A spa owner in Harrow is recounting her experience following the severe storm that blew through the area on Wednesday evening.
Emilee Fernandes is the owner of Jem Glamorganic Spa on King Street.
She says when the storm hit everything went dark, there were clients at the spa, and they had to move quickly to get both the clients and staff home safely.
"There was a break in the weather and they had to go, so we took care of calling all the other appointments for the evening to cancel. And following up the next morning being without power we knew that we would have to cancel the entire day. For us we book about three weeks in advance, so cancelling these appointments is so challenging," she said.
Fernandes says they don't have the staffing requirements to increase hours, staff are already maxed out working a lot of hours, and their phone lines were down so people were emailing in saying they were trying to leave messages.
As of Friday they were back up and running, with two administrators tasked with rescheduling all of Thursday's clients and appointments to try and get them in as soon as possible.
"Trying to fit these clients in, it's a little bit challenging. There are minimal availabilities next week, and some clients based on their side-by-side bookings, it definitely will be a challenge to find spots to fit them back in. I know crews are working super hard to get everyone back on track, it's evident driving around town, but the financial hit of the day and a half that we were down and out definitely was felt."
Fernandes says for anyone looking to get in touch while their phones are still down should use email or social media.
"Email's always the best way, we can kind of respond as those inquires come in. Hitting up our website, being able to reach us through social media, everyone's doing the best they absolutely can to get everything back on track here. Just asking for patience," she said.
Fernandes also had damage at her home from the storm, which she says was hit pretty badly, as well as her family's two vehicles.
She says they're super fortunate to live where they do given the support the entire community of Harrow has shown in the aftermath.
- with files from AM800's Rob Hindi