Final COVID-19 Update – June 16, 2022

Dear customers!

COVID-19 HEALTH AND SAFETY PROTOCOLS

(updated: June 16th, 2022)

With restrictions being lifted almost everywhere, and since the majority of our customers are no longer wearing masks, we have finally reconfigured the store to a near pre-COVID layout. Most of the Plexiglas shields are gone, the entry chute is no more, and most of our staff are now choosing not to wear masks. A few of us still are wearing masks, especially if we have loved ones that we are concerned about, but even I take my mask off at my desk unless I am closely interacting with a customer or walking through the store. We are leaving it entirely up to the individual now, whether or not they want to wear a mask.

With all these changes, we’ve decided to remove most COVID info (save for this extended blog posting) from our website as well. Obviously if things change again, we may reconsider, but for now, well… for all intents and purposes, it’s pretty much business as was usual before the global pandemic happened! This will likely (and hopefully!) be the final update to this posting…

Oh, but I should add one more thing though: supply chain issues are still ongoing, and have been since COVID hit. Many products are still taking a very long time to come in, and many camera manufacturers require that we update them on pre-sold items, since quite often we won’t be shipped hard-to-come-by items just for “shelf stock.” So for the time being, you should never plan on buying a new item just before needing it for an important job, for for a trip, etc. If it is a relatively new, highly sought-after item, you might find yourself disappointed at the delay!

Do note however that when compared to large dealers like B&H Photo, Amazon and the like, small pro dealers like ourselves will sometimes get shipments for highly sought after pre-sold products even before the big dealers, so don’t automatically assume you’ll get something quicker by ordering online. It has happened on numerous occasions, that a camera rumour site says that a certain new item is sold out “everywhere” and can’t be found, yet we had stock on the shelf for many weeks or even months before!

 

(updated: May 18, 2022)

No major changes since our March 12th update. We still suggest that you consider wearing a mask while in our store, however we do not require it. Many of our staff, myself included (I have a 91 year old dad that I visit), are still choosing to wear a mask throughout most of the day, but we now have a few staff members that are choosing not to. If you are uncomfortable dealing with an unmasked staff member, feel free to say something and they will don a mask while they help you out, or find someone else to assist you. I will note that these days, many of our customers are choosing to shop without masking up.

As an aside, exactly 42 years ago, another event caused many in the western Canada and the US to mask up for safety!

 

(updated: March 12, 2022)

Recently, BC Provincial Health has lifted the mask mandate and no longer requires adults to wear a protective face covering when indoors in stores. We will no longer require customers to mask up when in our store either, but we do kindly suggest that for the time being, you please continue to do so. We will continue to have hand sanitizer available for you and will continue with our existing COVID-19 cleaning protocols as well. While we monitor the reported COVID-19 case load over the next few weeks to see if there is a spike with the lifting of the mask mandate, our staff will continue to remain masked in the store for your protection. If after a few weeks it becomes apparent that the infection rate is under control, then we may stop wearing masks ourselves and will no longer politely suggest you do so either.

Also note that we have a few in-store product demo events scheduled in the near future, and depending on the situation, we may still require that you wear a mask to these since there will be more people concentrated into a smaller area than with normal customer visits to our store. However going forward, depending on the situation, we may abolish that requirement as well. Please watch this page for further updates.

 

(updated: Nov 17th, 2021)

BC Provincial Health Orders currently require adults wear a mask when indoors. We continue to follow these safety protocols in store and ask that you do too. Our online store is available for those not wishing to come into the store, and we are happy to help you via email or phone as well. Please feel free to contact us with any questions an concerns.

**Update to Sensor Cleaning Policy**

We no longer require cameras dropped off for sensor cleaning to be quarantined for 72hrs. You are welcome to drop off your camera any time but please allow 24-48hrs for cleaning to be completed. If you require a faster service please call ahead and we will do our best to accommodate where possible.  However, we are still not currently offering a “while you wait” sensor cleaning service or training session. Please visit our sensor cleaning service page for more info: https://www.beauphoto.com/sensor-cleaning-service/

(updated July 2, 2021)

The province begins its next phase of re-opening in July. With many people not yet fully vaccinated, and others with compromised immune systems, we want to ensure Beau is a safe place to be and that everyone stays healthy so you can get out and have some great photographic adventures. Our staff will continue to wear masks and we ask that our customers do too. We will also be continuing with all other COVID safety precautions. We will revisit our policies regularly and continue to follow the advice of health officials. So, for those of you that will be coming in-store, you won’t be seeing any changes from before. The masks, plexi barriers, and sanitizer stations will still be here. We look forward to seeing all of you here in the shop!

 

 

(update: November 12, 2020)

As we continue our best efforts to maintain a safe environment for our customers and staff while in the store, we have updated a few of our policies.

We now require anyone entering the store to wear a mask or face covering. We also ask that you sanitize your hands with the sanitizer provided at the entrance and throughout the store. If you are going to be testing any gear in store we ask you to sanitize your hands again before you touch the equipment. Please be sure to refrain from touching your face or mask as well when you are in the store browsing. We still ask that you keep your distance from staff and other customers while in the store as well.

Printing and Scanning Station Update: Our self-serve work station is open to those customers comfortable with printing or scanning on their own that do not require an in depth tutorial. We are here to help you with any troubleshooting, paper choices or to get you started though! Please call or email ahead to book a time to use the station.

It is also important that the work station is limited to one person at a time. We appreciate that your friends love to hang out at Beau Photo while you print, but we ask at this time they do not come with you to keep you company.

We greatly appreciate the continued support we have received from all our wonderful customers and we are always here to support all your photographic needs! If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to call or email the store and we will do our best to help you out.

We are happy to continue curb side pick-up, phone or email orders and even more excited for our new online ordering!! If you need to order anything for pick up in store or to be shipped out to you, check out our new online ordering system!

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(updated October 21, 2020)

It has been a while since we updated this page! Where has the year gone? Since the start of September, all the staff at Beau Photo have been diligently wearing face-masks throughout the majority of the day, especially when dealing with customers. Masks are no longer optional for staff! We also strongly encourage all customers entering the store to wear a mask or face shield as well. Thankfully our new store is spacious, so we are not yet turning away people without masks, however that could change depending on guidance from the medical community. We continue to ask that customers sanitize their hands upon entering the store, and if they are browsing for a longer period of time, that they also re-sanitize in between handling any products.

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(updated May 30, 2020)

Normal store hours have resumed!  We are open from 8:30am – 5:00pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and 8:30am – 7:00pm on Thursdays. We are also open Saturdays from 10:00am – 2:00pm. See the May 25th update below for a rundown of our current COVID-19 policies and protocols.

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(updated May 25, 2020)

The health and safety of our customers and staff are the number one concern for Beau Photo. We have undertaken a number of both new and increased measures, in order to ensure that everyone stays healthy. Starting June 1st, 2020, we will be back to regular store hours, including 7pm Thursday’s, however we will be sure to, at minimum, continue implementing official requirements for physical distancing (6 feet, or approx. 2 meters) and sanitization procedures as they evolve. Here is what we are doing at present…

CUSTOMERS

• We have a limit of up to 8 customers (including the entry queue) in the store at a time. You will be asked to wait in the queue until you are called and we ask that you respect the physical distancing marks on the floor. We are encouraging people to make appointments in advance to save time.
• Customers may arrange for most items to be invoiced and paid for over the phone, then either pick-up at the door or even have the purchase delivered to their car if parked out front of the store. Alternatively, we can ship purchases to you, even if you are in the Lower Mainland. High value purchases may require customers to enter the store and present their ID and credit card in person.
• As per the City of Vancouver requirements, the 6 foot minimum distance in-store must be respected at all times. We will be reminding people of this as necessary. Please note and respect the orange markings on the floor!
• People are not to enter if they aren’t feeling well or if they should be self-isolating (as posted on our front door and as per WorkSafeBC).
• There is hand sanitizer that must be used upon entering the store. We also encourage customers to bring and wear a mask while browsing & shopping.

STAFF

• Staff have been instructed not to come in if they are not feeling well.
• Staff have been instructed to use masks if dealing with customers for an extended period.
• Staff are regularly sanitizing their hands throughout the day and after each customer transaction.
• Staff have been instructed to maintain the 6 foot physical distance and if that is not possible, to use a mask.
• Staff will be monitoring to ensure that everyone maintains the 6 foot guidelines.
• All credit card terminals and pens will be wiped down after each use.
• All regularly used touch points are cleaned frequently throughout the day.
• Any merchandise handled by staff or customers will be disinfected or quarantined for 72 hours.
• Staff have been given detailed cleaning procedures for the rest of the store which include sanitizing all counters, barriers and again, all touch-points.

ENGINEERING

In order to keep track of the number of people in store, there is now a separate aisle for people to line up when they enter the store before they are told by staff that they can enter the main showroom. Floor areas have been taped off in red as a guide to ensure proper 6 foot physical distancing. In addition, vinyl barriers have been installed at the main customer/staff contact points and billing stations. Signs have been placed both outside and inside the shop regarding the COVID-19 procedures for both staff and customers.

RENTAL DEPARTMENT

All returned items will be disinfected and/or put in a minimum three day quarantine (depending on the item) to eliminate any potential viruses. Hands are sanitized before handling any items going out, or handling paperwork & pens. We have a bottle of alcohol/hand sanitizer spray at the Rentals desk at all times for employee and customer use. Please note the following in-store procedures for rental equipment…

For gear going out…
– All gear that is going out has been sanitized or held in quarantine for 72 hours.
– Staff and customers are to sanitize their hands before handling rental gear, credit card terminals and pens. The credit card terminal and pens are cleaned after each use.

For gear coming in…
– We disinfect gear that is easily disinfected, like lenses & bodies, anything with hard surfaces.
– Gear that is not easily disinfected is quarantined for at least 72 hours.

See the main Beau Photo Rental page for updates on COVID-19 rental procedures.

CONSIGNMENTS

All new consignments will be taken by appointment only. If possible, we ask that the items be cleaned and disinfected before they are dropped off (please ask us how to clean them if you aren’t sure). Those items will then be held for at least 72 hours before they will be evaluated.

PRINTING STATION

Our self-serve printing station is open for use by appointment. IMPORTANT: we currently suggest that anyone using the station wear a mask, and they must disinfect their hands with the provided sanitizer prior to touching anything at the station. Beau Photo staff will take care of loading the requested media into the printers. Due to requisite physical distancing, we will not be able to provide any direct hands-on tech support while they use the station. The station will be carefully disinfected after each use.

SHIPPING AND RECEIVING

Our shipping/receiving loading bay is set up with physical distancing in place for everyone’s health and safety. Staff are instructed to wash hands or use sanitizer before packing any orders or touching merchandise. If more than one staff person is needed to unload a truck, masks are to be used by all staff.

COVID-19 CLEANING PROCEDURES

• Upon arrival at work, all staff wash their hands before immediately disinfecting their work station; phone, keyboard, mouse, stapler and any other pertinent item.
• Hand sanitizer or alcohol is used by staff between soap/sink washings
• After each customer has left the store, we disinfect payment stations, door knobs, handles, and surfaces that they may have made contact with before helping the next customer.
• Any equipment that is touched by either staff or customers is disinfected or quarantined for 72 hours before being put back.
• At the end of each day, workstations are again disinfected: phone, keyboard, mouse, stapler, payment stations and any other pertinent items.
• Finally, at the end of each day, there is a much deeper and broader clean with: disinfecting handles, doorknobs, glass case doors, vinyl barriers and all surfaces that come into contact with staff and clients throughout the day

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Update (April 17, 2020): For your convenience, starting Monday, April 20th, our store hours will be somewhat expanded again. We will be open Mon-Fri 9:30am – 2:00pm, and Saturday from 10:00am – 2:00pm for customers to pick up orders.

Please note that all orders for curbside pick up must be pre-paid. If there is equipment or a rental you need that you would like to come in to discuss, please email or call us to make an appointment. Phone lines will be open as well on the designated pick up days during the stated time.

All orders will be picked up through our shipping/receiving loading bay with physical distancing in place for everyone’s health and safety. We ask when you come to pick up your order you please respect the staff and other customers that may also be picking up an order and keep at least 2 meters away.

We will also be shipping orders during this time as well, so if you would rather not come to the store we are happy to send an order to you anywhere in Canada.

For general item inquiries, or to simply place an order, please email info@beauphoto.com or call the store during the times mentioned above. To email a specific department directly, please use the form on our Contact Page. To inquire about a rental, please email Jason at rentals@beauphoto.com.

Our self-serve printing station is open for use. Please call ahead to book a time and to check if we have the media you want on hand. IMPORTANT: we currently  require that anyone using the station wear a mask, and that they disinfect their hands with the provided sanitizer prior to touching anything at the station. Beau Photo staff will take care of loading the requested media into the printers. Due to requisite physical distancing, we will not be able to provide any direct hands-on tech support while you use the station.

We appreciate and value all the community support we have received during this time and we look forward to seeing you all again soon!

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Update (April 6, 2020): As we remain closed for the foreseeable future, we are doing our best to help you all out remotely. We will also be open for curb-side pick up in the following weeks as detailed below. We will update this page as the situation evolves.

Pick up days will be Monday, Thursday and Saturday between the hours of 10:30am – 2:00pm.

Please note that all orders for curb-side pick up must be prepaid. The front door to the store will remain closed and we will not be allowing any customers in to browse the store. However, phone lines will be open on the designated pick up days from 10:00am to 2:00pm. If you are a new customer, we will require that you come into our store and provide ID for credit-card payments. Please call ahead for details on how best to arrange for a purchase or if  arranging for an equipment rental!

All orders will be picked up through our shipping/receiving door with physical distancing in place for everyone’s health and safety. We ask when you come to pick up your order you please respect the staff and other customers that may also be picking up an order and keep at least 2 meters away.

We will also be shipping orders this coming week as well, so if you would rather not come to the store we are happy to send an order to you anywhere in Canada.

To inquire about an item or place an order please email info@beauphoto.com or call the store during those times mentioned above at 604-734-7771.

We appreciate and value all the community support we have received during this time and we look forward to seeing you all again soon!

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STORE CLOSURE – Update (March 20, 2020): In order to ensure the safety of our customers and staff, today we have made the difficult decision to close our store for two weeks. Note that we will not be open tomorrow, Saturday March 21, but today (Friday the 20th) we are open until 5pm as usual. At the moment, the plan is to reopen our store on Monday, April 6th, but of course as the whole situation evolves, that date could still change. Please watch this page, or our social media, for updates on this!

While we are closed, staff will be monitoring work emails from home and replying back in as timely a manner as is possible. If you have any desperate need for equipment purchases, or for rental equipment, please don’t hesitate to email the relevant dept., since we will be able to make arrangements to help take care of any truly urgent needs by having some staff meet you at our shop. At this time, we don’t plan on being able to answer any phone calls or to pick up any voicemails to our store, so please email us instead or use social media to contact us.

Also, if you have any outstanding backorders with us, they will be handled once we reopen for business. However as mentioned, if the backorder is for an urgently needed item, please contact the relevant dept. and we may be able to make arrangements to somehow receive the item and get it to you even while we are officially closed. Please note however that we have informed our suppliers to put a hold on any backorders until such time that we reopen again. We will make an effort to ensure items that are currently in transit do make it into our store. If you are not comfortable meeting us at our store, which would be understandable, we can also arrange to ship out urgently needed items to you, although shipping days will probably be limited.

As far as items you may have dropped off with us for repair, we have informed our suppliers and repair shops to please contact us about completed repairs on a case-by-case basis, since we may be able to make arrangements to have the items dropped shipped to you directly.

We are planning on continuing to update our website, post to Facebook, Instagram and so on, even while we are closed, since we want to be able to carry on supplying you with relevant photography related news and content, as well as entertain you with photos, tips, tricks, opinions and reviews!

Most importantly we all hope that you, our customers, as well as your friends and families, all manage to stay safe and healthy! Please follow all published guidelines with respect to self-isolation and social distancing. However, presuming you are not in self-isolation, perhaps use this opportunity to get out and enjoy taking photos for yourselves again, instead of doing so just for clients! Stay away from crowds of course, but a nice springtime walk out in nature, camera gear in hand, can make for a welcome distraction from all of this insanity!

Once this is all over, we look forward to welcoming you at our store again with open arms, to help you with all of your photographic purchase and rental needs!

Best Wishes to all for a healthy future,
The Staff at Beau Photo Supplies…
Angie, Carol, Kathy, Meghan, Nicole, Hunter, Sean, Jason, Mustafa, Ken and Mike!

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We would like to reassure you by stating the steps we are taking during this time of uncertainty during the current COVID-19 virus pandemic. Until further notice, Beau Photo Supplies will remain open for business with our regular store hours implemented. We have started a cleaning and disinfecting protocol here at the store as follows…

• Rental equipment will be be wiped down with disinfectant before it is packed to go out, and after it is returned to us.
• We have hand sanitizer liquid for customer use, and ask that anyone who wants to handle any used gear or other products at our store first sanitize their hands.
• We are regularly wiping down and disinfecting surfaces and countertops that customers may come into contact with.
• Our staff are washing their hands or using hand sanitizer on a regular basis.
• The building superintendent is making a point of cleaning the bathrooms multiple times per day, disinfecting faucets, door handles and other things people may be in contact with on a regular basis.

If you, as a customer, are nervous about coming into our store, we are more than happy to discuss things on the phone or by email, and ship anything you’d like to order from us, even if you are local here in Vancouver. Our shipping dept. knows to be diligent with hand sanitizer, before packing any items to ship out. In addition, we are offering curb-side pickup of orders, if you would prefer not coming into our store. We would be happy to take payment over the phone and can invoice in advance to make your purchase as quick and efficient as possible.

At the same time, we also ask that you, as a customer, refrain from visiting our store if you have any doubts about your own health, and encourage you to follow self-isolation protocols if you have returned from a country or location with significant COVID-19 cases. Our own staff members are diligently following those protocols as well. As mentioned, we are more than happy to help you over the phone or by email, and ship you any product you need to purchase.

• UPDATE (March 19, 2020): We have decided to close our store at 5pm today, Thursday March 19th, rather than our usual 7pm. While we remain open, we will likely continue to close at 5pm on Thursdays, until things are back to normal!
• UPDATE (March 18, 2020): Until further notice, we are not accepting any digital cameras for sensor cleaning. Also, with the escalating push for social distancing, we may be forced to limit the number of customers in our store at any given time, and may even implement sales by appointment only. We are intending to remain open over the next few days at least, however depending on the how things continue to develop, we may be forced to close our store entirely for a period of time to ensure the safety of our customers and staff. However, we are working with shipping companies and rental customers in order to ensure that critical business is taken care of. If you anticipate any near future urgent purchases, this week would be the time to contact us! Even if we close our doors though, we will be available via email and social media, and may be able to schedule short specific times where there could be someone at the store to assist with your needs. There are links to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at the very top right of every page on our site. Please do not hesitate to call, email or message us with any questions you may have!

Lastly, if you are practicing social distancing, or even self-isolation, or are finding jobs being cancelled or postponed, there are ways that you can keep yourself occupied. Don’t dwell on the negative aspects of the situation, but rather use your newfound extra time to organize or backup your photos, or get caught up on personal projects that may have been put on the back-burner. Reach out to existing clients to remind them of you and your business, or perhaps approach new potential clients to drum up some new business for when the world returns back to normal! Take the time to explore new software, new raw converters, brush up on colour-management or explore creative photographic techniques. Those are just a few ideas for things you can pursue if you are suddenly finding yourself with seemingly too much time on your hands!