COVID-19 Compliance Services
Crowd Control, Enforcement of COVID-19 CDC and NH State Restrictions
Americans are navigating the conflicting national and local guidance on masks and other COVID-19 regulations set forth. As states go through waves of reopening, the requirements regarding COVID-19 in public spaces has led to tension between those enforcing the requirements and the opponents who are refusing to wear a mask and comply with other guidelines.
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Like a revolving scene, we see numerous accounts of workers in a tense exchange with a customer who refuses to wear a mask or comply with regulations while insisting on entering the premises or being served. These confrontations are happening at grocery stores, retailers and shopping centers, restaurants, medical clinics, and hospitals - endangering staff members. As a result, many businesses have been reluctant to properly enforce health guidelines, or confront customers who refuse to wear a mask or maintain a safe distance from others.
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Therefore, a great solution for businesses is to hire a reputable security company with personnel who are trained and equipped to handle disgruntled customers. Due to the high risk, it is crucial that businesses hire security to address additional issues arising from the enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions. The reason - security is trained for these scenarios.
About Our Clients
Market Basket is a multistate grocery store franchise with 80 stores running within three states spread across the New England Coastline from Cape Cod to Southern Maine, even far west just shy of the Vermont and Rhode Island State lines. It currently has 49 locations in its home state of Massachusetts, 30 stores in New Hampshire and a single store in Maine.
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Home Depot is the largest home improvement retailer in the United States today. It operates many big-box format stores across the United States and its territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; all 10 provinces of Canada; and the 31 states and the Federal District of Mexico.
Challenge
Due to the current COVID-19 Pandemic, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of social unrest and disorderliness especially in local stores and grocery shops with many people panic-shopping for the bare necessities.
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Amidst the crisis, Market Basket has laid down a policy that allows not more than 170 people at a time to shop in the store. Home Depot on the other hand, isn't allowing more than 100 customers inside the store at a time. So, basically once a customer is leaving the store another customer enters to maintain the balance on the absolute number decided upon.
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Despite this, the employees and staff associates working in the store are being harassed and insulted occasionally by disgruntled customers. According to some staff members, the main problem is that people are using this pandemic as an excuse to exhibit bad behaviors and cause menace within the store with little regard to the regulations set in place by the government to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus.
So, Market Basket and Home Depot reached out to American Alliance Security Agency to help control the crowds, maintain peace, and uphold social distancing and mask regulations set forth by the government.
Solution
It became apparent from the outset what we needed to do to maintain the peace, control the crowds and create orderliness in our clients' stores while ensuring individuals stuck to the rules and regulations.
We decided to provide dedicated armed security guards on the premises of Market Basket and Home Depot stores with direct objectives:
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To control the lines of shoppers and maintain orderliness.
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To ensure the stores' policies and regulations were being followed, as well as CDC and New Hampshire state regulations, without any dispute.
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To ensure all customers were well-behaved on the shopping premises to avoid mass panic and violence.
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The process:
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Our on-site security guards would make patrol rounds inside the store every 30 minutes and ensure their presence is felt by shoppers without agitating them.
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The security guards would also occasionally take position at the main entrance points which gives him extended coverage and view of the store.
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With a relaxing, yet alert composure, they would then proceed to the front entrance of the store to monitor the crowd and maintain an atmosphere of serenity.
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Our security guards would check temperatures of all shoppers and staff members, ensure all shoppers are wearing masks, following social distancing guidelines, and abiding by all other CDC and NH state regulations pertaining to the COVID-19 virus.
Result
Since the day our security guards commenced duty, Market Basket had noticed how easily people comport themselves and comply with its shopping policies -- providing a safe and friendly environment where people can come to buy essential goods during the pandemic without any hostile encounter.
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Home Depot's corporate management thanked us and our security officers, elaborating on the positive feedback they've received from employees, managers, and staff members at the store locations where our security guards were present.
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The authoritative symbol which our armed, uniformed security guards represented coupled with the implementation of our subtle security procedures ensured peace and a welcoming atmosphere for customers within and outside the store.
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“Our associates and staff are no longer harassed or caught up in stressful situations while store operations and transactions are as smooth as ever,” says Market Basket Store Manager, Stacie Nelson.
"Personally, I feel at ease and I am glad that your guards are here due to what I have seen first-hand. People generally don't seem to listen to our store associates, but they do obey the commands of the security guards." - Home Depot Store Manager, Chris Gagne.
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The teams at Market Basket and Home Depot were very happy and satisfied with the outcome after engaging our professional security guard services. It was a mutual success!
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