ATHABASCA/WESTLOCK - There is no middle ground, it seems, when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic and the precautions health officials are asking citizens to follow to halt the potential spread of the virus — nowhere is that more evident than on social media, where decorum is less than an afterthought and facts are somehow negotiable.
On Sept. 23, the Your Independent Grocer stores in Westlock and Athabasca — Finney’s and Tipton’s — posted statements to their Facebook pages that customers were now being asked to wear masks while in the store. The virtual vitriol started almost immediately, lines were soon drawn, alliances were made and factions of keyboard warriors were formed.
On the Tipton's Independent page the night before, patrons were notified of the changes.
"In efforts to stay ahead of the curve Tipton’s will be transitioning to mandatory masks for employees and customers. We will have extra masks at the entrance if customers require one and we will be adding hours to help with the PC Express business," the post read.
The comments came in quickly and many offered positive reinforcement.
“Well done Dave. You n ur staff have done a wonderful job for both staff n customers. Congrats to u n ur staff, regardless of negative attitudes n comments. Well done,” said one customer.
Another said: “You guys have set a precedent in Athabasca for keeping the public safe from the beginning of all of this Covid hoopla - thank you.”
The other side started in with their own comments, most threatening to boycott the store.
“I’m sorry I won’t be shopping at your store anymore,” said one.
“My family won’t be shopping here anymore either,” said another.
“If that’s your decision then I will take my business to stores that allow their customers to breathe the air freely,” said one more.
Athabasca franchisee Dave Tipton declined to speak to the Advocate on the subject, but responded directly to critical commentators from his own Facebook account.
“Is it really that big of deal? Loblaws has made it mandatory nationwide. I’m a franchise owner. They own the building and I still have to follow Loblaws programs.
We do have a few options. You could use PC Express. You can choose to shop elsewhere. Or you can simply say no thank you when we offer you a mask and continue with your shopping.”
A similar post from Finney’s in Westlock earned more than 300 comments, but was removed because the back-and-forth got to the point of mean-spirited name-calling. Some threatened to switch to another grocery store; some provided examples of exemptions; and more prolific responders took shots at the government for what they called misleading policies or the fact that masks are littered.
“However, as unfortunately so often occurs, the polarizing nature of this issue created a firestorm in which people on both sides got more than a little wound up. We’ve removed our original post and will instead endeavor to explain our position here as clearly as we can," it read.
A second post on Wednesday made it clear, “If you are not willing and able to wear a mask, we understand that decision is not out of malice. We will not tackle you, interrogate you, or chase you away.”
“It was pretty clear that there was a lot of people misinterpreting and imagining that (the policy) was going to be applied in a different way than it really was, so that’s where (the second post) came about,” said Westlock franchisee Trent Finney over the phone Thursday.
“And then it’s the challenge for us of how much do we engage with that because we really don’t have time or energy to be dragged into a whole debate on things. We state our policy and we try to clarify on what that policy will actually look like, the reality of how it’ll be applied here in this area.”
A post on the Tipton’s page the next day thanked customers “for making the transition to mandatory masks easy. It was easy when well over half our customers already had masks.”
The post then listed some stats from the previous shopping day.
“We handed out 182 masks. We had 22 people not accept a mask. (Seven) people took a mask, but did not wear it. (Three) people left the store because of the mask policy posted. We had a big increase in PC Express orders.”
Finney said he knew before posting that mask-wearing is a “charged issue and there are people who have very strong beliefs on both sides of it,” but the Facebook response was still unexpected.
Still, “social media is kind of where that mostly lives,” he said.
“Most of the conversations that we’ve had in person, we can get to the heart of what the concern is and address it in an easier way.”
Andreea Resmerita, TownandCountryToday.com
Chris Zwick,TownandCountryToday.com
