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Fred Meyer Covid Response Review From an Anxious Shopper
This post is sponsored by Fred Meyer, however, all opinions expressed are my own.
Who would have ever thought that grocery shopping of all things could go from causal chore, to stress-inducing chaotic event overnight?
Or that our entire country would seem to come to a halt at the same time.
I still can’t believe where we are at. Now about a month in, we’re finding new “norms” that should have never been norms. In some places, kids are out of school until further notice. Families across the US are losing their jobs left and right, including my own. Everything we’ve known is pretty much uncertain.
Not to mention, many of us are worried about catching the virus. Especially those at risk of needing intense treatment should they get it.
In the beginning of all that is going on, I’ll be honest, I was terrified of going to the grocery store more than anything. I recently had a very large asthma flare-up and am one of the people worried about what the virus would mean for my health. And with the abundance of people in and out of the grocery store, it only makes sense that a trip would cause worry.
Grocery shopping isn’t something we can simply not do. Unless you are one of the lucky ones and scored store pick-up or delivery openings. I haven’t been able to score any so far! This is exactly why I was happy to see stores like Fred Meyer quickly implement new standards for their stores in order to keep up with current CDC recommendations.
I’ve probably talked your ear off by now with regard to how much I enjoy my shopping trips at Fred Meyer Stores. They have everything you need in one quick stop, what more could you want?
As my #1 grocer, I was not surprised to find that they were quickly establishing regulations per CDC guidelines, but I was still finding myself filled with anxiety while anticipating my trip to grab what food we needed. Even with the prompt Fred Meyer Covid response.
I could only avoid grocery shopping for so long, however, so once it came time to make the trip I prepared myself best I could and headed to the store.
When I first walked in and went to grab a cart, I was happy to see the cart sanitization wipes fully stocked. I know we’ve all walked into the store before and found the wipe stand to be empty, and that is never fun!
***PRO TIP*** After wiping down your cart, grab a few extra wipes to quickly wipe off your card after you touch the keypad when paying, as well as to wipe your card door handle off before you clean your hands from being inside of the store.
Once I got into the store, I was surprised by the number of people I saw.
As a part of the Fred Meyer Covid response, they recently put in place a store regulation cutting the store customer capacity in half, meaning only 1 person per 120 sq/ft is allowed in at a time. That led to me feeling pretty safe with the distance I was able to keep from other customers inside of the store.
Another helpful thing I noticed upon entering the store was thoughtfully placed markers on the ground in front of high traffic areas such as Starbucks, the deli and the check stands to guide customers where to stand to keep a safe distance from one another. It definitely helped me feel better to see people standing an appropriate distance from each other!
During my shopping trip I watched as employees walked around the store sanitizing commonly touched surfaces while also keeping a solid distance between themselves and customers whenever they were able to. Even when I asked about where I could find the breadcrumbs I needed for the Parmesan Crusted Chicken I had on the meal plan, they stood their distance rather than walking up to me.
Something else I noticed while shopping for my usual necessities were the limits on popular staples such as bread, milk, tortillas and eggs. I was happy they put those limitations in place after hearing about the madness when this shutdown first began and everyone was stocking up on all they could get their hands on.
The shelves were pretty well stocked considering what is going on and what customers are choosing to stock their pantries with right now and I was able to get most things on my list.
When it came time to check out, it was nice to see a barrier between the checker and myself.
It’s not like we’re able to stand six feet away from the register to pay and with that I was happy not only my safety was being thought of by Fred Meyer, but the checker’s safety as well while being in such close proximity to one another.
Speaking of the Fred Meyer Associates, I was super happy to hear Fred Meyer as a whole has been taking care of them as well.
Here are a few things that the Fred Meyer Covid response team has put in place:
- Advocating to public officials to provide proper PPE
- Encouraging employees to wear PPE
- Educating employees on the safety measures to take with proper PPE
- Providing associate wellness checks
- Offering an hourly bonus to standard pay rate
- Gifting a bonus to both part-time and full-time employees
All of which to say, I’ve remained impressed by Fred Meyer Stores with their quick response in order to keep their associates and customers as safe as they are able to at this time, and am happy to be a Fred Meyer shopper. They have always been a safe space for me, and it feels good to know they are doing what they can to continue to provide that feeling for customers.
How are you guys feeling about essential store efforts right now? Are they doing everything you would hope they would? What would you like to see as an increased effort to keep us safe?
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