Grocery stores are a key essential business during the COVID-19 crisis. These stores must be open for people to survive. Gone are the days when most people grew and raised their own food. We rely on grocery stores to keep ourselves and our families fed.

Keeping public spaces cleaner has become a major focus during this time. With people needing to venture out for food, they want to know they are safe to do so. Even with paying more attention to what we touch, we still come into contact with many different surfaces when we go out in public. Grocery stores are facing multiple challenges during this time to keep stores safe and stocked.

Grocery Store Challenges During a Pandemic

When something as serious as a pandemic comes along, mentalities and procedures need to change.

Changing employee expectations.

Grocery store employees were used to their routines. They are now being instructed to do their job in a new way. These changes can be overwhelming for employees. They need additional training to get up to speed on changes and new protocols. Your employees may be worried about getting sick and be more anxious than usual.

They will be wearing face masks and gloves. Being able to instruct customers of new social distancing and checkout procedures is part of their jobs now as well. Grocery stores need to give them the tools to help keep people safe.

Protecting employees and customers.

Grocery stores are tasked with keeping their employees and customers safe. Providing personal protective equipment for employees and communicating honestly with consumers about safety procedures is essential. They need to reassure everyone they are doing what it takes to keep everyone safe.

Changing store layout.

To help customers and employees, grocery stores may need to change layout. Sneeze guards at checkouts and hand sanitizing stations may need to be installed. Signs with safe social distancing guidelines and arrows on the floors to direct shoppers may be provided as well.

Encouraging customers to protect themselves and each other.

The question over whether to require people to wear certain protective equipment is an ongoing one. Some places may require customers to wear face masks. Others may only require employees to wear protective equipment. It seems to be dependent on the individual industry. With grocery stores they may just be encouraging customers to wear this equipment, while requiring employees to wear it as well.

Dealing with more online ordering.

Grocery stores are seeing more people order groceries for either third-party delivery or curbside pickup. This dramatic increase is a huge adjustment. They need to make sure online ordering is up to the demand, that their website works properly and that they are ready to deal with the changes this causes.

Supply and demand issues.

People have started buying more of certain items which has led to them being sold out. Restrictions on certain things have been put in place to assure customers they are able to get the things they need.

Changing store hours and cleaning more often.

Grocery stores have had to adjust the hours they are open in order to maintain a more rigorous cleaning schedule. This change is something both employees and customers need to get used to. Customers may need to change when they venture out for their groceries. Employees may find their hours getting reduced or their duties expanded. They may need to learn how to better keep things clean or be expected to perform a professional-level deep clean.

How We Can Help Grocery Stores

At Nationwide Maintenance, we will be your partner to navigate this new world. We can help grocery stores with their cleaning challenges and help to provide a safer environment for employees and customers.

Professional-level cleaning.

We offer a wealth of experience in professional-level cleaning. You can be sure your store is clean and sanitized when you use our services. We are skilled in finding problem areas and making sure to address all areas to make your store safer for everyone.

Giving employees a break.

Your employees cannot be expected to become experts in cleaning and sanitation. They have plenty of other duties they need to focus on. You do not need to add to their stress and anxiety by expecting them to fully sanitize the entire store. Let us take care of it for you. It is our area of expertise. This way, employees can focus on serving the customers. Leave the cleaning to us.

Peace of mind.

By using our professional cleaning services, you can offer your employees and customers peace of mind when they’re in your store. They will know that things are really clean and know that you truly care for their well-being. This trust is invaluable as you move forward as a company.

Grocery stores are so important to everyone. Let us help yours by making it the safest it can be in these uncertain times. Contact us today!