Culver’s Staff Not Properly Wearing Masks. Rockford, IL

On August 30, 2021, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed an Executive Order that states in pertinent part;

THEREFORE, by the powers vested in me as the Governor of the State of Illinois, pursuant to the Illinois Constitution and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act, 20 ILCS 3305, Sections 7(1), 7(2), 7(3), 7(8), 7(12), and Section 19 thereof, and consistent with the powers in public health laws, I hereby order the following effective immediately:

Section 1: Face covering requirements for individuals.  Beginning on Monday, August 30, 2021, all individuals in Illinois who are age two or over and able to medically tolerate a face covering (a mask or cloth face covering) shall be required to cover their nose and mouth with a face covering when in an indoor public place.  Illinoisans should also consider wearing a mask in crowded outdoor settings and for activities that involve close contact with others who are not fully vaccinated.

Face coverings may be removed temporarily while actively eating or drinking (including in bars or restaurants), and may be removed by workers at workplaces when they can consistently maintain six feet of distance (such as when workers are in their office or cubicle space).  

You can read the full Executive Order at this link.  

On Monday, November, 1, 2021, my son took me on errands.  It was around 5:10 p.m. when we finished up.  I told him that I was hungry but too tired to cook and wanted something other than a burger and fries.  We decided to go to Culver’s and the closest one is at 1224 Benington Road.   I like their cod dinners and they have broccoli as a side.  Because I’m allergic to soy bean oil, (in addition to other things), I’m very limited to what I can eat when ordering out.

The drive-thru was very long and it didn’t look as if the cars were moving, so we parked in the lot and went in.  The man greeting us from behind the counter had on a mask that was below his mouth.  (Let’s call him Head Person In Charge (HPIC)) If not but for the fact that it was rush-hour (so other places would also be crowded), and the allergies, and I was hungry and tired, I would have turned around and walked out.   I stood back from the counter as far as I could.

He asked for our order and I stated;

“If you pull your mask up properly, I’ll come closer so you can hear me.”

He responded:

“I beg your pardon?”

My son and I laughed.  We placed our order and stood at the wall that has the section where people can get drinks and eating tools.  Then I noticed that the man working the drive-thru window wasn’t wearing a mask at all.   The rest of the staff that I could see all had their masks below their noses.

My son and I talked for a minute about it, and then I pulled out my cell phone.  Before anyone reading this jumps to conclusions, using a cell phone that takes photos and videos is new to me.  Monday was good practice.  By the time I was ready to push the button to take the photo of the man not wearing a mask, the HPIC walked up to him and we overheard him saying, “That woman’s taking your picture because you don’t have on a mask.”   HPIC is a large guy, so he positioned his body to block the person at the drive-up window as I was trying to take the picture. The drive-up window guy walked to the back of the restaurant and returned with a mask, wearing it properly. 

While he was doing that, HPIC scrambled to other staff and being a large guy, he used his body to block them and prevent me from photographing them.  Now, I wish I had recorded it so viewers could see how HPIC really scrambled.  I did manage to get some photos.

The tall guy in the grey hoodie is HPIC who greeted us and also scrambled to tell other staff that I was taking their pictures because their masks were down. He wasn’t happy with me taking photos, but he did decide to put his mask above his mouth and nose.   The shorter guy had his mask beneath his nose.

      

Rather than giving me the evil eye and trying to obstruct my taking photos of their violation of the Governor’s Order, had the HPIC came to me, introduced himself and his position, apologized and said he would correct the matter, my attitude and motivation would be different. I would have observed to see if he kept his word and if he did, this blog post would not be written.  Honesty and integrity should have led him to recognize that good customer service goes beyond taking food orders. 

The HPIC mustered a group meeting behind the front counter and told them to turn their backs to me.   The shorter man could be heard saying, “She can’t do that.  She’s not supposed to be taking our picture.”  Someone else was heard asking, “She’s taking our picture?”  I kid you not — this all happened in about 3 minutes after the HPIC first saw me with my cell phone out to take man’s picture who was not wearing a mask.

The group meeting called at the front counter.

                    

Remember the shorter man in the first photo with his mask beneath his nose?  He got the message when I took his picture because at the group meeting, his mask was on properly.

Meanwhile, I managed to snap these two with their masks beneath their noses before they completely turned around.

 

 

As my son was driving us home, we talked about what happened.  By correcting the rest of the staff and hiding them so I could not photograph the front of their faces, the HPIC apparently knows he is wrong, and enabled the rest of the staff to be disobedient to the Order and disrespectful of customers.

Maybe this is our solution — if taking out a cell phone and positioning it to photograph or record is all required to get food service workers to comply with mask mandates, then let’s do it.

What was my motivation?  I go other places and see people inside without masks, or wearing masks below their nose.  But, they are not employees nor are they preparing and packaging my food.  My son and I are fully vaccinated, but that doesn’t mean we give permission to food workers to infect our food or its packaging.  It’s not often that we get food out but when we do, we put it in plates and put it in the microwave for a minute or two.  The packaging is thrown away and we wash our hands before taking the plate out of the microwave.  In other words, not walking out of Culver’s when the HPIC greeted us with his mask below his mouth did not change our practice of microwaving take-home food.  I wanted to walk out of Culver’s because its staff does not respect our Governor’s Order and our lives.

Additionally, I wear a pink ribbon pin, indicating that I am either a breast cancer patient, survivor, or support breast cancer awareness.  It saddened me that the HPIC did not recognize that and think, “I should pull up my mask.  This customer might have cancer.”  I am a 3-year breast cancer survivor and support its awareness, but I still have appointments with my oncologist.  Keeping my immune system healthy and strong is a priority. I’m not out of the woods until I reach the 5-year survival rate for Her2 positive breast cancer. 

According to the New York Times’ Map of Cases, from 10/20/21 to 11/2/21, Winnebago County, IL reported  1, 227 new cases of Covid-19.   Winnebago County’s population is 280,456.  Winnebago County has had 42,199 cases with 593 deaths.  That’s more cases and deaths than the entire State of Vermont, which has a population of 623,251.  (Post-Publishing note.  Last week it was reported that cases in the State of Vermont have increased.)

You might ask why I didn’t contact the City or the Winnebago County Department of Public Health. Last year, many people I spoke with made those calls.  First, they get a major run-a-round being told to call somewhere or someone else.   Although our Mayor has spoken about fining businesses that fail to comply with mask rules, he doesn’t want to do that.  So many businesses lost revenue during the lock-down, and no one, not even me, wants to see them out of business.  What we want are employees who serve the public to respect our lives, and they should do that even if there wasn’t an Executive Order.

I stopped eating at Subway because their staff wore masks below their nose.  I stopped ordering from Famous Dave’s after finding a gummie bear in my food, indicating that someone in the back was eating and not wearing a mask.  Now, Culver’s is added to the list of restaurants that I’ll avoid.  It’s not only the action regarding masks, but the attitude.  If they fail to comply with orders for something as serious as mitigating Covid-19, what other rules do they fail to comply with when unseen in the back of the restaurants?