COVID-19 has made us aware of our surroundings and responsibilities more than anything we’ve experienced in a generation or more.  I’m kind of a germaphobe.  But concerns of respiratory droplets and six-feet distancing were never in my playbook.  Remember when it was just simply – “Employees Must Wash Their Hands Before Returning to Work” and “No shoes, No shirt, No Service”?

Like Blake Shelton sings, “It Ain’t Easy” anymore.

Life in June 2020 is far different than life before the pandemic shutdown way back in mid-March.  That’s when we were preparing for St. Patty’s Day festivities and trying to figure out what bar we’d be watching our Spartans crush their opponent in the Big Ten Basketball Tournament.  Lots of high-fives would have been happening. Oh, life was good and our guards sure were down.

Then the pandemic tsunami hit.

Ten weeks into the “Stay Safe, Stay at Home” order, we have an unemployment rate over 22% in Michigan.  We’ve instituted behavioral changes – online shopping, mobile ordering, and Zoom happy hours.  While some sectors have adjusted as they reopen, it’s the suggested safeguards that will provide consumers the confidence to head out again.  The statistics are staggering on how many people don’t plan to go out for a while.

Face coverings (which are required in Michigan when in any enclosed public space and by the food prep sector), increased cleanings of door handles, plexiglass between you and the clerk at the checkout counter…life is indeed not normal.  I get it.  It’s important to protect others from our respiratory droplets. That’s the benefit of the masks.  Another benefit – just like a bumper sticker – it’s a good way to let others know what you care about.  My wife dons a Disney mask.  A co-worker sports a University of Michgian mask.  Yuck!

While there are people out and about shopping, most have their mask as required under the governor’s order.   A recent poll highlighted in a MIRS News story stated that, “67% support requiring everyone who is able to wear masks indoors, but only 31% view its necessary outdoors.”  The obvious fear is that if we don’t all abide by basic sanitary standards, we’ll tumble toward a “second wave” before the first one has even completely receded from the shoreline.  Some of us care, others really don’t.  But that’s not the point of this article.  I’m really concerned about consumer’s confidence over the next few months and how that will impact businesses.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve made a few trips to downtown East Lansing.  I needed to get out.  As certain sectors began to open, some of us “adventurous” Michiganders began to venture out. I felt like a dog that realized his shock collar was set at a low voltage. I escaped to the one of my favorite haunts to get a professionally brewed coffee drink.  This was actually an “exciting” excursion a few weeks ago.  I guess the “Stay at Home” made life’s simple things pleasurable.

When I walked in, I quickly ordered my regular.  There was only one person waiting for their “grab and go”.  As I stood back waiting, mask on, it hit me, the barista and his sidekick were mask-less! What the heck?  They were chatting away while steaming the milk, running the espresso machine, and putting on a lid.  During a pandemic, it seemed reasonable that they’d at least wear a mask WHILE PREPARING MY FOOD, but this was like a pre-COVID experience.  It didn’t really instill confidence with this consumer.  Not even an attempt to make people feel more comfortable, let alone the health precaution.  That led me to think, is this a protest moment for them?  Do they not realize what’s required of them?  What else aren’t they carefully cleaning?  Do they wash their hands?  I left the coffee shop thinking it was an anomaly.  Maybe they ran out of masks or forgot them at home.  It really bugged me.  Isn’t a mask a simple gesture that you care about your customers?  Even if it’s for the optics?

For the past several weeks, I walked into, and quickly left, that “mask less” place.  No masks for the six times I poked in and left.  No business for you!  I love the free market, so I found a competitor across the street that has equally good offerings and obvious sanitary protocols, including masks, plastic guards, and hand sanitizer.  I mentioned to the kid taking my order the reason I’ve become a regular.  He shared, “You’re not the first to say that.”

Consumer confidence starts with the owner.  They need to care about their employees and clientele.  Customers will take care of you if you take care of them.  I write this at a time when the food service industry is gradually re-opening.  It’s been a tough period and I hope my favorite places survive. One of those that I thought would easily survive sadly claimed bankruptcy yesterday.

For those business owners that are set to re-open their doors, please realize it’s up to you to let the customers know you care. If the mask thing bothers me, can you imagine how it sits with folks over 60 or those with immunity issues?

Remember, people won’t be concerned if you wear a mask, but they will if you don’t.

Michigan Legislative Consultants is a bipartisan lobbying firm based in Lansing, Michigan. Our team of lobbyists and procurement specialists provide a wide range of services for some of the most respected companies in America. For more on MLC, visit www.mlcmi.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.