I can work on online orders, phone sales, buy online, pick-up-in-stores sales,” the second Grove employee said.Employees who are not experiencing COVID-19 symptoms are not allowed to opt out of customer-facing roles, they said, and are instead being asked to use their personal sick time to call out — or face repercussions.The second Lululemon employee at the Grove location asked to be placed on the team answering phone calls and emails without interacting with customers but said they were denied the option.
Adding a Chat Sticker to Your Story. The great thing about living in Northern California is just how easy it is to love the great outdoors. Stores and malls reopened without clear orders mandating customers wear masks and with no controls on fitting rooms, leaving businesses to navigate the uncertainty — and their employees to sound the alarm.The confusing results have left retail staff concerned. Facing uncooperative customers and what they say are unrealistic cleaning expectations, California Lululemon employees are highlighting the toll the pandemic is taking on retail workers.
Sharing Horizontal Video on IGTV. “Customers break the 6-foot barrier constantly. The company contracted an epidemiologist, Howard Abrams, to help formulate extensive hourly cleaning guidelines and checklists. Answering Questions in a Live Q&A. If they’re reading the news, you’d be crazy to go out, especially at the Americana.”“All of these mandates are in a perfect world,” the employee added. The employee was told that their options were notifying the company that they were experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, using vacation time and sick pay for their absence, or simply missing shifts unexcused, in which case the company would “make decisions accordingly.”“I have no other options but to show up and expose myself,” the employee said.
The company closed its fitting rooms at locations including the Grove and the Americana, another outdoor mall in Los Angeles County, for two weeks, but they have since been reopened.A Lululemon store in New York City where mask wearing is required in stores.Lululemon has taken measures to protect its employees. That is the only way we can have 100% control in the situation to uphold the standards,” Grove employee Miller said.Nearly every Lululemon employee who spoke with BuzzFeed News also emphasized the toll that interacting with the public during a pandemic has had on their mental health, something they see as contradictory to Lululemon’s emphasis on mental well-being as a company.“I just turn off my thinking at work. “I think that it’s a terrible mistake for stores not to be enforcing that policy. We don't currently have any known issues to report. Issue Paper. If you say you require masks and do nothing to enforce it, then it’s not being required.”Lululemon employees in California have also pressed the company to close fitting rooms, which are enclosed spaces in which many customers remove their clothes, shoes, and masks, and which must then be cleaned by an employee after every use. You seem pretty healthy. When Gov. Bassi Falls Trail Is A Beginner-Friendly Waterfall Trail In Northern California That’s Great For A Family Hike. So employees said they were surprised to be called back in mid-May from their paid furlough to prepare the store for a June opening, even as COVID-19 cases During the store’s setup period, three Lululemon employees at the Grove location who spoke to BuzzFeed News said they were instructed to wear masks while working, remain 6 feet apart at all times, and wash their hands every 30 minutes — guidelines they say were impossible to follow given the nature of their work, the small retail space, and the time frame Lululemon had set for preparing the store by early June.“That fell apart before my shift even started,” said one Grove employee who asked, like most interviewed for this story, to remain anonymous in order to speak freely about their employer. Every guest is assigned an [employee] educator that walks them through the store — they point to what they want, grab items for them, we are touching everything. This will assist us in keeping you informed. You can contact Instagram directly via phone or email, but you're unlikely to get a human response. “It’s just a microcosm of larger issues in the country — the economy or human lives, and most people seem to be choosing the economy.”Miller, one of the Grove employees, believes the problems at his store are reflective of bigger industry issues amid the pandemic.“I challenge them to get involved, use their voice as a company, push for legislation to protect us,” Miller said. “Us healthcare workers are on the front lines, but we have PPE and things like that. Lululemon employees who spoke with BuzzFeed News said they’ve had to face angry shoppers who refuse to wear masks and who downplay — or outright deny — the existence of COVID-19.“We’ve had customers come in and say, ‘I just had COVID. Thank you for taking the time to update your current mailing and work address. Staff were stressed and fearful for their health. I need my health insurance.”In response to employee concerns, Lululemon has allowed staff at all its stores to require that customers wear masks as a condition of entry, and implemented a For some Lululemon employees, the changes are welcome — if overdue — but they’re still fearful to be in enclosed spaces with strangers for hours on end.“The only way I’d feel safe is with a one-to-one guest ratio.