CARLISLE – The GIANT Co. has announced it will limit the number of customers in its stores as part of ongoing efforts to support social distancing practices and provide a safe shopping environment for both customers and team members.
Starting Monday, April 13, the company will limit the number of customers who may be in a store at one time.
The number of customers permitted at one time varies by location and has been determined based on several factors including occupancy and selling square feet.
The company also requests that customers limit the size of their shopping party to one member per household as much as possible, as doing so reduces the overall number of people inside stores and helps support social distancing.
“This pandemic has reaffirmed the critical role grocery plays in our local communities and we appreciate our customers’ cooperation as we implement additional measures to help keep both them and our team members safe,” said Nicholas Bertram, president, The GIANT Co.
“In addition, as we remain focused on providing this essential service, we also ask our customers to do their part by shopping with as few family members as possible and buying only what they need at this time.”
To manage customer occupancy limits, a GIANT team member will be stationed at the front entrance tracking shopper flow.
When the store has reached capacity, customers will be asked to form a line outside, while observing social distancing. As customers exit, customers in line will be allowed in the store.
Over the past week, The GIANT Co. has also instituted one entrance – one exit protocols, one-way aisles, and register queuing in all its stores.
Signage throughout the stores communicates these new measures and designates traffic direction.
In aligning with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), GIANT is providing face shields and masks to all team members, who are required to wear them while in store. They may also wear gloves if they so choose.
In recent weeks, GIANT has implemented other policies including designating special shopping hours for older and immunocompromised members of the community, opening in-store pharmacies at 6 a.m. every Wednesday to accommodate older and immunocompromised individuals, encouraging all team members and customers to practice social distancing in all areas of the store and using full-size carts to help with this, installing check-stand partitions at registers and customer service and pharmacy desks, and increasing in-store cleaning and sanitizing efforts. GIANT Direct and MARTIN’S Direct has also implemented contactless delivery.
To learn more about The GIANT Co.’s ongoing efforts to keep customers and team members safe during the coronavirus pandemic, visit giantfoodstores.com.