An initiative to make post COVID-19 shopping safe and secure for all our retail employees and customers

This Covid-19 continues to be humanity’s largest disruptor of businesses and life, lately, it is the understatement. Aside from producing an overpowering sense of warning, anxiety, and nervousness, it’s seriously impacted opinion in regards to the majority of commercial transactions. Amid the international increase of internet and multi-channel advertising, and their impact on retail, such as malls, even the Coronavirus meltdown is going to be a powerful game-changer for retail throughout the globe.

The objective of this blog is to provide a strategy for resuming our mall retails stores post-COVID-19 lockdown. It also provides a framework for social distancing, right sanitization guidelines, workplace norms, among others, to ensure safety and hygiene for internal and external customers, which will remain of utmost importance post lockdown.

To help the Retail Business Units during this critical phase, Mall Management of Sarath City Capital Mall has set up specific operational guidelines:

Our WASH policy i.e. Water, Sanitization, and Hygiene:

• Installation of sanitization products, and preventive guideline posters at all entry and exit points.
• Stores, and entry doors to have Thermo-Guns and screen all personnel and customers for checking body temperatures.
• Provide PPE kits, Bio-Degradable gloves, masks to all staff, including back-office staff.
• Making wearing masks mandatory.
• Installing hand rub dispensers at prominent places around the store & making sure the dispensers are regularly refilled.
• Sanitization of all highly touched surfaces at least once every 3 hours.
• Using drop-down banners, signs, and posters around the store to remind staff and customers of the risks of COVID-19 and measures necessary to stop its spread. 

Staff Awareness & Deploying Rapid Response Team in Stores:

• Create a Rapid Response Team of at least two store managers who will monitor employees with infections/symptoms and will take appropriate actions.
• Encouraging employees to use their private vehicles while commuting to work.
• Make sure the staff using public transport to sanitize themselves before entering the store.
• Make it compulsory for employees to wash their hands when they arrive and every time they enter the premises, as well as frequently throughout the day.

• Conduct daily fever checks—Every staff to be checked for the body temperature through infrared-based gun thermometers without fail.
• Mandating employees to have lunch at their work stations; no employee to be allowed to wash their lunch box in the washbasin.
• Encouraging employees to wash their hands with soap at least for 20 seconds before and after using washrooms.
• Staffs need to stay at home if they develop even mild symptoms of COVID -19.
• Every 14 days, we will be carrying out disinfecting and fumigating of all stores.

 Redesigning of Spaces & Aisles:

• Restrict gathering in groups, avoid any meeting of no more than 2-3 persons at a time.
• No more than 2 persons to use waiting area benches while ensuring social distancing guidelines.
• No-touch security scan to be installed.
• We will be creating separate isolation rooms during a health emergency.
• Putting distance marking on different crowded areas and disinfecting all common areas like lifts, escalators, chairs in seating areas, food and beverages, and retail outlets.
• Availability of hand wash or alcohol-based hand sanitizers within the common area, washroom area, and stores. 

Our Accountability and Responsibility:

• The mall management would be wholly accountable for the safety of each and every customer visit.
• We urge and request every citizen to practice social distancing, using a mask, and use sanitizers in order to keep themselves and others safe.
• With all social responsibilities lets come together and eradicate the spreading of the virus.