Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Florida: hotel, cinema, school)

[mdovell]

With respect to retail there is a cost when you are opened up sure. You have to make sure that you have bathrooms and complying with Adam and have adequate lighting. I spend years and Retail and even a big box store has to have usually at least 10 people to open up between basic security and registers Administration. Before this happened to close a retail store when generally mean either a major snow storm is some form of a hurricane or tornado. I used to see the old emergency management system it is actually pretty cool because it had this cold war-like mentality of how you shutdown a store.

My employer back in retail heavily and for size safety and I can tell you if people don't feel safe doing something they just not going to do it and that was the policy and I'm pretty sure even more than a decade later it still is.

I remember during a major snowstorm lose some message board that tried claiming that they were a FEMA store even though there was no such thing. Remember when Patrick shut down some of the roads were some major snow storms back in the day? Well we had to shut down to because you can't tell employees to do something that's illegally compromising their Safety.

Then keep in mind in the winter we are the Northeast and you do still have to put money into a building even if it is empty. Let's say you told the event in the building and got broken pipes are freezing that's going to be a higher cost. If you have your telecommunication lines go down or electric that still has to be a cost. A lot of times it is not worth opening up a retail store or restaurant. Lower volume and higher operations during the winter means that it might not reach profitability. The idea that everything has to be open for the general public in person all the time frankly comes at a huge cost. If you must shop at a retailer Restaurant please phone it in our order it online first then go in. Consider this from a logical standpoint if education is online and if many people working from home and they see something where there's actually people there in the flesh to talk to they *are* going to be more apt to go in there just for a conversation. My girlfriend is a teacher and her online classes actually have the kids families in the background trying to tell them the answers to questions. To them its like a game show a bingo.


Kind of related but I just had the blower fan of my car replaced as well as a cabin air filter. Apparently I had a mouse in there and didn't know they ripped up some insulation like you wouldn't believe. As there's less driving around you might get some more animals and critters inside looking for heat.

Actually I'm talking to somebody from the governor's Council that's not related to this at all so maybe I might bring it up.

Essential business is going to have a slippery slope depending on what they're doing. I heard in Minnesota they tried closing down non essential businesses but I only turned out to be 20%. I'm by Connecticut and to be honest with you I think hardly anything closed. I can understand grocery stores and gas stations and pharmacies but if you start talking about clothing stores all that can just be done online

[robr2]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

That's what it was last spring. Small businesses couldn't stay open but Target and Walmart could because they sell food and have pharmacies.

IIRC, small retail businesses that met the requirements could stay open as long as they followed the capacity rules. Little pharmacies, home improvement stores, and grocery stores were allowed to open. Heck the local Trump for New England started selling hand sanitizer in order to open.

The key is that all those stores should have been prevented from selling clothing, electronics, etc. Some did and some states even went as far to impose that restriction. Then the Mah Freddums and "Merica people started threatening violence.

[msRB311]

Many people feel that small businesses and mom and pop type shops have been set up to fail during all this. It isn't right that Target and Walmart (and airlines for that matter) were allowed to stay open but so many other smaller stores and restaurants have been poorly affected. There are just really some weird rules throughout all of this. I could go to target or catch a flight to Europe but can't walk into the local library or sit down to eat in a restaurant (not saying i want to do this personally).

People from all over the world can still go to Disney world and it seems they certainly are: https://www.cinemablend.com/news/255...tting-capacity

but you cant have your family get together at restaurant for an hour or two or even have them in your home. Something seems wrong here. And I get that there are people who like me who still will have their parents over for Christmas just as there are people still going to disney.

[jtolpin]

Originally Posted by msRB311

People need to keep their mouths shut about others having their parents and close family members in their home.

Im not sure about that.

Our thanksgiving was our family of 5, thats it. No SIL from the North Shore (and her child) and not my dad (from my own town).

For XMas, its going to be the same, Im sure. People should not see other family members outside their bubble, so we've been told. Which to me, coveres everyone. No one is infecting anybody.

[Cantabridgienne]

Originally Posted by msRB311

but you cant have your family get together at restaurant for an hour or two or even have them in your home. Something seems wrong here. And I get that there are people who like me who still will have their parents over for Christmas just as there are people still going to disney.

Obviously you *can* have your extended over for a holiday meal even if it goes against public health guidelines/common sense, so why are you acting so persecuted?

[jtolpin]

Originally Posted by Cantabridgienne

I work in the restaurant industry. So does my partner. So do many of our friends, as it's a fairly close-knit community here. The simple fact is many, many people in the industry would prefer to not have indoor dining--it's a health risk to staff, for one thing. But it's winter. For all the industry thought heat lamps might save it, it didn't, and it's won't. The cost of COVID-compliance to a space is not small, the financial impact of restrictions is enormous and often, not worth being open for service on any given night. But for some it might be, so they try to hang on however they can.


Unless the state or federal government providing more relief, indoor dining--which many places are not doing, by the way--is a last-ditch effort to hold on to a business/livelihood. Anyone who doesn't understand that has a great privilege not to.

So I ask - for those of us that refuse to indoor dine, we should just order take out as much as we can afford, and help out as much as we can?

Ive said it before here and to my family. I feel bad for not going out to eat, and I feel bad if/when restaurants have to close - I wish the federal govt would give money for it.

Good luck!

[msRB311]

No one will be persecuted for anything.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by jtolpin

So I ask - for those of us that refuse to indoor dine, we should just order take out as much as we can afford, and help out as much as we can?

If you do do that, I've been told (by restaurant industry friends) to avoid using the apps like GrubHub and DoorDash and order direct from the restaurant and pick it up (if no in-house delivery exists). With the fees paid out to the app programs, they might end up getting 70% of their total cost and no profit once they get paid out, which might be a month or so down the road.

So I've been told

[jtolpin]

Originally Posted by Cantabridgienne

Obviously you *can* have your extended over for a holiday meal even if it goes against public health guidelines/common sense, so why are you acting so persecuted?

You <can> but <should> you, is the question.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by jtolpin

So I ask - for those of us that refuse to indoor dine, we should just order take out as much as we can afford, and help out as much as we can?

Yes and tip at least what you would if were you dining in.