Covid-19 in OKC (coronavirus)

[BoulderSooner]

Many felt that OKC had become “overbuilt” in restaurants, and we were starting to see the start of closures (there’s a thread here somewhere). This will be the death knell for all but the best capitalized. Anybody who’s been in real estate a while remembers the 1980s bust that wiped out most local developers & investors. This will be similarly-remembered by the local restaurant industry.

it won't be just restaurants

[Pete]

We had to suspend printing of the Gazette. Since we focus on food, arts & entertainment, there is nothing to write about. And of course, all our advertisers have pulled their ads because they have nothing to promote.

We plan to keep paying our staff but how long can any business do that without revenue?

A couple of months won't be the end of the world but if this goes into summer, the impact will be unimaginable.

[BoulderSooner]

We had to suspend printing of the Gazette. Since we focus on food, arts & entertainment, there is nothing to write about. And of course, all our advertisers have pulled their ads because they have nothing to promote.

We plan to keep paying our staff but how long can any business do that without revenue?

A couple of months won't be the end of the world but if this goes into summer, the impact will be unimaginable.

that is terrible for you and for the thousands of other companys in the same situation

[Pete]

Hopefully, if we all just bunker down for a couple of months we can turn this thing around.

That seems to be the best-case scenario right now.

[Pete]

AMC theaters closing for at least 6 weeks.

Shoulda bought stock in Netflix!

[sooner88]

AMC theaters closing for at least 6 weeks.

Shoulda bought stock in Netflix!

Some of the big release movies are going straight to iTunes / PPV as well instead of delaying their release.

[Edmond Hausfrau]

Most network traffic is people watching videos and this peaks in the evening. So working from home probably doesn't really increase that too bad relatively speaking. I would think video conferencing services will run out of hosting space until they can spin up more servers if companies start doing wfh more frequently.

Any updates to this, especially in the OKC area? Changes in network traffic in the day with online learning plus all schools closed?

[okccowan]

I think studies show workers are actually more productive working remotely.

[BBatesokc]

I think studies show workers are actually more productive working remotely.

IMO, it' depends on the industry and what "efficiencies" you are targeting. Independent workers, yes. Collaborative workers, not so much unless you develop a really good infrastructure of virtual meetings.

[Pete]

YMCA's closing through at least 3/31.

[sooner88]

I think studies show workers are actually more productive working remotely.

Definitely depends on the industry. My job is business development / sales based so when there is nowhere to meet, people are self-quarantining, etc. productivity goes out the window.

[FighttheGoodFight]

Any updates to this, especially in the OKC area? Changes in network traffic in the day with online learning plus all schools closed?

Don’t worry, Cox will still charge people for data caps and crappy service.

[Pete]

What a bummer of a St. Patrick's Day.

I know it is largely a manufactured occasion but lots of bars and restaurants usually make a lot of money today.

[BBatesokc]

YMCA's closing through at least 3/31.

Called and suspended my auto payments for both the YMCA and Mercy. The Y told me on the phone that you have to call to have your payments stopped. FYI.

[PhiAlpha]

Definitely depends on the industry. My job is business development / sales based so when there is nowhere to meet, people are self-quarantining, etc. productivity goes out the window.

Same.

[PhiAlpha]

What a bummer of a St. Patrick's Day.

I know it is largely a manufactured occasion but lots of bars and restaurants usually make a lot of money today.

I completely forgot it was St. Patricks day until about 20 minutes ago. Wild.

[jn1780]

Definitely depends on the industry. My job is business development / sales based so when there is nowhere to meet, people are self-quarantining, etc. productivity goes out the window.

Yep, Very little businesses affected positively by this. No one is interested in planning for the future when a good amount of our service sector economy is shut down.

[Libbymin]

This is going to hurt state and local governments too. I know for a fact that lots of restaurants are holding or cancelling sales taxes scheduled for March 20 and property taxes scheduled for March 31. The hope is that they will provide some kind of relief for this. While they may extend the due date for those taxes, there will almost certainly be many restaurants that won't make it so they won't even be paying those taxes later either.

[TheTravellers]

https://kfor.com/health/coronavirus/...-for-covid-19/

[Edmond Hausfrau]

Called and suspended my auto payments for both the YMCA and Mercy. The Y told me on the phone that you have to call to have your payments stopped. FYI.

Mercy put holds on all their automatic payments. You don't have to do anything. Additionally, all members now have a 30day free access to Wellbeats online.
Mercy hospital was also one of the first to curtail visitors in their hospital. They're really trying to take care of this community.

[Edmond Hausfrau]

Duplicate

[BoulderSooner]

this is from Elliott Nelson owner of the mcnellies group (public post on facebook) it is very sobering about the future and state of the service industry

St. Patrick’s Day. Normally, this is Christmas for our company. It’s the best day of the year, both financially and in spirit. Our entire staff is at work, all 800 of us, serving thousands of people and creating memories for years to come. It’s the best of what we do.
Today is not that day. It feels more like a wake than a celebration. We will serve our last in-house diners today for an undetermined length of time. Is it 3 weeks? 3 months? We don’t know. And when we re-open, it most certainly will never be the same.
Effective tomorrow, March 18th, McNellie’s Group restaurants will be converting to take-out and delivery only for the foreseeable future. Our Dust Bowls in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Little Rock will be completely closed. We’re trying to decide if there’s a viable option for carry out at places like the Bull in the Alley. Please check all of our websites and social media feeds for updates and information.
The carry out effort is an attempt to help feed the community and preserve jobs, while also trying to generate any revenue possible to help satisfy our obligations. But if I’m being honest, I’m not sure it will be effective. We’re going to give it our all, but I have my doubts. And on some level, I question how long I can even ask people, in good conscience, to come to work. It’s something we’ll be evaluating every day.
I’m making the gut wrenching decision to furlough the majority of our employees tomorrow. We simply can’t afford to keep people on without revenue coming in. And those people who do stay are going to endure cuts to their salaries and hours, that’s going to make it difficult to make ends meet. We’re planning for an unknown, and have decided maintaining health insurance for the 230 people we cover, is the top priority - even those who are furloughed. To make that math work, we’re forced to choose between a lot of bad options. In talks with our federal leaders, it’s my hope there will be enhanced unemployment benefits to help people get through, and as such, it’s the best thing we can do for our employees. As of now, they’re already allowing people to be immediately eligible. Next, we need them to enhance the financial benefit. Please, contact your legislators and let them know how urgent this aid is.
Our employees, and those of our service industry peers, will need all of our kindness and help in the weeks to come. These are hardworking people who work in an often thankless industry. They are the front door of our community, the face of our cities to visitors. They are role players in the scenes of everyone’s life, helping create memories and offering comfort and respite. They’re passionate about giving great hospitality and taking care of our guests - and now, they’re going to need those guests to take care of them for a minute. Please, if you know someone that is a landlord, mortgage banker, or creditor to people in the service industry, ask them to do all they can to help people through. Other states are asking for relief on rents, mortgage payments, and utilities, and we need to do the same.
As a business, we’re going to rely heavily on the grace of our landlords, banks, and vendors. We’re going to need help from the federal government. We’re going to try to re-emerge and re-start our business in a state that is likely to be decimated by plunging oil prices. It’s going to be a long road back.
Yet, I have been humbled so far by everyone’s efforts. People have offered to go without pay if it meant saving someone else’s job. No one even balked when I said we might need to reduce salaries to make it through. I’ve received countless text messages and calls of support from members of the community. There is hope, and a spirit within our company that will not be deterred. We didn’t ask for or cause this challenge, but we will rise to meet it. We will do all we can to help others along the way. And at some point, we’ll have that party with all 800 of us pulling in the same direction.
Until then, St. Patrick of Ireland, pray for us.

[BBatesokc]

Mercy put holds on all their automatic payments. You don't have to do anything. Additionally, all members now have a 30day free access to Wellbeats online.
Mercy hospital was also one of the first to curtail visitors in their hospital. They're really trying to take care of this community.

That wasn't their (Mercy's) initial plan. They first sent a letter to members telling them they would remain open, but that any member could put their membership on hold for free. Then, less than 24-hours later they decided to close and simply offered to credit members on the back end - which is ridiculous and totally self-serving. Myself and others called and were told they were offering the credit now and not the free hold. They then reversed that a few hours later and agreed to do both. However, they didn't convey that to their staff answering the phones and they continued to tell members they were not sure what they were going to do. They now apparently have it all straightened out.

I personally wish they would have stayed open. Fortunately, I've found a smaller gym that is staying open.

[CloudDeckMedia]

Spoke with a banker yesterday - a customer had just told them, “Good morning. I’m closing my store. Come get your stuff.”

[mugofbeer]

That number is a testament of no leadership. The administration is culpable after refusing WHO test kits and then making test kits that yielded suspect results.

Per CDC, the WHO kits were not reliable and giving false readings so they decided to wait for more reliable kits. Then the first of those proved to not be acceptably reliable.