The holiday retail season is fast approaching; a time of plentiful profits, excited customers, flat-out days, and headaches for business owners on how to keep their store COVID-safe through all the festive hubbub. Here's a quick guide that will help you mitigate the germs in your store while also avoiding too many restrictions for your customers.
The festive retail season usually means jam-packed stores and queues around the block, but in a COVID-focused world, keeping your customers and your staff safe is a sincere concern. Most of these suggestions are judgement-based and your specific niche may bring complications or solutions that we haven't listed but, we hope this guide will grant you some peace of mind for a safe holiday season filled with prosperity.
The letter of the law and beyond
The health department provides clear guidelines on what needs to be in place, but it doesn't have to stop there. If you believe that an additional measure, such as limiting the number of customers in your store, is beneficial to your staff and your customers' wellbeing, go ahead! Just make sure to use clear signage and gentle, polite reminders to enforce it in a friendly way. You know your store better than anyone else so, make sure you are comfortable with the risks.
Plentiful opportunities for hygiene
The holiday rush will mean more footfall in your store; stock up on ample hand sanitizer and place some in clear view inside your store. With other concerns on their mind, customers may also be more forgetful with masks. Keeping a box of facemasks for people to help themselves to will avoid people having to abandon their shop due to a forgotten mask.
If you are selling something that requires people to flick through or choose items from a large variety, consider also providing disposable gloves and a bin with a lid so people can hygienically dispose of them.
COVID-cleaning
Keeping your store COVID-safe has no doubt led to you increasing the amount of time you spend cleaning. Regular cleaning is an essential first step, but then you will need to disinfect your surfaces. Do these steps separately as dust particles can block the disinfectant from successfully reaching your surfaces.
During the holiday season, you should consider regular professional commercial cleans to eradicate any bacteria and COVID residue in your store. Our team of highly skilled professionals will use the most advanced technology available to remove any trace of any unwanted microbes and leave your store looking its best.
If you experience a COVID case in your store, our team will suit up and make sure you are safe to reopen as soon as possible.
Let us Restore your Peace of Mind
COVID may be novel but, our experience with commercial cleaning isn't. We have been eradicating other viral and bacterial contagions since 1972. Together, we can prevent COVID from spiralling and make sure everyone gets to enjoy this festive season.
ServiceMaster Restore Moncton - Restoring Peace of Mind® since 1972.