Groceries should ban customers from coming inside due to social distancing concerns, experts say

Grocery stores should ban customers from coming inside and switch to curbside pickup and home delivery because ‘customers are not practicing social distancing,’ experts say

• Groceries should ban customers from coming inside and switch to curbside-pickup and delivery service, say experts worried about exposure to COVID-19
• Some experts, joined by union leaders and smaller, independent store owners, say it has become too risky to allow workers within proximity of customers 
• Marc Perrone, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers’ union, says 85 per cent of his membership report customers not social distancing  
• Whole Foods, Kroeger and Giant Eagle, as well as smaller independents, have switched some stores to delivery and curbside pickup 
• However, some chains like Trader Joe’s say they cannot convert their stores from the traditional business model and still deliver customers ‘value’
• Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID

By Ralph R. Ortega For Dailymail.com

Published: 23:39 BST, 19 April 2020 | Updated: 23:53 BST, 19 April 2020

Grocery stores should start banning customers from coming inside and switch to curbside-pickup and delivery service, say experts who are concerned store workers are being exposed to the coronavirus.  

Experts, as well as union leaders and small grocery owners, say it has become too risky to let customers browse the store aisles when they come within close proximity of workers. 

One union head says ‘careless customers’ are likely the ‘biggest threat’ to workers right now. 

Grocery stores should start banning customers from coming inside and switch to curbside-pickup and delivery, say experts concerned workers are being exposed to the coronavirus. A Whole Foods in Cambridge, Massachusetts, offers curbside pickup (pictured0

Experts, as well as union leaders and small grocery owners, say it has become too risky to let customers browse store aisles when they come within close proximity of workers. A sign shows where to park for curbside pickup at a WholeFoods in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Marc Perrone, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers says that 85 percent of his members workers report customers are not practicing social distancing. 

John Logan, professor and director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University, tells CNN that ‘any’ measures that reduce the need for workers to interact with the public, and which encourages ‘greater physical distancing will ultimately better protect grocery workers.’

‘Shuttering stores and repurposing them for pickup and delivery only would be a positive step.’

Whole Foods, Kroeger and Giant Eagle, as well as smaller independents, have switched some stores to delivery and curbside pickup business models. 

However, some chains say they cannot convert their stores from the traditional business model of having people come by. 

Trader Joe’s ‘systems are not set up in a way that would allow us to be able to offer these services, and at the same time maintain our commitment to offering value to our customers,’ says a spokesman. 

Customers shop at Giant Eagle’s store in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The grocery chain is among those which has switched some stores to curbside-pickup and delivery

There have been more than 759,200 confirmed cases in the US of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for more than 40,000 deaths. 

Workers at stores like Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon, have staged walkouts and protests in response to concerns over the deadly flu-like virus, also known as COVID-19.

While converting to curbside pickup and delivery service is favorable, it’s not a perfect solution to concerns.

‘Workers would still have exposure if they are delivering goods or if they are in the supermarket,’ says Charlane Obernauer, executive director of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health.

A small independent in Malvern, Iowa, is among those which has made the move to keep customers outside, where they pick up their purchases.. 

‘We’re in a small town. The employees that I have, they’re just like family. I have known many of these people my whole life. I don’t want to take the chance of having someone get sick,’ said Tom Mulholland, owner of Mulholland Grocery.

‘There are very few businesses that get the foot traffic that a grocery store does.’

 

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