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The Vlad, 20, ABC Coffee Roasters

regulations At the time COVID-19 struck, I had been with my com- Tanya, 25, Cooperative Cherniy

announced pany for a year almost. We’ve had a delay in wages a few times, The uncertainty of the whole situation made me feel
but it was all pretty much fine. I have never taken a vacation,
'non-working and I was eager to go to work no matter what. The management anxious. I was scared, scared because of the possible financial
kept sending us new working schedules, and we’d go to the
loss, scared of my co-workers getting ill because it would ruin
days with coffee shop and work a whole shift properly, making drinks the barely articulated working environment. I don’t know what
to go and selling them through the small window in the wall.
we would do if a member of our team got COVID-19, really. At
secured When it has finally come to getting paid, it turned out the the same time, it was cool to deliver coffee packages around Olya, 26, Camera Obscura Coffee
management decided to scale down our hourly wage drasti-
paycheck.' cally (from $3 per hour to just $1) and didn’t warn us before- empty Moscow. Empty streets, empty subway. At first, it was I have always been happy with my choice of a work-
hard to wear a mask and gloves all the time. It felt like an asth-
hand. What I got in cash wasn’t enough to pay rent, so I had
to go back to my hometown until the lockdown was over. ma attack, like I would pass out every now and then. Two weeks place, but the lockdown here in Moscow just proved me
When I told the CEO I wanted to quit and have my paid-va- later I became accustomed to all the protective equipment, and right one more time. Since the beginning of the pandemic,
cation-leave money as well, he just said “NO!” and cut all the now it’s the most natural thing. our management team and our CEO were all candid,
conversations off. At the beginning of the pandemic, I also got a feeling straightforward and supportive with us.
that maybe this whole situation would make us a better At the beginning of April, they told the team all of
society. That the government and the corporations and the us would still get a paycheck — 60% of our average salary
Vlad residents would all team up, and this feeling of unity and because that’s the most our company could do for us at the
mutual support would last long after the COVID-19 is over. time being. However, the CEO stated that if any of us had
Unfortunately, at the end of the lockdown, we were counting a financial emergency, we could always ask for help direct-
small businesses closed forever, and people who never ly, and the problem would be solved. So I really didn’t
BARISTA SAYS
learned how to wear a mask. I was also really scared that worry about the money during the pandemic.
people around me wouldn’t be able to endure it anymore, We haven’t closed the coffee shops, but couldn’t sell
and I’d give in to the panic. At some point, I decided to beverages directly to our guests due to the local restrictions.
double the intake of the antidepressants myself, and it helped So we’ve started working with local delivery services. It
me to make it through. After the lockdown, I went to my was a nightmare at first. I couldn’t stop worrying about the
therapist to fix the medication properly.
taste of the product when it finally gets delivered. You
make a drink, and you pack that drink, the delivery person
gets it to the client — and that whole process takes at least
Tanya 10 or 15 minutes, and the coffee gets cold and meh. But
the customers were happy to support their local coffee
shop and get a sense of communication, so we kept on
packing and delivering. We’ve started writing cute and
uplifting notes on the packages too. And it all felt like a
very supportive community.

Olya

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