Behind The Scenes As An "Essential Worker"
By: Nadine Hernandez
My first shift during the Coronavirus pandemic was unlike anything I had seen before. As I walked in, I noticed a swarm of people in the aisles and immediately, I was overwhelmed with a feeling reminiscent of a national holiday, only it wasn't - it was Covid-19.
Since the outbreak, news outlets have informed communities to stay home and prepare for unexpected times. This led shoppers to stockpile cases of water, canned foods, frozen foods, and toilet paper which would all soon become out of stock.
To say the least, it was overwhelming, many of my coworkers admitted, "It's busier than Thanksgiving and Christmas combined!"
Although I have worked at Smart & Final for over four years I have never experienced anything like this. Normally, I work in the produce department, so keeping the area fresh and full comes naturally to me. Since the pandemic started, it has become increasingly difficult to keep our shelves stocked. Items we don't normally sell are quickly flying off the shelves and into customers carts.
This eventually led to management rearranging our hours for a week to be able to replenish shelves. Store hours were changed from 6 a.m. - 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Load crew would come in as early as 2 a.m. to work 12 hour shifts to finish store loads that were three to four times larger than our normal orders.
Due to the panic, it was necessary to implement a crowd control system. This meant that the doors had to be shut for about fifteen minutes before another wave of customers could come in. With the new system in place, our main objective was to ensure the safety of our customers and allow reasonable timing for customers to gather their essentials. Within the span of a week our hours were modified and limitations on items had been set. The limit of two per household were for the following items: dry pasta, tomato sauce, canned and frozen vegetables, canned beans, dry beans, rice and much more. As a cashier, I found it difficult to tell customers that they were taking too much and needed to respect the limitations.
Of course, the panic wasn't only within my job, but my home as well. My mother found it very difficult to watch me work; however, she encouraged me to wash my hands, wear gloves, use hand sanitizer, and wear a mask. During this time, none of these practices were encouraged by Smart & Final. Instead, a printed copy of an email was left in the break room for employees to read and within it noted that we were not to use masks due to the shortage of supplies. Since the pandemic was still new, we were still not practicing social distancing and implementing the systems that we are today.
Fortunately, as soon as the environment calmed down we went back to our normal hours, 6 a.m. - 10 p.m. On Tuesday's and Thursday's we allotted time for senior citizens, expectant mothers, and other vulnerable customers to have a safe shopping experience. We also removed many of the limitations on household products. The only items that still have a limit per household are toilet paper, eggs, bleach, and any disinfecting products. Eventually, our store adjusted to the high demand and once again our shelves were full for customers to shop from.
Today, not only has it become mandatory to wear masks, but also practicing social distancing. Instead of having all five registers open, we only have every other register open. Our store has also put six-feet place holders on the floor to guide customers to practice social distancing. As they prepare to checkout, cashiers call the next customer at a reasonable pace. If a customer purchases our ten cent bags, we are then able to bag their items however, if a customer brings their own bag from home they must bag their own items. Many customers have been understanding of this new policy, but others argue and say that it isn't their job to do so.
Service clerks now have a checklist that consists of sanitizing cart handles, hand baskets, and ensuring wipes are available for all customers. One noticeable downside is the disposal of gloves in the parking lot. Supervisors have began announcing to customers that throwing them away in the trash cans is vital to the health of everyone. Therefore, they should be thrown away available at the entrance of our store, after they are done using them.
I appreciate the handful of customers who thank myself and my co-workers for doing our job because it makes us feel appreciated for putting our health at risk.
It has been stressful to maintain a balance during these hectic times, but it has equally allowed me to stay busy. With school now being transitioned to online, I can easily work around my work schedule which I don’t take for granted. Each day that I clock in, it is important to maintain a positive, safe, and clean environment for not only myself, but those around me as well.