CoVid-19 Response and Policies

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UPDATE January 2022

We made it through Advent and Christmas! All orders completed and shipped. Then "You Know What" struck half our team. Even though we were all double jabbed, 5 key people are out with the virus. We are shipping and creating in the studio and struggling to keep up with customer care especially. Pray this will all be over soon!

UPDATE-AUGUST 2021*
As of August 2021, we are operating normally. However, we continue to take precautions in the following areas:

  1. We are being extra cautious to keep our workspaces clean and sanitized.
  2. We are taking extra care to wash hands, use gloves when appropriate, and social distance.
  3. We take extra care to ensure cleanliness during the handmaking, packaging, and shipping of products.

During this period, we still continue to see VERY SLOW INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING. We cannot be responsible for the slowness of shipping services and custom departments in the USA or other countries over which we have no control. The customer is solely responsible for any custom fees, duties, or taxes required to receive the package delivery.
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In these troubled times, we pray for everyone to stay safe and healthy in the United States and the world and to get past the Coronavirus crisis quickly!

During this period, we have enacted several stages of policies at Rugged Rosaries.

STAGE 1. - Was enacted on March 4, 2020

Our employees are still at work, however, we have rearranged our studios. We have 4000 square feet to work with we had plenty of room to spread out. The studio worktables which were pushed together for the enjoyment of our rosary makers have now all been separated apart. Employees work a minimum of 7 feet apart. We demonstrate the proper way to sneeze or cough using your elbow or tissue. Everyone has tissue on the worktable. In addition, all employees are required to wash hands upon arrival and throughout the day. Each morning, the chairs, worktables, door handles, faucets, tools, etc are cleaned with disinfectant wipes. In general, we are mindful of our work methods to be as clean and safe as possible.

STAGE 2. - Was enacted on March 17, 2020

Our employees will stagger hours so that we only have a few at work at a time. This will include one person only for shipping and one or two helpers. We will no longer be doing customizations to orders other than adding devotional medals, so that we do not have to make rosaries on a daily basis here at the studio. Instead, the rosary makers can take home their materials and make rosaries at home. We are all devoted to practicing social distancing as requested by government officials.

STAGE 3. - Enacted on March 24, 2020

We will limit hours that our on-line store is available in an effort to slow down sales, unfortunately. We will also have a smaller group of products available for purchase during this crisis. Rugged Rosaries will take care of our employees so everyone can put food on the table and pay their rent! We are taking work home and making the rosaries at our dining tables. Only 1 person will be in the work studio to ship orders, thus shipping times may be slower. We can no longer do customizations at this time. Also, we will not be here to answer the phone, but our Customer Care team will be working from home to answer emails and help with any issues customers may have.

STAGE 4. - Enacted on April 4, 2020

Shipping has been suspended by the USPS for many countries so we will be only shipping to USA, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom until further notice. All signature requirements in these countries have also been suspended temporarily.

We are micromanaging inventory levels in the webstore and on our Amazon store. All of the employee rosary craftspersons are making rosaries at home at this time instead of coming to the studio. As completed rosaries are turned in, the rosaries are left to sit for at least 2 days before we add the inventory to the website. Only 1 person is shipping at any given time, so shipping may take a day or two longer to dispatch. We will not be shipping on Saturday or Sunday. The shipping personnel wash their hands each time they leave the workstation, and all precautions to keep our ship area clean are taken each morning.

During this time, while workers are making the rosaries from home, inventory will go out of stock often, but will be replenished with small batches at a time. So, check back often!

We will not be at the studio to answer the phone. If you need help, please check this knowledgebase first, or emails support@ruggedrosaries.com. Most of our support questions are about Out of Stock items and we cannot give you exact dates when certain items will be back in stock.

STAGE 5. - Enacted on May 18, 2020

Shipping has been very unreliable for many countries so we are NOT SHIPPING INTERNATIONALLY until further notice.

Also, please note that even domestic shipments are taking longer to get delivered. We are still sending out your orders fast, but the postal service is impacted by the pandemic. We thank you for your continued patience!

We will be reintroducing simple customizations. Examples of this are adding optional devotional medallions to some rosary designs and simple changes such as different color of paracord. During this "ramping up" stage, we will also be working to have a steadier supply of inventory.

Employees will be returning to the workplace gradually. We have scheduled only 6 employees at one time. All the worktables are rearranged so employees work at least 10 feet apart from each other. New policies are in place for the protection of employees and the cleanliness of our workspaces and products. All employees have been given a supply of masks. The workplace is cleaned with bleach products and alcohol wipes every morning. Each employee also cleans their own work area each morning. Employees are required to wash hands (or use supplied hand sanitizer) prior to working on or at any shared workspace such as in the paracord room, or the shipping area. Employees are required to wash hands as the return to work after leaving for any reason as well. Finished products are handled very carefully and often are stockpiled for several days before placing into inventory available for shipment.

STAGE 6. - Enacted on June 26, 2020

Shipping has been suspended by the USPS for many countries so we will be only shipping to the USA until further notice.

Our city, Houston Texas, has today ordered a return to the Stay-at-Home order. As such, employees will be working at home.

We are micromanaging inventory levels in the webstore and on our Amazon store. All of the employee rosary craftspersons are making rosaries at home at this time instead of coming to the studio. As completed rosaries are turned in, the rosaries are left to sit for at least 2 days before we add the inventory to the website. Only 1 person is shipping at any given time, so shipping may take a day or two longer to dispatch. We will not be shipping on Saturday or Sunday. The shipping personnel wash their hands each time they leave the workstation, and all precautions to keep our ship area clean are taken each morning.

During this time, while workers are making the rosaries from home, inventory will go out of stock often, but will be replenished with small batches at a time. So, check back often!

We will not be at the studio to answer the phone. If you need help, please check this knowledgebase first, or email support@ruggedrosaries.com. Most of our support questions are about Out of Stock items and we cannot give you exact dates when certain items will be back in stock.

STAGE 7. - Enacted on July 16, 2020

We have just restarted international shipping but only to Canada, UK, EU, Australia and New Zealand. If you are shipping to one of these countries, I am so sorry, but Rugged Rosaries cannot be responsible for delivery delays. These international shipments have been taking weeks longer than normal. Sometimes it takes 2 weeks for the shipment to leave the USA during this time.

Employees are still working from home and in staggered shifts at the Houston workshop. Inventory will be in limited supplies as we gear back up and build inventory. Many very cautious precautions are in place for our employees in the studio.

STAGE 8. - Enacted on December 18, 2020

Lots of changes during this period of time.

  1. We will no longer be able to ship to the UK for the next several months due to tax and duty fee changes caused by new Brexit laws in the UK.
  2. We are back in the studio. We have a large space and all employees can social distance easily from each other. We also have clean policies and mask policy in place.
  3. We are shipping daily but THE POSTAL SERVICE IS HIGHLY IMPACTED.  All shipping times cannot be guaranteed. The USPS is already slipping behind the dates they gave out for shipping times and it will only be getting worse. This is something we simply cannot do anything about.

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