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For the first time in its 45 years, a grocery store in downtown Nelson, BC, has hired a security guard – and it’s not to watch out for shoplifters.
Their job is to prevent a growing increase in aggressive behavior among some shoppers who refuse to wear a mask in the store, as the province announced last Thursday that face coverings are now mandatory in all retail spaces in an effort to control the spread. of COVID -19.
Ari Derfel, Kootenay Co-op store manager, says that while most customers have followed the new regulations, around 10-20% of them refuse to wear a mask and become argumentative when asked to do so.
“Their way of expressing themselves [their argument] they can be really aggressive, confrontational and nasty to the point where they sometimes try to force themselves into the shop without a mask, ”Derfel told CBC reporter Bob Keating.
“They speak in very humiliating, negative and critical ways to some of our staff and our cashiers.”
Some staff members burst into tears and even quit due to vitriol, he said.
Leannah Fidler, who worked at Kootenay Co-op for five years, says he has never seen his workplace as the pressure cooker environment it is now.
“We are getting a lot of pushbacks from people who don’t really believe it [COVID-19] is it real, or I don’t think masks are an appropriate way to combat it, “he said.
“People are just waiting for an altercation.”
Assistant manager Shannon McAllister is pleading with clients to stop verbal abuse against her staff.
“At the end of the day, we’re all just people and we’re all trying to do our best and do our job,” said CBC host Chris Walker. Daybreak south.
“Especially people who work in retail, grocery stores and restaurants … [they’re] they do so at their own risk to provide that service to our community. “
Most shoppers like regular customer Reiko Fujibayashi, who has worked in the store for 10 years, have no problem dressing up.
“I don’t understand why people personalize something that is a warrant,” he said.
Derfel hopes the presence of a security guard means that some people will think twice before trying to enter the store without a mask or abusing the staff when denied entry.
Hear Bob Keating’s conversation with Kootenay Co-op staff and customers on Radio West:
Radio West5:15Kootenay Co-op hires a security guard to calm angry anti-mask customers
CBC reporter Bob Keating speaks to staff and customers at the four-decade-old shop in downtown Nelson. 5:15
Listen to Shannon McAllister’s interview on Daybreak south:
Daybreak south6:34Kootenay Co-op on the backlash from the BC Provincial Health Order over mandatory indoor masks.
Kootenay Co-op on the backlash from the BC Provincial Health Order over mandatory indoor masks. 6:34
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