C-stores report promising start to face mask guidelines

Anita Nye from Premier Eldred Drive Stores in Orpington, Kent, said: “The majority of customers are following the guidelines. We aren’t enforcing it, but we are reminding those without a mask that it is mandatory.”

Samantha Coldbeck, business partner at Wharfedale Premier in Hull, added: “I think the ones without masks actually feel like the odd ones out. Think we’ll see more masks as the days go by.”

Sunder Sandher, owner of One Stop Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, is giving out free face masks to customers not wearing one. However, that is “only a few, not many”, he said.

Onkar Sandhu, owner of Nisa Sandhu Stores in Tamworth, Staffordshire, added: “It’ll improve over time and it’ll just be the anti-maskers left to comply.”

Meanwhile, Central England Co-op has reported that it had no incidents of colleagues being confronted or challenged in relation to the new government guidance of wearing a face covering when visiting one of its businesses. All stores saw compliance levels by shoppers of upwards of 90 to 95%.

Matt Simpson, Central England Co-op store manager, said: “The feedback we have had has been brilliant and what is even better, at a time when we are campaigning for a zero tolerance approach to any kind of abuse towards colleagues, is that we have seen no confrontations or challenges related to this new rule.

“Thank you to all who have supported us this weekend but now please keep on helping us keep our communities safe by wearing a face covering as nothing is more important to us all at Central England Cooperative than the health and safety of our colleagues and customers.”