BURKE JONES
Job: The UPS Store franchise owner in Pacific Beach and in the Midway District
Family: Wife, Lisa; son, Cooper; daughter, Delaney
Task during the pandemic: Being open as an essential business
How has the pandemic changed your job?: “Hundreds of people come to the stores every day and seem relieved that we are open because the transactions are still getting done and that is comforting for the customers, community and our staff. Now people stand in the blue painter’s tape boxes waiting to move to the next box towards the counter. You can see them look around and wonder how long will this last. It’s a strange chilling reminder that there is a new normal, and as the new normal begins to merge with the fading recollection of the old normal.”
How are your keeping safe?: “Obviously we clean throughout the day. We disinfect the counters, keyboards and copier control boards . ... We limit the number of customers in the store. We deliver our mailbox holders mail and packages out to their cars so they don’t have to come in to the store. We had plexiglass panels up weeks before most other businesses. We keep learning and evolving and do our best to adapt to this new way of doing business in the safest way possible.” “Two months ago I had not even heard of an ‘essential business.’ I know now that ‘essential business’ is so much more essential than the services and products we provide because we are literally a lighthouse on our block and in our communities. Across the country businesses are closed, the lights are literally off and the buildings empty and dark. The UPS Store lights are on across the country, we are open, the stores are busy helping people get their business done. The Union-tribune wants to recognize workers who are still on the job serving the public during the coronavirus crisis. Please provide a sharply focused high-resolution photo (at least 300 DPI); name; job; family; task during the pandemic; how the crisis has changed the work; how the person is keeping safe; and a quote that captures the feelings of staying on the job during the pandemic. Send to adrian.vore@sduniontribune.com.