Two hair stylists in Springfield, Missouri developed coronavirus symptoms, but kept working.
The first stylist, we'll call her Stylist A, got a COVID test six days after symptoms first appeared. She continued serving clients while awaiting the results.
The second stylist, Stylist B, developed respiratory problems three days after Stylist A became ill. She continued to work alongside Stylist A until Stylist A tested positive for COVID.
Both Stylist A and B stopped working that same day, and Stylist B got tested. Two days later, Stylist B’s COVID test also came back positive.
The county health department traced the stylists' contacts:
Four members of Stylist A's household contracted COVID.
None of the Stylist B's personal contacts got the disease.
None of the 139 clients Stylist A and B served got sick.
How did no clients get sick, despite close personal contact with the infected stylists? An analysis from the CDC points to one factor: wearing masks.
Getting customers to wear masks is critical to stopping the spread of COVID.
Many customer service professionals have told me this can be difficult. Some customers forget, or claim masks are uncomfortable. Others just don't want to be told what to do.
This article describes how you can get more customers to comply.
I've dug into my own research on employee and customer behavior from writing Getting Service Right. You'll also hear from experts such as Professor Gavan J. Fitzsimons at Duke University and Susan Discroll, President of the Crisis Prevention Institute.
Employees must wear masks at all times
Customer service employees can set a positive example by wearing masks themselves. Masks are also an important part of employee safety, since many people contract the coronavirus from coworkers.
Many employees are too lax about wearing masks around each other. Once customers are gone, the masks come off.
I've witnessed maskless employees in retail stores, restaurants, and numerous other businesses. Construction workers, hotel housekeepers, firefighters, and TSA agents have all been seen congregating without masks.
The hair salon in Springfield enforced a strict mask policy with clients. Stylist A and Stylist B reportedly wore masks at all times while cutting hair, and clients were required to do the same.
Yet Stylist A and B took their masks off and interacted with each other once clients were gone. This is likely how Stylist B became infected.
Here’s another example.
The rental car employee and a coworker (you can just see the top of her head) aren't wearing masks, despite being close to another company's customers. They only wore their masks when customers approached the counter.
This behavior is dangerous.
Contact tracing in San Diego county, where I live, reveals more COVID exposures happen at work than any other setting. By far. The chart below shows data from June 5 through November 7, 2020.
Why you need to have a strong mask policy
A clear and enforceable policy gives employees something to point to when asking a customer to wear a mask. It can also help set expectations before there’s ever an issue.
My wife, Sally, and I recently flew for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
We flew Alaska Airlines, in part because Alaska requires all passengers to wear masks. The policy explains when masks must be worn, what types of masks are allowed and not allowed, and that the policy covers all passengers over the age of two.
What's more important is Alaska enforces its mask policy.
Passengers must wear a mask to board their flight. Once on board, anyone who repeatedly refuses to wear a mask is literally given a yellow card.
It's a final warning before being banned from flying Alaska.
Consistent enforcement creates more consistent behavior. On my flight, I observed all Alaska employees and all passengers following the policy.
Meanwhile, a gate agent at a competing airline announced the airline’s mask policy before starting the boarding process. Just a few minutes later, that same gate agent allowed this maskless passenger to board a flight. Credibility gone.
How should you communicate your mask policy?
Sharing your policy with customers is just as important as having one. Use multiple methods of communication to repeat the message multiple times. It helps send a clear and consistent message that customers will be more likely to follow.
In my experience as an adult learning specialist, I've learned that two things can make a message particularly sticky: repetition and novelty.
Repetition: people are more aware of messages they hear often.
Novelty: people are more likely to pay attention to something unusual.
The Alaska Airlines mask policy was clearly explained multiple times before I boarded my flight, including when I:
Booked my ticket
Checked-in on the app
Got to the gate
Onboard the flight
The messages were also communicated in different ways. For instance, when I went to check-in for my flight on the app, I had to click a pop-up acknowledgement that I would wear a mask. There was signage at the gate reminding passengers about the mask policy, and the gate agent shared a verbal reminder.
Alaska also did a great job of providing "subtle nudges" to encourage customers to wear masks. Here are a few examples:
All employees wore masks.
Images on the Alaska website depicted people wearing masks.
Passengers were offered sanitizing wipes on board.
Think about how you can use the principles of repetition and novelty to encourage customers to wear masks.
Signage
Websites
Apps
Email and text confirmations
Employees
How do you prevent customers from getting upset about masks?
The masked, cheerful employee asked the unmasked customer, “Do you have a mask?” as soon as the customer entered the store.
You could tell the customer was slightly embarrassed. (After all, his face was clearly visible.) He apologized, left the store, and returned a moment later wearing a mask. The customer apologized again.
The employee told me this was a typical encounter. Most customers simply forget to wear their mask, and quickly put one one when reminded.
A few customers resist. It's important to approach these customers the right way to avoid a confrontation.
Gavan Fitzsimons is a professor of marketing and psychology at Duke University who has done extensive research on reactance. This is a psychological term that refers to a person getting upset when they feel someone or something is trying to control their behavior.
One of his more interesting research findings is that people are more likely to resist expert opinions when it contradicts their own beliefs.
"The best efforts I’ve seen at encouraging mask wearing have two key components," said Fitzsimons. "They provide the customer with a sense of agency, and provide a motivation for the customer to comply."
Agency means giving customers choices.
For example, a retail customer who doesn't have a mask can be given a few options to choose from:
You can give them a free mask to wear in the store.
They can opt for curbside pick-up.
The customer can choose home delivery (where available).
Fitzsimons recommends using positive messaging to enhance customer motivation. "Even when masks are required by law, framing that gives customers motivation and agency will enhance mask wearing substantially."
An example would be thanking customers for doing their part to keep everyone safe. You can hear more from Fitzsimons in this short video.
(Side note: research shows that thanking customers can be more powerful than an apology in certain situations.)
What can you do if a maskless customer gets upset?
The most important thing to do is avoid a confrontation. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done because our natural instincts are to either argue with an angry customer or get away from them.
This short video explains how to recognize your own natural instinct and overcome it.
Susan Driscoll, President of the Crisis Prevention Institute, shared some helpful advice for soothing upset customers on a National Retail Federation podcast.
"Behavior influences behavior," said Driscoll. "You cannot control someone else's behavior. You can control your behavior."
Driscoll explained that an angry customer is experiencing a form of distress. "You have to understand first, that there is distress, and respond as you would to any distressed person. They can be attacking, but look at them as a distressed person."
One way to de-escalate the situation is to give the customer options. Driscoll suggested you might ask the customer if they'd prefer to step out of line and discuss the issue or speak with a manager instead.
Giving the customer options helps bring the customer back to a more rational state of mind.
One final suggestion is to review your company's security policy. The last thing you want is a physical altercation with a customer. All employees should know what to do if a customer becomes dangerous.
Take Action
There's a lot to digest here, so let's recap:
Make sure all employees wear masks.
Create a clear mask policy.
Use repetition and novelty to communicate the policy.
Give customers agency to get them to comply.
Treat upset customers with empathy.
Finally, please leave a comment or contact me with questions. A few things I'd like to know from you:
What's been your experience with maskless customers?
What techniques have worked for you?
What techniques have not worked so well?