Nothing fishy about the customer service at the Hewlett Fish Market

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For the Hewlett Fish Market staff, being accommodating to their customers is how they are lending a helping hand to the community during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The 51-year-old fish market at 1332 Broadway in Hewlett is staying open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday to Saturday during the pandemic. They will be delivering orders to those in the Five Towns and also have curbside pickup in the back of the store.

Dorathy McManus is the store’s bookkeeper. She noted how the store is operating during the pandemic. “We’re doing the best we can with the current circumstances,” McManus said. “We have somebody outside with an N95 mask and gloves that are helping with the orders.” McManus’s husband, Chris has owned the business for 51 years, while she has been involved for 48 years. Chris McManus Jr. also helps run the store.

Accommodating the customers includes offering them with non-seafood items such as butter and eggs. The staff is also offering customers with rolls of toilet paper, which McManus says they are doing to maintain positivity.  “Everybody is getting a laugh out of it,” she said. “They are calling and telling me it makes them smile. It’s important to smile during a time like this.”

A priority for McManus is to help ensure that customers who are at a higher risk to contract the virus are being accounted for. “We're trying to find out about some of our elderly customers and making sure people are checking in on them,” she said. “We know most of them and also know the neighbors who check in on them.”

McManus is in charge of taking all orders over the phone and said that the customers have been “great” in the past few weeks. “Everybody has been patient during this process,” she said. “I’ve had customers call me from the grocery store and ask me if I need anything. That is a wonderful gesture.”

Customer Elizabeth Sultan said that placing an order at the store has been a pleasant experience amid the current circumstances. “I’m so grateful for what the fish market is doing,” she said. “Ordering and picking up could not have gone better for me.”

Hewlett Harbor resident Lauren Goldstein expressed her gratitude to the store in a Facebook post on March 22. “I want to thank the Hewlett Fish Market for being there for us during this time,” she said. “Everything is always so delicious and we really appreciate them.”

Going forward, McManus said that the market will continue to try and service customers in the best way possible. “We’ve been here for 51 years and our customers are like family to us,” she said. “We’re going to keep updating our Facebook page with any information possible.”

To place an order from the Hewlett Fish Market, call (516) 374-2401. Due to a high volume of calls, McManus recommended calling in between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.