Are You Open or Ready to Reopen? Consider these Tips from Experts to Keep Staff and Guests Safe

As businesses of all kinds begin to accept customers into their buildingsowners and managers need to consider legal/regulatory mandates, governmental recommendations and sound marketing if they want to be successful.  The world has changed, and businesses must show and tell customers, as well as employees, that they care about their safety With that in mind, Access Partners has collected the following tips from a variety of sources – all for your consideration.  

Start with a plan 

  • Consider all the things you need to provide a safe environment, then start to find or acquire the resources you need.   
  • Lead times on some items will be longer than you think, so plan ahead and get into the cue for resources. 

Health Screenings and Logs 

  • Designate an employee with the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) to monitor employee health through daily temperature checks using non-contact thermometers prior to entering the building. 
  • Another staff person should be appointed for each shift as the point of contact for reporting any COVID-19 concerns, such as experiencing symptoms, testing positive or being in contact with someone who tested positive in the last 14 days. 
  • Employees with any signs of illness must self-quarantine. 
  • Local and state health directives may require businesses to keep a log of all people who enter their facility, for the purposes of contact tracing, in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak.  You may be required to log the names and phone numbers of employees and patrons. 

Keeping public-facing spaces consistently clean  

  • Consistency is key to maintaining cleanliness. Customers need to see that a space is clean, and they must witness employees actively cleaning to earn their trust.  Negative social media reviews related to a lack of cleanliness can be devastating right now.   

Social distancing is expected 

  • Many states are only allowing restaurants and other businesses to open at 25% of their normal capacity, so, it’s important to arrange the seating accordingly.  Nearly every type of business must maintain at least 6 feet between parties.   
  • The CDC recommends visual guides on the floors and sidewalks indicating where guests should stand where lines form as well as in the kitchen and at the bar.  
  • Many businesses are limiting the number of customers that can enter and the amount of time they spend inside to ensure guidelines are met.  Failure to do so could result in fines or closure. 

Face masks required 

  • Your employees and your guests are likely to be mandated to wear face masks.  Options for non-medical, disposable masks are quickly coming into the market for civilian businesses.  Ensure you have adequate stock.  It’s a simple and inexpensive way to help keep your staff and guests healthy, as recommended by the CDC. 

Hand washing and hand sanitizer 

  • Some states are requiring a place for customers to wash their hands and/or apply hand sanitizer upon entry.  Provide guests with hand sanitizer station or a sink, a high-quality soap and paper towels to dry their hands.   

Avoid cross-contamination 

Analyze your space for possible crosscontamination.   

  • Restaurants need to provide single-use disposable menus (such as placemat style menu options or mobile apps). 
  • Disinfect high touch doorknobs and other points of contact with a high frequency. 
  • Convert to all disposable dinnerware and drinkwareindividually dispensed or wrapped cutlery and wrapped straws.  Wrapped cups may also be an option. 
  • If employees need to handle money or credit cards, they should wear gloves and change them frequently, avoiding cross-contamination between cash/credit cards and food packaging as well as food prep areas.   
  • Take advantage of free and low-cost foodservice handler training available during this pandemic.      
  • Use quaternary sanitizer compatible towels when cleaning with quats to maximize the effectiveness of cleaning chemicals. 

Think About your Message to Your Customers 

  • Keep the messaging consistent throughout all channels and answer any questions that come up quickly and efficiently.  
  • Consider the words of Taco Bell CEO Mark King, who said in an interview: “One of the messages that we had to tell people was that we were, in fact, open and not only were we open but we were safe, and it was a safe place to work and it was a safe place to come and find your food.” 

Continue to innovate your Third-Party Delivery Program 

  • Tamper-evident packaging is more important than ever to give customers the peace of mind that their order is safe.  
  • Printing your logo on packaging can help with brand visibility. 
  • Advertising that your business is implementing this system can help generate positive feedback.  

How Can Access Partners Help? 

The Access Partners team can offer product solutions in all of the above categories and more. We are happy to provide suggestions and solutions to meet your needs.   Contact your Access Partners representative or call (626) 815-4200 for more information.