There have been a lot of arguments over masks and vaccines. At this stage of the pandemic, the only thing that matters is what your customers think.
We need to listen and determine if our customers care about COVID and if they want other customers to be vaccinated to patronize your small business.
As I travel from state to state and store to store, there are a myriad of rules (or lack of them) when it comes to masking or vaccination status from COVID. For example, in New York City, LA, San Francisco and now Chicago, you need to be vaccinated to eat at a restaurant, workout in a gym or go to an entertainment venue.
In Arizona, where I live in the winter, there is no requirement to be vaccinated or wear a mask. But, when I shop at Whole Foods here, 75% of people are wearing a mask (so the employees do too). At AutoZone, no one does. This does not make one right or wrong. They are both right since they serve different customer demographics.
The issue is not if masks or vaccinations should be required. It’s do your customers care about it? In other words, are they more likely to visit your location or patronize your event if they know other customers (and he employees that work there) will be wearing a mask or are vaccinated?
Some small business owners are requiring this as a matter of survival. Restaurants in Chicago have more of a chance to attract patrons if everyone is vaccinated. In other cities, it does not matter, but there, for its patrons, it does.
During year 3 of the pandemic, it is even more important now to listen to the needs of your customer. Remember, you are in the business of problem solving and this is one problem you will need to solve this year with your customers.
