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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think shopworkers want customers to wear masks?

140 replies

bravefox · 08/07/2020 06:45

Just that really. I wear a mask when I go into shops as I suspect shopworkers want customers to, but very few other people seem to bother/care. I know some people can't wear masks, but they majority certainly could. To me it's just a politeness thing.

YANBU: Shopworkers want customers to wear masks
YABU: Shopworkers don't care

OP posts:
Miljea · 08/07/2020 07:56

Airborne transmission cannot be ruled out, WHO says www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-53329946 this might be a game changer

😳

Miljea · 08/07/2020 07:56

Airborne transmission cannot be ruled out, WHO says www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-53329946 this might be a game changer

😳

PrincessPain · 08/07/2020 07:58

DH is a cleaner for a big supermarket.
He says he's cleaning peoples shit off the walls, the masks don't really make a difference for him. He doesn't wear one, hasn't been asked to, and hasn't been provided with one.

Miljea · 08/07/2020 07:59

Not sure if that link worked! In today's BBC news site.

To think shopworkers want customers to wear masks?
Passmethepepsi · 08/07/2020 07:59

I work in a shop. I don’t wear a mask and most of our customers don’t either. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest.

covetingthepreciousthings · 08/07/2020 08:01

I work in retail, and I've been surprised by the amount of people in my relatively small town who have been wearing masks. I appreciate customers wearing masks, and always feel slight guilt as I don't wear one during my shift, but I suffer with asthma and anxiety and after trying one on I don't think I could wear one for an 8 hour shift.

HOWEVER there are so so many people wearing masks so incorrectly, people wearing them round their neck, pulling them up and down, hung below their nose.. it makes me wonder whether there's any point them wearing one! Or taking them on and off between shops - does this impact how safe they are?

gotothecooler · 08/07/2020 08:01

I'm in Scotland so mandatory from Friday. It's a bit like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted imo. The weekend prior to everything closing, that time where the shops were heaving and shortages of food and toilet roll were huge; that is when masks should have become mandatory. Not now. Too bloody late.

DD works in retail and she is a bit baffled at why the government suddenly want to offer some protection to her and her colleagues. Throughout this whole pandemic they have literally been exposed to it all. So yes, that shop worker DOES want you to wear a mask. She has been working with a mask/visor for nearly 4 months to protect other people!

Vivana · 08/07/2020 08:05

I work in a supermarket and it doesn't really bother me if customers wear a mask or not. I dont wear a mask either and have worked right through it all without a mask

MistyGreenAndBlue · 08/07/2020 08:12

DH works in customer service in retail.

He and all his colleagues wear a mask every day - 8 hours a day.
Somehow they are managing. Lol

He estimates about 50% of customers wear one and its usually those who don't who also refuse to social distance so... yeah he wants you to wear the fecking mask.
Frankly unless you have a genuine medical reason not to, suck it up and stop being pathetic. No, it's not ideal but you get used to it.

TheMandalorian · 08/07/2020 08:12

I popped into town for the first time on Saturday morning. As I walked into each shop I asked the greeter if they wanted me to wear a mask. They all said no.
Waste of time going really. May as well shop online.

gotothecooler · 08/07/2020 08:16

I popped into town for the first time on Saturday morning. As I walked into each shop I asked the greeter if they wanted me to wear a mask. They all said no.
Waste of time going really. May as well shop online.

Please, you may as well have shopped online because you didn't have to wear a mask? I don't understand this at all

Jullilora · 08/07/2020 08:18

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

muddledmidget · 08/07/2020 08:21

Work in a pharmacy in a supermarket. As I can't keep a safe distance from my colleagues during a shift I have to wear a surgical splash resistant mask for 8-12 hours to protect them and me.

Evidence is there that masks contribute greatly to reducing the spread of the virus inside, and I would like to see them compulsory.

Yes they are uncomfortable, but for most, that is all. As social distancing relaxes, I think they will become far more important than washing your hands

Fatted · 08/07/2020 08:22

It does feel a bit like too little, too late. We've all been wandering around for four months with no masks on spreading all of our germs. Perhaps if we had actually been told to wear masks at the start, we wouldn't be where we are now. Who knows?

Based on my experience in shops recently, retail staff don't actually want customers in their shops full stop.

SchrodingersImmigrant · 08/07/2020 08:22

Interestingly for us it seems people who don’t speak English as a first language are much more likely to be the ones wearing masks - making the issue harder.

It's because we get proper news from other countries, rather than just UK and a bit there and there. I was ready for lockdown because my family already was in one. So was my DH's. They were all actually really concerned about us (friends with families abroad mentioned the same) because gov wasn't really doing anything. I got masks shipped in at the begining because my family assumed they will become compulsory here too.

One thing people AND THE BLOODY NEWSPAPERS here have to learn is that the mask does not protect you really, but protects others by making you stop sneezing your germs all over. The numbers from countries where they were, and still are to some extent, compulsory support face mask efficiency. So the MN "tHeY DoNT WoRk" crowd should maybe... I don't know... Shush?

boymum9 · 08/07/2020 08:24

Where I am I don't think I've seen one shop worker wearing a mask and I haven't done either. I do only still go to shops for essentials and haven't been to any shop other than super market and b&q!

weepingwillow22 · 08/07/2020 08:28

@Flyingagainstreason

Because it’s been proved that they don’t really work. Why would you force a country to do something that’s pretty pointless.
This has not been proved, people in the UK have just been brainwashed by our incompetent government into believing this is the case www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53316491

theconversation.com/masks-help-stop-the-spread-of-coronavirus-the-science-is-simple-and-im-one-of-100-experts-urging-governors-to-require-public-mask-wearing-138507

notheragain4 · 08/07/2020 08:28

I haven't seen a single shop worker wear a mask? Literally, not a single one. Not sure if it's just my area but no one is wearing them.

Eddie16 · 08/07/2020 08:29

In the company I work for,its not mandatory for staff to wear masks etc ,its personal choice but we have taken other precautions such as closing off the changing rooms, having a space to quarantine any returns and sanitizer by the door and till for our customers. I would prefer customers to wear a mask but it seems to be personal choice.

Clockworkprincess · 08/07/2020 08:33

I work in an independent shop and all of us staff wear masks. We tried gloves but they didn't work for the things we were doing so stopped and now frequently sanitise our hands. Yes we would appreciate customers wearing a mask and using the sanitiser we have on entry. We can be helping a customer for a long period of time and not everyone remembers to social distance.

DomDoesWotHeWants · 08/07/2020 08:37

I think everyone should wear masks full stop.

If you have a valid reason for not wearing one then don't go into areas where they are required. We all have had to make sacrifices for the health of the majority this should be another one.

No mask? Don't go there.

Wejustdontknow · 08/07/2020 08:38

I work in one of the large supermarkets, the checkout staff on self scan wear masks as they get close to members of the public, I can only think of one shelf filler who wears one. I wear one travelling to work as use public transport but not whilst working. I imagine a 8 hour shift would be quite uncomfortable in a mask although I would if mandatory. I don’t really mind if customers wear one or not but would like them to at least try and social distance and follow the direction arrows as that really helps when working

CandidaAlbicans2 · 08/07/2020 08:41

Even though it's not compulsory, I've worn a mask whenever I've gone into shops. It's out of respect to the staff, who have no option but to be near people all day, and giving the message that I care about keeping others safe (even though the risk is very low). I went to a couple of shops recently and they were taking safety very seriously, with hand sanitiser at the door, and staff using masks and/or visors. It really wasn't a big deal for me to also wear a mask (and distanced) for the relatively short time I was in store.

vanillandhoney · 08/07/2020 08:51

No, I don't agree. I see maybe 10% of shop staff wearing masks or visors, if that.

If they're not going to bother, they can hardly expect customers to.

Emeraldshamrock · 08/07/2020 08:54

Yes they do. They should be mandatory to protect staff most people will avoid coughing by cover their mouth, keeping a safe distance when possible then others don't give a shit, probably haven't used hand wash since it all started.