TreeBee Covid-19 Update

UPDATE - 05/06/2020;

Due to overwhelming amounts of web forms being sent in regarding bees, we will only be replying to forms where the bees have been identified as Honeybees, or where the bees have been identified as Tree Bees but are outside the property, either in the garden, a bird box, compost heap etc. This is to ensure the safety of our staff when carrying out removals. For the foreseeable future we will be unable to attend properties where Bumblebees are in the loft space, as this often means that they must be removed by accessing the inside of the property. We will reply to ALL honeybee enquiries.

Because we are also experiencing high numbers of emails, it is taking us a while to get back to you. Please be patient, we will get to you eventually. Please do not call the office phone or leave a message, we are not able to answer it and wont be getting back to any messages left on the machine. We recommend you use our Bee Removal form. We thank you for your patience at this time.

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In light of last night’s announcement, here at TreeBee we’ve had to make a few slight changes to how we operate.

1. Bee Removals - We’re currently on restricted movements for three weeks, along with the rest of the United Kingdom. We’re not only trying to keep social interactions between customers and ourselves as low as possible, we’re also avoiding interacting with each other as TreeBee staff and family for the next three weeks. This means that unfortunately at the moment, we cannot travel to and carry out work on removals. Those who were booked in with us over the next three weeks have been informed of the status of their booking.I realise we have customers who are booked in after this date and currently us working at your property stands as it did before the announcement last night, we still fully intend on carrying out the works at your property. However, advice is changing daily and so we ask that our customers remain flexible with us. We HATE letting people down, it’s not at all what we do, however we have to make everyone’s safety a priority and limit contact where we can. We will remain in contact with you and you’ll know about changes to planned works as soon as we do.For people sending in Bee Removal Forms - please continue to do this. We will still provide you with a proposal and quote (plus advice) and we hope that as soon as we can, we’ll book you in. Again, please be patient with us, we will get back to you. We’re entering a busy period in the year as a beekeeper and nature doesn’t stop just because humans have to. We will still be tending to our bees and while we’ll be “working from home” our home office is a 10 acre field in West Lancashire full of bees. We’re not always at a computer.
2. Online Orders - The best way to support us at this time is to continue to place your orders online with us, either via our website or eBay/Amazon/Etsy. We will be fulfilling all orders, however, how we do this has changed slightly to limit contact between our staff, which has a slight knock on affect to how and when you’ll receive your order. Smaller items, such as Wax Melts and Small Hand Creams, are sent out via Royal Mail. These items should be with you as quickly as they usually are. Larger and bulky items such as Honey, Large Hand Creams, Hand Washes etc, go via MyHermes, which we would usually drop off at a drop point as and when we have orders to drop off. To date, this has been the most efficient and cheapest way to get your orders from A to B.However, we’re now opting to have MyHermes collect orders from our offices, to limit social contact with others. We can’t do this every day, so we will be organising collections twice a week, in the following way;Orders made Thursday-Sunday will now be collected on Monday by MyHermes.

   Orders made Monday-Wednesday will now be collected on Thursday by MyHermes.

   This means that while previously we’ve aimed to get your order to you within 2 - 5 working days of placing the order, it may get to you slightly later. Again, we hope you understand why and continue to shop with us and support us.

   We have also taken the decision to suspend our collect option at checkout. You would usually collect from our workshop, which would run the risk of you coming into contact with some of our team who live at the workshop. Delivery will be automatically selected as an option at checkout for you.

3. Community/University Projects - We’ve been in touch with most of you to let you know what’s happening and where we’re up to. It’s important to remember that if you can’t inspect your bees for the next three weeks, they’ll survive! Bees are resilient little creatures and if our removal work is anything to go by, can survive for a long, long time without intervention from us. We will be providing some of you with teaching aides and updates to keep you going on your learning paths and courses. If you have any questions, or worries, please contact Andy or myself and we’ll work it out.

We’ll keep you updated as things change, which they are constantly. Remember, stay safe, avoid going out when you don’t have to, if you do, stay away from others. Wash hands, safely get some fresh air where you can and look after each other (from a socially acceptable distance!).

We look forward to seeing you all as soon as we can.

Much love,

Abi, Gail and Andy