Masks - Required or Not
 

I went shopping today in The Villages Public's at Southern trace. While getting meet at the deli two gentlemen walked by me without masks and since I made a comment to one of them there was no oh I have a medical condition or other problems. I reported this to the manager, (whose name was Alicia). She said thank you for bringing it to our attention. She then said I will remind them to bring their masks. I then remarked don't remind them throw them out. She said well they may have medical issues. I said, since I challenge one of the men and he didn't say anything I don't think they got medical issues. She again said thank you for bringing this to our attention. As I was moving to the front of the store to check out later one of the individuals walked right in front of Alisha the manager; she said, nothing. I said the individual just walked in front of you why did you do something. She said thank you for bringing this to our attention. If Publix isn't going to fulfill their requirement to us on their signs requiring mask be worn they shouldn't posted. Also, they should not advertise it. So, if you are shopping at Publix watch out there is a lot of people not wearing masks and they are not going to require then to wear the mask; regardless of the signs they put in the front of the store. I have no problem with individuals who have a valid medical reason for not wearing masks. However, they should have a letter from their doctor. If I had a medical condition requiring I could not wear a mask; I would have a letter from my doctor. It wouldn't be hard to get. Publix is just not going to honor their advertisement of requiring masks. I thought the people of the villages would like to know.

maybe they forgot

we shopped at Publix today...my wife forgot to put a mask on....after shopping for 5 minutes, suddenly she realized she didn't have a mask on...I went out to the car and brought one in for her. No one made an issue of it

these things happen

I shop at various Publixes including the Southern Trace Shopping Center one and most of the people there do wear masks. A few do not.

At Walmart a few weeks ago I took my mask off when going to the bathroom. I needed to spit and get some air. No one else was in there. I forgot to put it back on and had my long pants on as I had donated platelets earlier in the day and was coming from One Blood. The mask I had must have fallen off after I had detached it from one ear. Moreover, I did not carry an extra mask in my long pants. When wearing my shorts I usually keep a back-up mask in a pocket.

I ended up wrapping the medical tape they had put on me at One Blood around my mouth and looking very foolish. Before that, I did look around to see if anyone else was not wearing a mask at Walmart and there were a few people without one.

I read somewhere that Walmart is telling their employees not to confront these maskless individuals as there have been too many violent reactions in some of their stores. Most follow the rules.

I have found the same thing at the Publix in Lake Denton and the Winn Dixie in Lake Sumter. Both stores have signs posted that masks are required but I have seen non mask wearers at both each time I have gone in. The check out gal at Winn Dixie said she was told she could not say anything to anyone about wearing a mask! There was an entire family at Winn Dixie (Burnsed) the other day non of which had masks on (I doubt the entire family all had medical issues) and the manager walked right by them without saying anything.
I’m guessing that the crazy and violent incidents and reactions that have happened around the country by non mask wearers when they have simply been asked to put on a mask has made it dangerous and unsafe for employees to even approach someone and make a simple request to don a mask for the safety and health of those around them.
There have been quite a few articles published that state if you can’t wear a mask they said you are probably not wearing it correctly. “There are no medical conditions that preclude someone from wearing a simple surgical face mask because they have no effect on the respiratory mechanics.”
One doctor said, “If your respiratory status is truly that tenuous that you can’t breathe through a cloth face- covering, you should stay home and not expose yourself to any risk.” If you are truly that fragile, a COVID-19 infection could be a death sentence.”
I feel bad for all the establishments that are trying to keep their employees and us safe but have to deal with the attitudes of those people that continue to refuse to follow the rules and continue to do as they darn well please.
By the way, wearing the mask below your nose or as a “chin guard” does not count as having a mask on!

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Went to Lowes last week to bring some (incorrect size) plumbing fittings back and get the correct ones. My wife dropped me off at Lowes and drove to Aldis while I shopped.

I walked into the Returns area - three people ahead of me - saw their masks, and thought Oh SHXT!, forgot mine in the glovebox. I felt so weird, almost nude.... Then I saw a sign by the desks stating masks are required, and one would be supplied per customer if needed. Got to the desk, asked for a mask, and she passed one to me.

I felt so relieved, and finished my shopping at Lowes and walked to Aldis to meet wifey. SO HAPPY that Lowes supplied one for me...
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Employees are not going risk their personal safety ejecting someone for not wearing a mask and I don’t blame them. Even the CDC is warning businesses not to argue or confront non-mask wearing customers.

Fuss at the corporation, not the store staff, if it’s that big of a deal to you. Corporations aren’t going to throw them out though. It comes down to money and potential liability for them if something goes wrong.

Spot on
 

Nice post as you make some good points. My wife and I took our grandson out to eat last night. Amazing, everyone was wearing a mask. As we walked through the interior of the restaurant to get to the patio, everyone inside was also wearing a mask. If this behavior happened a few months ago, many more lives would have been saved.

Stores are trying to have their cake and eat it too. If masks are required, then the rule should be enforced, especially if a customer complains. A customer who complains should have more rights than the person breaking the rule. If there is no enforcement, then they cannot claim that masks are required. The store is violating their own policy. If masks are necessary to protect shoppers, people with a medical condition should be told to use delivery or curbside pickup, but to leave the store. I don't like wishy-washy policies. Our country is becoming a bunch of wimps.

What restaurant? Would love to find the ones where everyone is being safe.

It is your business, it maybe your life. If a person can’t wear a mask for medical or political reasons they need to use curbside pick up. Under no circumstances is it ok to endanger everyone else.

That sounds great on paper but it's not legally enforceable. There is no law in Florida mandating the use of masks inside businesses. If you have a problem with that, take it up with the Governor.

As long as it is not against the law, there will be people who refuse to obey store policies. There'll be people who refuse to obey store policies even when there IS a law against their behavior. In those cases, the management calls the police.

Store managers should not have to put their lives at risk to enforce a store policy. At the present time, there is SO much division about EVERYTHING in this country, that someone just looking at someone else can trigger a shooting.

The point of saying that masks are required, is to INCREASE the number of people wearing masks in the store. That has worked. It is absolutely successful. There are still some people who don't wear masks in the store. But the number of people who DON'T wear them has gone down significantly.

What's even better, is that more and more people are starting to give those unmasked people "the look." You know that look - the one of disapproval. In other words - wearing a mask has become normalized, and NOT wearing one has become villainized.

Peer pressure is doing its job. And the store is reinforcing that by having the policy in the first place.

Also, regarding the OP: there aren't a "lot" of people not wearing masks in Publix. The OP witnessed TWO people not wearing masks at one Publix. Two out of over a hundred people who came and went in whichever hour that customer was in the store. Two out of over a hundred is not "a lot." It's not even "many." Or "several." Think about that. Two - is not even enough to qualify as "a few."

Also, to the OP - you didn't follow those gentlemen around - and if you had, I would've expected someone to call the police and accuse you of stalking them. If you had, you might have discovered that the manager DID talk to them, and they DID say they had a medical excuse. And - according to the law - there is absolutely nothing can do about that. Once they say they have a medical excuse, that's the end of the discussion.

Relax, keep your distance from people who aren't wearing masks, and try not to stress over something you can't control.

So, here is the thing. I read on the Publix.com website that, as of July 21, all customers are required to wear a mask in their stores. So, I go to Publix expecting all customers to be wearing a mask for my protection. But, I see that some people are not wearing a mask. I tell the manager, who says that they aren't actually required to wear masks, they have no enforcement policy, and he won't do anything about it. So, what does "required" mean? In my opinion, Publix is lying to me. Publix should change their website to say that, we would like to require our customers to wear a mask, but we are afraid to tell them that to their face, so please wear a mask when you come to our store. But, if you don't, you should know that we are too wimpy and cowardly to enforce our policy, so you will be able to get away without wearing a mask. And, we don't really care what other customers think about it. We are just trying to make a profit anyway we can, even if it means that we tell lies on our website.

We need mask police on the job! Maybe those social workers who will be working instead of policemen for certain calls could start off with this light duty assignment. After all not much to be worried about in public areas. Shouldn’t be much of a threat. When they see a violation, they could have backup to come for a witness (to prevent an escalation). They could carry a few extra mask in their pockets or purses and charge the violators a couple bucks for the cloth. If a violator refuses to pay for the mask then the mask police supervisors come and escort the intruder out the door. No gun to offend anyone, only walkie/talkies and mask required. O yes the mask police badge is a must. That way everyone will obey their commands without controversy. Please people wear the mask when within 6 ft of strangers in crowded places

"Publix is lying to me" is not an opinion. Either it's true, or it's not true. And I can tell you as a fact, it is not true. They aren't lying to you. They're telling you it's required. If someone complained to the STORE manager - not just an assistant or shift-manager or customer service - then I'm sure the STORE manager might be able to do something more than simply remind the customer that masks are required.

But none of the rest of us are authorized to take action. Publix is looking out for our safety as well as yours. And frankly I'm grateful that I'm not required to try and force a customer to either wear a mask or get out of the store. I don't want to have to defend myself from some freak who has already proven that he has no respect for me or my employer, by not abiding by the rules in the first place.