Retail Reopening During a Pandemic
If you couldn’t tell from the title, this article is going to be a little bit more serious than anything else I have written. We are all facing the coronavirus, COVID 19, whatever you want to call it--and yea, it sucks. It sucks for many many reasons, and beyond this it is horrifying, life changing, and heartbreaking. Everyone keeps telling me we will never go back to what we believe to be “normal” and that the world as we know it is simply going to change. If you’re like me you must be sh*tting your pants and crying at the same time. But alas, the world goes on, and even though things will change, I have to remind myself and the people around me it will be okay.
One way I know it's going to be okay is that the world, quite literally, goes on. The Earth keeps moving, people adjust, and we get through this. The only example I can think of that fully encompasses all of this, is the reopening of the jewelry store I work at: Zachary’s Jewelers. At Zachary’s we have been working on a reopening plan for MONTHS. Not even exaggerating literal months. To give you some background, the only time the store has ever closed was when it caught on fire, and that was only for a few days. From the small things like how people will walk through the store (yes, that is a thing, gotta think about the airflow), to the bigger things like role playing for the scenario that someone comes in the store without a mask, we have really had to think through everything. The team at Zachary’s and many other stores have been working around the clock to prepare to open as safely as possible; and better yet, make sure they stay open.
This pandemic has reaped havoc on many businesses, small and large, but for us at a small business like Zachary’s, we really have been rolling with the punches. Zachary’s has taught me so many things, but in the midst of this pandemic it has taught me the importance of hope, and resilience. I could not ask for a more inspiring place to work, and in times like these I think we all need a little inspiration that will get us through this.