Grocery, other store clerks face challenges working, guarding against the coronavirus
Few of the customers MaryAnn Fernandez sees in her job at the Albertsons bakery at Five Mile and Ustick roads in Boise observe the 6-foot distancing rule. Many customers are ambivalent about safety measures taken by the store to protect workers and customers alike to curb the spread of coronavirus.
“A lot of customers are frustrated and think that everyone is overreacting,” says Fernandez, a Boise resident.
With the outbreak of the virus that causes COVID-19, Fernandez and other grocery and convenience-store workers have been thrust into the front lines of efforts to safely provide food and other goods.. They’re worried about exposure. They’re often overworked. But they’re also expected to keep shelves stocked and to keep cheerfully serving customers who may still be thoughtless or careless with their own behavior.
Some retailers are giving combat pay to their workers. Albertsons is paying workers an additional $2 an hour in light of the extra business and stress brought by the coronavirus outbreak. Fred Meyer is paying bonuses to each of its employees, $300 for full-time workers and $150 for part-time workers. Walmart is doing the same.
Some retailers have been reluctant to have employees wear masks for fear of frightening customers, though Fred Meyer is now allowing employees to wear protective masks and gloves. The company has asked federal and state officials to help secure a place for grocery workers, after health care workers, to obtain protective gear.
Many retailers are also marking floors to encourage customers to keep their distance from other people. Albertsons has placed red tape on the floor at checkout stations and other spots throughout the store to mark 6-foot distances between customers.
The Boise company also has installed plexiglass sneeze guards — more commonly used at fast-food salad bars and buffet restaurants — at checkout stands to protect checkers. And workers clean and sanitize surfaces touched by customers every hour.
“I’m not that concerned that I will get coronavirus since I’m not in the ‘high-risk’ category, but I am concerned that my parents might get it from me, and I haven’t seen them for two weeks because of that fear,” Fernandez said by email.
Worker with health problems quits job to stay safe
Boise resident Jeff Olson, 59, who has suffered from respiratory problems, is so concerned he might get COVID-19 that he quit his job at a Boise convenience store after working his shift Sunday. He declined to identify the store publicly, saying it was not to blame.
Olson came down with a bad case of pneumonia three years ago that dogged him for several months.
“I can’t go through that again,” he said. “It’s just not an option with the breathing problems I have.”
Olson said he hadn’t given the situation too much thought until the coronavirus began infecting more and more people in the United States and after Idaho had its first confirmed case nearly two weeks ago.
“I started really talking to the people closest to me, and they were the ones that are like, ‘You gotta quit this. You just you’ve put yourself out enough. And we don’t want to lose you,’” Olson said.
Convenience store owner tries ‘to keep everyone safe’
Mike Zehner, co-owner of On the Fly store at State Street and Collister Drive in Boise, said his staff is doing its best to keep all surfaces in the store and gas pump handles outside wiped down and sanitized. They’re wiped down once an hour, he said by phone.
“We’re trying to keep everyone safe,” he said.
Gas sales have dipped, but sales inside the store have increased, he said: “Gas sales are down because no one’s driving to work. They’re driving to get their beer and cigarettes and then going home.”
‘We are exhausted ... and more scared by the day’
Kelly McGregor, who works for a grocery store, wrote on Facebook that she wishes she could stay home and remain safe, but that she and her co-workers are committed to helping people buy groceries.
“I can tell you we are exhausted both physically and mentally, and we are getting more scared by the day,” McGregor said.
It’s frustrating, she said, to have people ignore common-sense guidelines.
“Please only shop one person per household and only shop for necessary items,” McGregor said.
‘No one is wearing masks or gloves’
Trisha Richards Elrod, who works as a wine distributor, said she’s surprised by the people she encounters in stores across the Treasure Valley.
“I have been shocked that no one is wearing masks or gloves,” she wrote on Facebook. “There are always lines to check out, and everyone bunches up in line about 6 inches apart.”
Nampa resident Jill Lee-Holloway works at Fred Meyer. Like Albertsons, the Portland-based company has placed marks on the floor of its stores to keep people at least 6 feet apart, but Lee-Holloway said they’ve done little good.
“No one sticks to the blue crosses to keep their distance,” she said.
Jeffery Temple, a Fred Meyer spokesman in Portland, said by email that the company is limiting checkouts to every other checkstand, when practical, to provide more distance between customers. Employees have been asked to observe the 6-foot rule and are cleaning frequently touched surfaces regularly.
Social distancing is hard to enforce
Jerry Basco, who works at a T-Mobile store in Boise, said it’s tough getting people to provide a safe distance. Boise Mayor Lauren McLean this week ordered people at businesses and events to keep 6 feet apart and limited the number who can gather in one place to 10.
“A lot of customers however are either oblivious or completely disrespectful when it comes to 6 feet of distance and only 10 people,” he wrote. “I’ve had to constantly remind them and ask them to wait outside.”
Trevor Allington, a Boise resident who sells cell phones at a Walmart store, said most customers have been respectful and try to give him space, but others get right next to him. He said he’s worried about getting the coronavirus because he lives with his grandparents and doesn’t want to infect them.
“I had a customer the other day that I had to walk away from, because after asking him several times to please cover his mouth while coughing he refused,” Allington wrote on Facebook.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
