Apple Retail stores will look very different in the US when they reopen
Apple's upcoming reopening of some U.S.-based retail locations will be based around guidelines that the company developed for and refined at its open South Korea Apple Store.
Apple Stores like this one, pre-coronavirus will look quite different when they reopen, with tweaked product displays and new social distancing guidelines.
The Cupertino tech giant on Friday announced that they would cautiously kick its retail reopening process with select U.S. stores in Idaho, South Carolina, Alabama and Alaska the week of May 11. In mid-April, Apple reopened its sole brick-and-mortar location in South Korea.
Using that location as a testing ground, the company has reportedly developed an instructional video with coronavirus and social distancing guideline that it's now sending to other retail employees. That video, obtained by MacRumors, outlines a set of strict practices that Apple Store staffers will be required to follow to ensure reopening is done safely.
Precautions include temperature checking both employees and customers, holding socially distanced daily briefings for staffers, and providing and encouraging the use of hand sanitizer by customers. Apple Stores will also be instructed to limit the number of people allowed inside of them, forming lines with shoppers at least two meters apart.
Guidelines also extend to how products are displayed, with fewer products per table positioned in a way to keep customers from standing too closely to each other.
Apple Store staffers themselves will also take precautions, including limiting movement by communicating through the Talk app, working at alternating workstations, and wearing face masks at all times.
Employees will also use a "relay system" to get products and repaired devices from a stockroom to customers without too much employee movement. The backrooms at Apple locations will also see most of their communal areas rearranged to encourage social distancing.
Stores that reopen will operate with reduced hours at first, though it isn't clear what the new schedule will be.
Apple Stores have been shuttered across the globe -- except for those in China -- since March 14. In an internal memo from March, Apple's chief of retail and people Deirdre O'Brien said that the company would evaluate whether to reopen offices and stores on a city-by-city basis, evaluating local guidelines before proceeding.
Apple Stores like this one, pre-coronavirus will look quite different when they reopen, with tweaked product displays and new social distancing guidelines.
The Cupertino tech giant on Friday announced that they would cautiously kick its retail reopening process with select U.S. stores in Idaho, South Carolina, Alabama and Alaska the week of May 11. In mid-April, Apple reopened its sole brick-and-mortar location in South Korea.
Using that location as a testing ground, the company has reportedly developed an instructional video with coronavirus and social distancing guideline that it's now sending to other retail employees. That video, obtained by MacRumors, outlines a set of strict practices that Apple Store staffers will be required to follow to ensure reopening is done safely.
Precautions include temperature checking both employees and customers, holding socially distanced daily briefings for staffers, and providing and encouraging the use of hand sanitizer by customers. Apple Stores will also be instructed to limit the number of people allowed inside of them, forming lines with shoppers at least two meters apart.
Guidelines also extend to how products are displayed, with fewer products per table positioned in a way to keep customers from standing too closely to each other.
Apple Store staffers themselves will also take precautions, including limiting movement by communicating through the Talk app, working at alternating workstations, and wearing face masks at all times.
Employees will also use a "relay system" to get products and repaired devices from a stockroom to customers without too much employee movement. The backrooms at Apple locations will also see most of their communal areas rearranged to encourage social distancing.
Stores that reopen will operate with reduced hours at first, though it isn't clear what the new schedule will be.
Apple Stores have been shuttered across the globe -- except for those in China -- since March 14. In an internal memo from March, Apple's chief of retail and people Deirdre O'Brien said that the company would evaluate whether to reopen offices and stores on a city-by-city basis, evaluating local guidelines before proceeding.
Comments
I don't know if many of you have seen that video which seems to have gone viral of a Asian kid at the gate to the school passing through different stages of disinfection. No idea if it is fake or not but obviously people are getting pro-active with regards to hygiene and protection and creative into the bargain.
I gladly had my temp taken at the dentist and didn’t think twice about it. Being safe and courteous to others is my duty.
The 6’ rule isn’t stupid. Actual testing has shown it’s a minimum, as cough droplets easily travel to 9 and even 12’ with no mask. With is reduced but it all depends on the mask. 6’ seems reasonable at a min.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2020/05/04/cough-coronavirus-masks-kaye-pkg-vpx.cnn
"Please stand 6.6 feet apart." But then people will complain about those extra 6.75" /s
also
I don't have any issues with these measures. I'm all for the stores opening up as quickly as possible. If that means increased measures, then so be it. I've been calling for society to open up as soon as possible for a while now.
It's not like they're sticking a thermometer up anybody's ass. They're probably using a laser gun thermometer directed at the forehead to quickly check the temps of people entering the store. Measures like this have been commonplace many places worldwide. I've seen many images of people getting their temp taken before they are allowed to enter somewhere.
If somebody doesn't like it or objects, then they should be considered infected and not allowed to enter under any circumstances.
Apple should also have armed security ready to shoot any violators who get violent or threatening, as we've seen in some other businesses.
https://www.cpr.org/2020/02/28/colorado-is-sold-out-of-medical-masks-due-to-coronavirus-fears-dont-worry-you-dont-need-one/
“ I think almost everyone I've seen outside of the hospital, that's wearing these in public, don't even have them on properly," said Barron. "I think ends up happening is that it gives them a false sense of security and then they don't realize that their hands are far more likely to be the way they're going to catch this."
I found an interesting issue with the watch. I started using the Apple watch as it does not require face ID (funny how I need it for the phone, but not the watch). In many cases where they put in the clear plexiglass shield, I can't get my wrist close enough to the tap censor because of the plexiglass. One day we'll figure it out...
I don't just go 2 times a month though. I'd say that you are in the extreme minority.
After trying a few times, I eventually managed to get my wrist below the plexiglass and close enough to the reader to make it work. Somebody with fat arms would have run into problems with that I think.
The cashier first suggested that I remove my watch, but I told them that I didn't think that was going to work.