GameStop to employees: wrap your hands in plastic bags and go back to work

Wow. They know people will come out to pay for games when they are stuck at home. I guess it's worth risking a $300 fine to them.

"This is how far a business is willing to go to generate revenue during the coronavirus pandemic.

GameStop, the video game retailer, sent employees in Massachusetts back to work on Friday — despite the statewide order shutting down all nonessential businesses. But instead of allowing customers inside, the store is doing curbside pickup, and employees have been given a set of specific and highly unusual instructions to let people pay at the door, according to a manager at a local store.

Workers have been told to wrap a plastic bag around one hand to protect it from exposure to the virus, open the door a crack, and take the customer’s credit card, the manager said. Employees are then to run the card with a hand still encased in the bag, flip the bag inside out, leaving the card inside, put the purchase in the bag, and hand it back through the door.

Customers can also order and pay for products online and pick them up at the door.

The instructions e-mailed from a district leader to managers on Monday almost seemed like a prank, said the 24-year-old manager, who asked to remain anonymous because he feared retaliation.

The message, titled “Chip card best practices," says: “Lightly (you want to be able to get it off easily) tape a Game Stop plastic bag over your hand and arm. Do not open the door all the way —keep the glass between you and the guest’s face — just reach out your arm.”

"It's like they're an animal or a pet," said the manager.

The manager said it was “infuriating” that he is being sent to work at a video game store and and being told to protect himself with a plastic bag while a pandemic is raging.

“I have to make a choice between doing a job that nobody needs during a pandemic and not being paid, and possibly infecting people or being infected,” he said. “We know for a fact the disease is contagious even when you’re asymptomatic.”

GameStop is not considered an essential service, according to the state, and is not allowed to offer curbside pickup. Violators may face criminal penalties or a civil fine of $300 per violation. The manager said the district leader explicitly told him that the store had permission from the state to open."

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Last Edited by Paranoiaaaaa on 03/29/2020 01:35 PM