Monday morning welcomed the reopening of all 11 stores in Massachusetts that had been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Along with the store reopenings came new safety guidelines. Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung detailed all the precautions that Bob’s Discount Furniture is taking in every store that is open and will be opening in the near future.
You can read the full article here.
I’m happy to report that most of my 128 stores are now open again! There are a few areas of the country that remain closed, such as my stores in New Jersey and New York City. We are working to reopen these stores in the coming weeks.
You can check the status of all stores here.
Shop Safe. Shop Confident!
The safety of my customers and staff has always been my top priority, but even more so now during with COVID-19.
The next time you visit your nearest Bob’s Discount Furniture store, you’ll notice the increased safety measures I’ve put in place.
Every store now has a greeter that will take your temperature with a no-contact infrared thermometer and ask you the following questions:
- “Can I put some sanitizer on your hands?”
- “Can I take your temperature?”
- “How are you feeling today?”
- “Have you been around anyone sick today?”
All staff members are wearing masks and I ask every customer to wear a mask as well. If you don’t have a mask, my team members will provide one for you.
The New ABCs of Bob’s
If you walked into a staff meeting at Bob’s Discount Furniture prior to COVID-19 and asked everyone if they knew their ABCs, the answer would be an overwhelming yes – Always Be Closing!
But COVID-19 has changed that answer.
The ABCs at Bob’s have taken on a new meaning – Always Be Cleaning.
Prior to reopening a store, the entire building receives a thorough cleaning. During business hours, employees are constantly cleaning through the day, sanitizing high-traffic areas.
Emphasizing the Distance in Social Distancing
I’m limiting the total number of customers in each store at one time to maintain safe social distancing. There is a maximum of 10 customer parties at a time in each store. I have established waiting areas outside of every store.
These increased safety measures go above and beyond some state reopening regulations.
For example, New Hampshire’s reopening regulations state that store capacity is restricted to 50 percent. The fire code allows 766 people at a time in my Nashua store and half of that 383. However, I’m only allowing about 70 customers at a time in this location.
“There are a lot of rules out there, and they continue to change,” Roger Dunlap, senior vice president of store operations, told Leung. “We established Bob’s rules.”
