We are starting to get back to normal. My morning coffee group is back together. OK, not quite the same as we were. Today, we grab a cup of coffee and sit in the parking lot in lawn chairs rather than sharing a booth inside, but it’s a start. This as a small step in the right direction during the Covid-19 shutdown we have all been living through.
We all griped and complained and laughed about how retail stores all have different and sometimes crazy rules that we must live by.
Retail COVID-19 rules feel good but fall short
However, it became clear most are just ‘feel good’ rules. Most of them will not protect anyone from anything.
The big mistake retailers are making is, the more rules a store implements, the angrier customers and workers get.
Some of the new rules do make sense. Think of how grocery stores now clean the handles on the shopping carts and cashiers now have plastic between them and the customer and there is usually hand sanitizer around.
I hope these kind of new rules will be with us forever. However, so many other rules make absolutely no sense at all. These should be scrapped before retailers hurt themselves and their brand.
COVID-19 rules help Target and hurt Walmart
Let’s compare the COVID-19 rules of Target and Walmart. These are similar stores, but one treats customers with respect while the other treats them like cattle being herded into a slaughterhouse.
Walk into a Target store and shop. It’s pretty much the same as before, except they have signs to remind you to keep a 6-foot distance.
This shows respect for the customer and we can live with that. Respect the customer and the worker and they will respect you. Target makes shoppers and workers feel safe and welcome.
Walk into a Walmart and it’s a completely different and unwelcome experience. There are so many rules that don’t protect anyone and should be scrapped today.
First, just to enter the store you have to walk all the way over to the side, get in the entry slot, then walk all the way back to the door just to enter. This would make sense if it protected the customer.
However, it does not protect anyone because once you are in the store, people are passing each other by inches. That makes the hassle with these entry rules completely ineffective. They may make us feel safe, but they don’t work.
Another difference is Target still has their customer service and return counter open. Walmart does not. So, when I brought the rotten watermelon back to Walmart for a refund, they said throw it away and come back next month to get my refund.
I was already standing there at the customer service counter. It would not have been any more dangerous just to give me a refund. This is an inexcusable way for Walmart to treat their shoppers.
These are just a few examples that show the real differences between the way Target and Walmart think. They treat their customers very differently. There are so many over-the-top rules at Walmart that turn the shopper off. If they worked, great. But they don’t, so these rules are a waste of time and insulting to the customer.
Home Depot and Lowes coronavirus rules alienate customers
Home Depot and Lowes force shoppers to walk into the store with one door and out another door. The problem with this is the doors are far apart. Opposite ends of the store.
Plus, if you want to walk into the garden section, you first must walk through the main front doors then walk all the way back to the garden area.
Once again, if all these rules worked, fine. However, once inside you are side by side with other shoppers making the entire effort ineffective.
One-way aisles do not protect shoppers from COVID-19
What about one-way lanes at grocery stores or department stores? They make no sense either.
People shopping do not walk the same speed meaning people are always passing each other. Plus, often someone stops to decide what to buy. And while in a lane, often shoppers go back and forth passing each other as they go.
That means there it makes no difference which direction you are walking. So, the one-way aisles do not matter. They just put the customer out.
What matters is separation and that’s where retail fails
What matters most is separation. Separating people in one area yet letting them be close in another area completely negates the benefits the store was trying to achieve.
So, a simpler rule we should all live by is this. If an aisle is busy, pass it by and come back when it’s clear a few moments later.
When all shoppers are heading in the same direction, they are not separate. So, this is yet another feel-good rule with no real benefit.
All this craziness makes people go a little nuts. Some other shoppers believe these feel good rules are the law. They actually believe these rules really make a difference and they go overboard expressing their opinion.
I have already lost several family members during COVID-19
Coronavirus is turning otherwise sane people, insane. There are real bad guys out there. Those should be who we should be going after. Not law abiding, nice guys who occasionally do something others don’t like.
Don’t think I am not concerned with the real threat that COVID-19 poses. I have already lost family members to this disease. I fully understand the real dangers here.
However, I also understand there is a difference between real protection and wasted overkill when it comes to the rule’s retailers force their customers to abide by. I understand the way a company looks at its shoppers either with respect or disrespect.
The bottom line is rules should only be in place if they really make us safe. If they do protect us, then they are good. However, if they only make us feel safe with no real protection, then they should be scrapped immediately.
There is a big difference between feeling safe and really being safe. Customers know the difference and that will either help or hurt the company brand going forward.
