Mary pulled into a parking spot and let out a sigh. She had been very lonely because of COVID-19 and the subsequent quarantine. Her family lived nearby, but she had only seen them a few times in April and only at a distance. Mary had been very careful to only leave the house to get the necessities and to wear a mask when in public.
After many days of patience and compliance, she was happy to see businesses slowly start to open. However, Mary was still cautious and had been hesitant to go out. Taking all the possible safety precautions, she ventured out to the Samaritan Center, eager to go back into the store. Mary missed her favorite cashiers and was excited to talk with the other shoppers that she had grown to know because of her daily shopping. Mary was happy to get back to the store as she had taken up the hobby of thrifting during retirement.
Mary got out of her car and walked toward the Center. She talked with some of the other shoppers but took note of the social distancing squares, one-way shopping arrows, and other social distancing guidelines the Center had put in place. During her time at the Samaritan Center, Mary got to see her favorite cashiers and find some bargains too.
Recently, The Samaritan Center reopened following a necessary closure due to COVID-19. While things have been hectic during re-opening, we are thankful for our employees and shoppers, like Mary, who have made the Center safer by following the guidelines we have put in place.
Shopping in the Samaritan Center looks very different now. To respect our community we have been following the reopening guidelines in the Tennessee Pledge. We have instituted store policies such as one-way shopping, social distancing, requesting cards over cash, treating surfaces in the store with microshield 360 as well as putting barriers and sneeze guards in place.
While we have done our best to keep our community safe and healthy, we are unable to do this without the support of our customers. We appreciate your compliance with our one-way shopping policies, social distancing guidelines as well as extending kindness and patience to our cashiers.
These days we are working together to create a safe shopping experience for everyone. Without the care and concern for safety from our shoppers, we will be unable to make the Samaritan Center a safe place for everyone. As we look forward we are unsure of what the future holds but we know we will keep following our mission to provide our community with help for today and hope for tomorrow.