Ready to do business, with some new routines
From barbershops to car repair shops, rules and habits have shifted
With the Capital Region entering phase two of the COVID-19 pandemic reopening scheduled for Wednesday, the first thing people may notice are the physical and logistical changes they face for something as simple as getting a haircut or going to the store.
“We have all these new rules and regulations,” said Joey
Federico, operator of The Barber Parlor on Central Avenue just west of the Albany city line.
Rather than coming into a waiting room to wait for their cuts, for example, customers need reservations. Even if they get there a few minutes early, Federico will text them just before they can come inside for their cut, which will happen on chairs spaced 6 feet apart. There will be a sanitation station where people can get gloves or the mandatory masks and hand sanitizer.
And for now, no beard trims or hot towel shaves, since those can’t be done with face masks.
“It’s like going to a restaurant and you can only get a quarter of the menu,’’ said Federico.
Despite that, Federico said he expects to be busy with plenty of pent-up demand after the shutdown.
“My phone is blowing up,” he said.
Barbershops, beauty parlors, retail stores and office-based businesses will be able to open in phase two, although these establishments will still have to follow safety guidelines such as maintaining a 6-foot distance and no waiting rooms.
Also opening are car dealers, repair shops, real estate offices and office buildings.
Not everyone will be opening right away, however.
“We’re going to wait till July, till the dust settles a little,” said Deryl Mccray, who operates Bricks
Barber Shop on Central Avenue in Albany. He’s using the time to reconfigure his shop for social distancing. “Everyone is making changes to their business,” he said.
Nor is Federico jumping right in — he plans to act as a manager/supervisor for the first two weeks or so. Instead of cutting hair with his other employees, he’ll be watching to see how the new setup works and where it needs tweaking.
Retail establishments, whether they sell clothing, books, shoes, sporting goods, or anything else, will likely follow the lead of supermarkets, which have marked out oneway aisles for foot traffic, signs instructing people to stay 6 feet apart and plastic shields at checkout counters.
“You’re moving from curbside only to opening the spigot and letting people go indoors,” said Ted Potrikus, president and CEO of the state Retail Council.
He believes shoppers will understand the changes, given the pandemic.
“Is this the way that the customers want it now? I think the answer is yes,” he said.
Establishments that have been in business, because they were deemed essential, have seen changes in customer behavior.
Shannon Yaggle, of Albany Battery Sales on Terminal Street, which sells cars but also does repair work, has noticed that customers drop their cars off and leave rather than waiting for the repairs.
“They drop them off and go,” she said.
Still, phase two should help lots of businesses, said Louis Bannister, who serves on the board of the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District.
As the sole owner/operator of The Enchanted Florist on Columbia Street in Albany, Bannister was able to reopen with phase one. And he has seen an increase in online orders.
“I think there will be a bit more foot traffic and I would certainly welcome that,” he said of phase two.
Still, there are new worries about demonstrations, riots and looting that have sporadically broken out, especially in parts of Albany and Troy, as part of the national George Floyd protests.
Worries about that were evident on Sunday and Monday, when Walmart stores in Glenmont and near Crossgates in Albany closed at 5 p.m.
Bannister has seen disturbances but only in certain areas of Albany, and they seem to vary block by block. South of State Street, for example, has been free of trouble in the downtown district.
“My concern is that it’s not over yet,” Bannister said of the disturbances.
And the fear has impacted travel plans.
Federico also operates a barbershop supply business and on Tuesday he was going to send an employee to New York City and northern New Jersey to pick up a load of supplies
like Barbercide and other materials. But the employee said she was scared she’d be trapped in a civil disturbance so Federico was going himself.
Ultimately, barbers, retailers and other businesspeople know the rioting and pandemic will subside, and one of the challenges is to get people to want to come out to their establishments.
Both Mccray and Federico spoke of the social aspect of an old-fashioned barbershop, where people sit around and chat, trade jokes and stories, and how that may be hard to maintain with the new pandemic rules.
Shopping too, can be a social experience, said Potrikus.
“How do we make the shopping experience back to being enjoyable? Ultimately, it’s one of the things that people miss,” he said.
“When you talk to people they say, ‘Oh, I miss shopping. I miss going to the restaurants.’ ‘’