Gilbert Flooring & Paint open for business
Considered an essential businesses, the store is open for those looking to do home improvements
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Editor's Note: The following article is part of a continuing series on how Webster City area businesses are faring during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The days are quiet right now for Bryan Gilbert, much quieter than he would prefer, if he's being honest.
With over 30 years of hands-on experience installing floors and the owner of Gilbert Flooring & Paint since 2001, he's a worker. Always has been, which is why the current climate has him cl imbing the walls and wondering when he can get back to business as usual.
"It's just one day at a time and trying to pay bills right now," Gilbert said when he was asked how the coronavirus pandemic has affected his business over the past month. "We're trying to retrofit the business to make it work for everybody."
Designated as a home improvement center, Gilbert Flooring & Paint has been allowed to remain open as an essential business, but foot traffic inside the store has slowed to a crawl due to the social distancing guidelines put in place by Governor Kim Reynolds.
"I do understand the need for people to hunker down and stay away from each other and not cough on each other," Gilbert said. "That's pretty much the way our world is going to be right now I think."
Gilbert Flooring & Paint, located at 713 Seneca Street, is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, as well as 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. To aid his customers, Gilbert says he's willing to work around any and all concerns they have. He's even offered up his cell phone number (515-835-1717) to potential customers, and said they can call with questions during off hours.
"If they come in during the day, we can lock the door, or if they're scared of other people being around, they can call me and I will come in late and work with them," Gilbert said.
"If they want to come in after hours, if if they want to come in by appointment when nobody is around, we can do that."
Gilbert Flooring & Paint specializes in various products, including flooring, blinds and shades, painting products and mattresses. The business offers plenty of products that customers can handle themselves, and Gilbert says he's seen an uptick in paint and supplies due to the fact that individuals find themselves homebound for the foreseeable future.
"Paint sales are up and some of the stuff I sell that you can buy and put in yourself," Gilbert said. "There are all kinds of carpets that you can do yourself, or a lot of people like to do their own tile. People that can't be open are fixing up their businesses too, so we've sold all kinds of tape for painting at home or offices.
"Paint is the cheapest thing you can do and it makes everything look nicer."
As a local business with ties to the community for nearly two decades, Gilbert Flooring & Paint was a vital part of Webster City's infrastructure prior to COVID-19, and Gilbert says he'll do everything in his power to ensure that it continues to be after the pandemic runs its course.
"It's a unique situation right now and there's so much uncertainty on everything that nobody really knows how anything is going to end up," he said. "But we'll bend over backwards to help (our customers) any way we can right now."