London’s world famous produce market is today (Friday 13th November) launching a new telephone ordering service with free next day delivery within a 30-mile radius of Borough Market, targeted at Londoners who can’t get down to the Market to do their weekly shop in the run up to Christmas. For those who’d like some good old-fashioned service with a human voice at the end of a phone, rather than online, the newly appointed customer team will be on hand to help people who are shielding or don’t want to travel into central London due to Covid.
Borough Market has employed people from many of the industries that have been hardest hit by Covid. Customers using the new service might be lucky enough to talk to Olivia, an actor who should have been running workshops for the musical she has just written; Eleanor, who normally runs food tours in Italy; or Adam, who was a general manager of a West End hotel until earlier this year.
As a provider of essential food and drink, the outdoor nature of Borough Market means it can stay safely open throughout the lockdown period for those able to shop in person. The role of the telephone service team will be to discuss food options with customers, check stock, hand pick their grocery shopping from the wide range of fresh meat and fish, fruit and vegetable, cheese, baked goods and storecupboard ingredients on offer from all of Borough Market’s expert traders – and bag up to be collected from the Market, or delivered free within the M25. The price of produce will be the same as traders would usually charge, and the Borough Market Trust is covering all other costs, including packing and delivery.
The new telephone ordering service is on: 020 7940 7900 and will operate Wednesday and Thursday (10am–5pm), Friday (10am–6pm), and Saturday: (8am–5pm). Deliveries will go out the following morning.
Darren Henaghan, Managing Director, Borough Market said: “As a charity, Borough Market is doing all we can to help both our independent traders and our customers through this most challenging of years. Our responsibility is to first and foremost support our community rather than grow our profits – and this is more important than ever at the moment. At a time when many of our traders have been really struggling, the charity has been able to provide vital assistance: we have paid for mooring fees, we’ve funded two new tractors, we’ve paid for the repair of an oyster boat that broke down, we have kept a creamery open and provided small grants to many traders to help them adapt and survive. Deep down, though, our traders simply want to continue with their businesses – providing high quality food and drink to customers.
“We know that our valued customers love coming to the Market and have a good chat with these expert traders, and many are unable to do so at the moment, so we’re offering the next best thing – a friendly voice on the end of the phone who can provide that personal contact and shop for you, making sure that you can still enjoy the best food and drink from all of our wonderful stallholders.”
To make Christmas shopping as convenient as possible, Borough Market will be trading every day from 23rd November until Christmas Eve. And starting on 3rd December the Market will be offering late night shopping – staying open until 9pm on Thursdays and Fridays. Measures are in place to make shopping at the Market as safe and stress-free as possible. https://boroughmarket.org.uk/articles/enjoy-late-night-shopping-throughout-december
