When COVID-19 forced a citywide shutdown of schools, office towers and non-essential businesses, many of Franchisee Prithpal “Paul” Kandhari’s employees at his seven stores in New York City were unable to come to work. Determined to keep at least some essential stores open and staffed, Jag Rajpul, Paul’s general manager, and Umesh Khatiwada, one of Paul’s designees, traveled to the city every day to motivate current employees and hire new ones.
Through Jag’s and Umesh’s efforts, three stores were able to remain open during the shutdown. One store is near a hotel where visiting nurses and National Guard members were staying. That store had just one employee, Patricia King, so Umesh joined her, and they worked around the clock to keep the store open for some very grateful customers.
“Thank you so much for your support of nurses, first responders and military in NYC,” said some National Guard officers in a note to the store team.
“Your kindness, smiles and soda brought a smile and bright spot to our day.”
According to Field Consultant Omar Sid, Umesh and Patricia maintained high customer service levels without fail, and Jag traveled between the city stores to keep them open for as long as he could stretch his staff. “All stayed incredibly customer-obsessed and did everything they could to keep the stores open,” Omar said. “Through it all, they have kept an ‘It Can Be Done’ attitude.’”
Thank you, Paul, Jag, Umesh and Patricia for putting your customers and community first. You are all 7-Eleven Heroes!
