to you directly. Most freight and courier companies are still operating.
• Urgent requests and pick ups can be arranged. In these cases your parts will be left in bins outside our locked premises, with signage and clear labelling to guide.
• Urgent parts ex our Australian logistics centre are still available, and in general most freight is arriving in normal timeframes, this situation may change daily during the Pandemic, please be patient if delays are experienced.  Our teams will keep you informed as much as possible.

FOR SERVICE:

Our Service team is running a split shift over the next 4 weeks in the workshop and field services. Limited numbers will help with the required social distancing, and to help contain any risk to our customers and our team members.

Guidance for businesses is on the Government Covid-19 website here: https://covid19.govt.nz/how-were-uniting/

Again, please email or phone ahead for any bookings or requirements.

If a field technician comes to your business location, please practice social distancing – a minimum of 2 metres. This is important to you, and them, to eliminate any risk of spreading the virus.

ACCOUNTS:

For our clients who receive their statements by post, services are limited and delays may be expected in getting these to you - Now might be a great time to try receiving these (and invoices) via email. Simply send an email to our admin team: admin@sfml.co.nz and they will be happy to help you out.

We thank you for your patience and support in these challenging times, and be assured we are doing all we can to support our customers, and provide the best service we can during the Alert level 4 status, and National State of Emergency.

Regards,

Tim Brown
Group Manager

24 March 2020

Hello,

By now you will be well aware of the Governments restrictions that are about to come into effect to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In accordance with this, the doors to our 4 branches (Invercargill, Gore, Mosgiel & Cromwell) will be closed to the public at 5pm today (Tuesday 24^th March), until further notice.

We are still assessing all of the information available regarding the definition of essential services in New Zealand under Alert Level 4 - a full list of entities classified as essential services can be found now on the Government Covid-19 website - you can access the full list on the Government website here.

As we understand it, many of our clients are in the Primary Industries category and therefore we will be offering our support in a limited capacity, beginning with our afterhours call out service to support you this effective from tomorrow.

We are continuing to look under urgency how we can provide essential services as a priority in Parts and Service and will advise details as soon as we can.

It is our priority to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all of our staff, and we are fully supporting those who are able to work from home, and will abide by Ministry of Health guidelines for those who may continue to work in the essential services for our Primary producers.  We'll be in touch soon with more information and guidance on how to work this may look, as soon as it is available.

New Zealand and the world is in unchartered and unprecedented territory and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we develop, and put our plans into place.

Regards,

Tim Brown
Group Manager

19 March 2020

We understand there is a high level of concern in the community, and want you to know that we are taking all necessary precautions to ensure your safety, and that of our staff.

At this stage we are business as usual, and it is our intention to keep it that way for as long as it is practical for everyone involved, and providing it is safe to do so.

We have implemented increased cleaning and sanitation procedures to reflect a stricter hygiene policy, and installed hand sanitizer stations throughout our branches. We are reminding our staff to keep up the increased levels of personal hygiene, and stay home if they are unwell - they are fully supported in this.

We are listening closely to the Governments advice and guidance on this, as it is unchartered territory for us all.

Fortunately we live in a time of digital communication, so our preference is for you to please drop us an email, send us a txt, or pick up the phone and that way we can all do our part to lessen the person to person contact.

With this increased activity on our phone service, if we are not able to attend to you immediately please leave a message, and we will act on your request as soon as possible.

As this situation effecting us all evolves we will continue to provide updates via social media, our website and any other means where practical.

Stay safe and well.

Regards,

Tim Brown
Group Manager

If you would like further information, please refer to:

https://covid19.govt.nz/