West Des Moines, Iowa — You may be seeing something new between you and your checkout clerk at your local Hy-Vee store in the next few days.
Hy-Vee, Inc. reports these changes to its operations are in response to the evolving coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Customers will start seeing temporary window panels installed at checkouts to help provide an additional layer of protection for both employees and customers.
Hy-Vee officials tell us the panels are being installed at the checkout, as this is the point in the store visit where customers and employees are in the closest contact. In the aisles or at service counters, customers and employees have more flexibility in placing distance between themselves but the setup of the checkout limits that ability.
Also, until further notice, customers are not allowed to bring in reusable bags. Hy-Vee officials say that it is difficult to monitor their cleanliness. Because it is not always easy to know the sanitization procedures customers are taking at their homes to keep the bags clean, this is one more way the grocer is helping prevent the spread of the virus.
Randy Edeker, Hy-Vee’s chairman, CEO and president, says that the spread of this virus is asking us all to take extraordinary measures and change the way we live our lives. He says, “We are continuing to adapt at Hy-Vee so that we can serve our customers and keep everyone in our stores as safe and healthy as possible.”
