I dropped off my car to be serviced the other day at my local garage. The owner, a friendly old curmudgeon with whom I’ve been doing business for years, wasn’t wearing a mask. His shop is less than half a mile from my house, he does a good job and charges a lot less than dealership service departments do. Bottom line, I was inclined to cut him some slack for not wearing a mask when dealing with customers. His garage is a big, open space and we stood well apart from each other.
But then I went to a local jeweler to drop off a necklace of my mother’s that needed the chain repaired. I was enthusiastically greeted by a beautiful sheep dog who had evidently liberated himself momentarily from his usual confines at the back of the store. When the proprietor and one of his staff came out, they apologized for the unauthorized greeting. I assured them it was fine.
What wasn’t so fine was that neither of them was wearing a mask. I didn’t know what to say. I tend to do better in situations like that when I’ve had a chance to decide ahead of time what my response should be. So I didn’t say anything. I gave the proprietor the necklace, he confirmed he could fix it and gave me a claim slip, and I left.
I guess it’s common in some parts of the country to encounter people not wearing masks, but I haven’t seen much of that here in New Jersey. Now that I’ve had a chance to think about, I’ve decided that if I walk into a store and see that the staff aren’t wearing masks, I’ll say “No masks?” If they say something along the lines of “Oops!” and mask up, we’re good. But if it’s clear they have no intention of putting a mask on, I’ll take my business elsewhere.
People who have decided the rules don’t apply to them aren’t going to change their behavior unless they determine that there’s a cost for not doing so. Declining to do business with them may not be a significant cost, but it’s something. I figure I’m not only protecting myself but striking a small blow for public health.