Retail Re-Opens

I for one have missed shopping, or at least mindlessly browsing, during the duration of the shelter-at-home portion of the pandemic as only essential businesses were open for business. It’s just not the same browsing for a nicely priced rump roast in the supermarket as it is a pair of slacks on sale at Macys.

Now I will admit that I purchased a pair or two or three of shoes online as sale alerts would hit my email. I was doing fine up until early April when I begin shopping for my son’s “quarantine birthday.” He loves electronics so shopping for him was easy. A visit to ebay for some replacement beyblades his sister broke and then onto Best Buy to browse for some new Hyper X gadgets and I was done.

He is not shy about asking for that which he likes and rarely goes overboard. The request lists are usually short, but often pricey. For instance Santa delivered him a really nice gaming PC with all the bells and whistles on Christmas Eve after weeks of complaining that the tree hosted more gifts for his sister than him. After he put together his coordinating gaming desk and chair himself and us finding proper placement for the setup in his quarters, he stared at it for two weeks without touching it.

When he did finally touch it, he managed to break the tip of his headphones in the earjack socket which meant a trip to the repair shop– luckily it was a minor repair. Fast forward to now…its rare when he is not on it and oftentimes I have found him sleep at his desk with headphones on system running.

Any way back on script, after shopping for his birthday I found myself hitting up various retail sites for sale items because I knew there would be plenty out there with in- store retail hurting. I hadn’t planned to set foot inside a retail store until at least mid-June after the state began re-opening in late April. Stores would need to have clear guidelines for employees and customers during these socially distant times.

While food is necessary and clothing/shoes/homegoods not so much, retail shopping has been far from my mind no matter how great the sale if it meant taking risks I didn’t need.

Well last weekend I cautiously ventured into my favorite retail discount store which had been open for a couple weeks, long enough for the store to get an idea of how their new operation standards might flow in this new shopping era. There were clear distinctions on the flow of traffic, several store/employee cleaning stations, employees outfitted in masks and gloves, and no fitting rooms. Though there seemed no deficiencies with the store operations, there was plenty to say about the customers that dashed in looking for deals. A lot came without masks and many had their young kids in tow, also without masks, as if it was regular Saturday shopping.

Depending on arrival, one could possibly face a line for entrance in an effort to social distance properly in accordance to the store’s square footage, which is to be appreciated. And to that end, a checkup line obviously elongated due to customer and cashier social distancing which quite a few customers thumbed their nose at before leaving their intended goods on a nearby shelf and exiting the store. In these times shoppers must realize that stores must do their due diligence in order to maintain safety for the employees and customers alike.

As a shopper in these times I feel that if you are willing to venture out for some goods, you should be willing to follow the rules no matter how absurd they may seem to you and patient enough to endure the process.