Dearest Clients,
We have really appreciated your support over the last couple of years. I mean, you know…it’s been a bit tricky. And now, while we’re not sure if this is good news or bad news, we’re here to tell you our prices have gone up.
Some background:
· We opened Abbotsford just 5 months before Covid hit. It feels a bit like our Covid baby.
· Vedder is our Original location. If you’ve been a client there, you have helped us hold our whole company steady with this anchor through some very challenging seasons, including multiple closures.
· Just before the floods hit, we opened the doors of the District location.
· The Industry Education has kept trucking along, sometimes with breaks of weeks at a time in its’ education program due to sick teachers or students
But you know what? We’re alive. And that is because of you.
I know, you know, we know the prices of EVERYTHING have gone up. We anticipate the cost of our business being impacted fairly close to the projected inflation rate for the year. For us, the biggest difference is the Government’s mandate that all employees receive 5 days sick pay. And here’s the thing: we 100% agree with it – in fact if there is anything the last two years has taught us, it is that life is very unpredictable. As such, we’d love to beat the minimum standard the government sets. It’s our objective, as a BCorp company, to weigh multiple “bottom lines” and our top priority right now is providing as much stability for our employee’s incomes as we can.
To this end, our prices have increased.
This isn’t to cover the increased cost of ongoing operations. Not the cost of products, or shipping, or gas or water. Not even the increased cost of the triple net we pay on our leases or all the other ways we’ve yet to count. Nope. The increase you’ll find in the prices at Refinery House are being set aside to ALL go into the hands of the employees this year. In the form of sick pay or wages or extra days off. It’s our top priority, because like you, the employees make this place alive.
While we love new development, the word for the year is: STABILIZE. You won’t see us announcing new stores or major service changes. This isn’t the year to grow, this is the year to row. To put one foot in front of the other while whisper chanting “we made it.”
We love this place. And we love the people who work here. We’re grateful for them, and we’re grateful for you. Thank you for participating in helping us make this a great place to visit and work.
xo, Heid & Aly