AUSTIN, Texas — It's becoming a common sight: people wearing masks while shopping as required by stay-home orders in Austin and Travis County. And some stores want to make sure you're following the rules.
KVUE checked in with some big-name stores to find out their policies. Here's what they said:
Randall's
"The health and safety of everyone who walks into our stores, including customers, employees, and vendors, is of utmost importance to us. In addition to the many new health and safety measures that we have implemented, including social distancing, occupancy limits, enhanced cleaning, and more, we are asking ALL customers that enter our stores in Austin/Travis County to wear a face covering. We are providing face coverings to our associates as well. Although the order does not ask retailers to mandate this with customers, we recognize this order is a request of the community to help keep everyone safe and healthy. Customers will notice signage at the front door as a reminder. At this point we have not turned customers away and it is our desire that the community embrace the order and make personal arrangements to do so. However, [Tuesday], we will begin turning away customers who are not wearing a face covering. In a short period of time we have made a lot of changes to the customer shopping experience, and we are so grateful for the patience and understanding of the community."
H-E-B
"We’re seeing excellent compliance with our customers across Austin and Travis County. We are proud and grateful for their compliance and care for each other through this challenging time. If a visitor/customer is unaware of the ordinance, we have bandanas available for purchase. H-E-B employees in customer-facing roles statewide are wearing masks. And in Austin/Travis County, H-E-B employees are wearing them in every role."
Walmart
"We strongly encourage customers to be mindful of one another's safety and adhere to the Travis Co. directive. At the same time, [Monday] all employees [were] required to wear a mask."
Target employees are wearing masks, too, and some stores won't let you inside without one. Costco said it's given some workers masks but did not expand on whether its stores would turn customers without one away.
KVUE has also reached out to The Home Depot and Lowe's but has not yet received a statement.
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