Hy-Vee, Kroger install temporary protective windows at checkout
Hy-Vee and Kroger are making additional changes to operations in response to the evolving COVID-19 outbreak.
Customers will start seeing temporary window panels installed at checkouts to help provide an additional layer of protection for both our employees and customers.
These panels are being installed at the checkout, as this is the point in the store visit where customers and employees are in the closest contact.
“In the aisles or at our service counters, customers and employees have more flexibility in placing distance between themselves but the setup of the checkout limits that ability. These panels are in place in our Des Moines-area stores, and will be installed in all other Hy-Vee locations over the next few days,” the company said.
In addition, customers will no longer be allowed to bring in reusable bags until further notice since it is difficult to monitor their cleanliness. Because it is not always easy to know the sanitization procedures customers are taking at their homes to keep the bags clean, this is one more way the grocer is helping prevent the spread of the virus.
“The spread of this virus is asking us all to take extraordinary measures and change the way we live our lives,” Randy Edeker, Hy-Vee’s chairman, CEO and president said. “We are continuing to adapt at Hy-Vee so that we can serve our customers and keep everyone in our stores as safe and healthy as possible.”
Kroger and Albertsons have also begun installing plexiglass partitions at cash registers in many of its stores and anticipates that every check lane will have a partition, including pharmacy counters and in-store Starbucks registers, within the next several weeks.
In addition, Kroger is installing educational floor decals to promote physical distancing at check lanes and other counters.
“Our associates are on the frontlines, ensuring Americans have access to the food, services and products they need during this unprecedented pandemic,” a Kroger spokesperson said. “We are committed to protecting the health and safety of our associates.”
The retailer has also allowed employees to wear protective masks and gloves while at work.
Kroger noted that there is a national shortage of such personal protective equipment like gloves and masks and that it fully supports America’s healthcare workers having first priority to obtain the equipment they need.
“We are advocating to government officials at all levels for help securing a priority place in line for all grocery workers — after healthcare workers — to have access to protective masks and gloves,” the spokesperson said.