Since early in the coronavirus pandemic, a table outside Kirbie’s Meats & Catering in Stow has been stocked with gloves and hand sanitizer for customers to use before they come inside.
Now, the store will also have a sign instructing customers of the new state health order, which as of 6 p.m. Friday makes mask use mandatory while in public in Summit County.
Summit joins several other counties in the state, including Cuyahoga, where mandatory mask use is in place after the county was designated by the state as a Level 3 (red) in the Ohio Public Health Advisory System.
While Kirbie’s has been requesting its customers wear a mask, it was not requiring this for service, said owner and President Kris Burns.
"We hate mandating anything and telling [customers] what to do because, guess what, the customer is always right," he said.
But the new state mandate doesn’t make business owners the bad guys, Burns said.
"It makes it easier," he said. Customers are aware of what’s going on, so in having a state mandate "it’s not like we’re telling them what to do. We’re being told what to do."
Burns said he would not refuse service to a customer who doesn’t want to wear a mask, but would offer some that he has on hand or offer to bring the customer’s order to the curb. Additionally, if the county drops down to a level where the mask-use is no longer mandatory, Burns said he would go back to recommending — not requiring — customers to wear them.
Business owners don’t want to turn away business or alienate their customers, said Greater Akron Chamber CEO Steve Millard.
"It is hard to put an additional onus on the business owners," he said. "We hope most people will follow the rules."
Melinda Sheppard, owner of So-So Artsy Paint & Sip Studios in Northfield, made masks a requirement when she reopened in June for private parties after closing in March. She said she thought it would make people feel safer.
Masks are available for purchase for customers. Employees also wear masks and face shields, both during private parties at the studio and mobile parties in people’s homes or backyards. But she said employees can’t force customers to wear masks during mobile parties on their property.
Sheppard said she hasn’t had issues with people not wearing masks during private parties, although people do sometimes briefly remove them to catch their breath because the events are long. If someone refused to wear one, they could work on their painting on a bench outside, she said.
Jean + Lou, a women’s clothing and gift boutique in Cuyahoga Falls, strongly recommended customers wear masks when it reopened in June. The store also has masks available for free for customers without one.
Co-owner Whitney Milligan said the store hasn’t had any issues with customers not wearing masks but anticipates that might change now that they’re required. People without masks will be told they can’t come in, she said, adding that people can shop their store online or do curbside pickup.
"I think everybody is kind of on a different comfort level in general with this, with everything that's going on," she said, adding that her advice for shoppers is "just to be respectful of people's space and obviously to comply with the mask mandate."
For businesses that don’t want to be the bad guy, Tim Dimoff’s consulting company will provide a security guard to serve as a mask bouncer of sorts. He prefers calling them a "soft enforcer."
Dimoff said his employees will educate customers and enforce the rules "instead of a guy standing at the door with a big bat."
Businesses don’t want to have one of their own employees having to serve as the "grand marshal" at the door, said Dimoff, president of SACS Consulting.
Dimoff said his employees will wear a sport coat and security badge and will tell customers that they cannot come into the business if they don’t follow the mask rule. He suggests businesses have masks to offer customers.
"In an extreme case, if we get someone who absolutely refuses to leave, we can call the police department in that vicinity or they can technically be charged," said Dimoff.
But area police departments said they don’t want people or businesses calling 911 to report people not wearing masks.
"We’re not snubbing our nose at it," said Lt. Michael Miller, Akron police spokesman. "But our primary role in this is educational, to get people to wear masks."
The main responsibility for enforcing mask wearing falls on Summit County public health officials.
Summit County Public Health Commissioner Donna Skoda said when the health department receives a complaint, an inspector will contact the business within one day by phone or in person. The focus will be on education and compliance, not punishment, with the health department having masks available to give out.
Like under Ohio’s Smoke Free Workplace Act more than a decade ago, Skoda said businesses can tell customers to leave if they don’t comply.
Police will get involved if a dispute over a mask turns into a trespassing complaint, assault or some criminal matter.
Miller said he knows of no such cases in Akron, but has seen videos of scuffles in places across the country when store employees tried to enforce mask policies.
If you’re in a store or other place where someone is refusing to socially distance or wear a mask, Bath Police Chief Vito Sinopoli suggests avoiding confrontation. He said to seek help from business management or, if that’s not possible, leave.
"You can’t control someone else’s behavior, but you can control your own," Sinopoli said.
Ryan Isley, who works for both Lyft and Uber, which now require riders to wear masks, said many riders in Greater Akron don’t comply.
"I’m tired of fighting with people," he said Friday.
Isley, who averages about 100 rides per week involving 150 to 200 people, hopes the mask mandate in Summit County will help because he runs into problems daily. To avoid confrontation, he has developed his own protocol.
"I leave my doors locked until a person comes up. If they’re not wearing a mask, I roll down the window and ask them to put one on," Isley said. "If they don’t put on a mask, I drive away."
Skoda encouraged customers to wear masks to help businesses stay open.
"They want to stay in business. It's their livelihood. It's how they feed their families," she said. "So, all of us can help them be successful if we comply with their rules."
As the state orders masks across Summit County, Akron lawmakers are moving forward with a local ordinance that would fine violators. Other area cities are considering similar ordinances, Skoda said.
She said the reason for that is twofold: they can be more punitive than the state’s order, and it would keep a mask requirement in place if the county drops to Level 2, with masks not required.
The health department isn’t advocating for people to be arrested or charged, but Skoda said people must understand they need to wear a mask.
"Just because you're red or yellow or orange, it doesn't matter, or purple," Skoda said, referencing the different levels in the state’s advisory system. "Masks are a good idea until we get through this."
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Summit County businesses weigh how to enforce mask use - Akron Beacon Journal
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