Savannah, Ga.-based Enmarket announced several new measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a temporary pay boost of $2.50 an hour for employees and the installation of plexiglass shields at its checkout counters as further protection for employees and customers.
Installation of the plexiglass shields, also known as “sneeze guards,” will include all Enmarket locations in Georgia and the Carolinas.
“These shields will provide an additional level of safety for our employees,” said Brett Giesick, president of Enmarket. “We will be moving as quickly as possible to get them in place at each of our checkout locations.”
The measures come in addition to health and safety measures already implemented throughout the chain, including the suspension of self-service food, along with increased cleaning and sanitizing. The Eatery, Enmarket’s in-store food preparation operation, continues to prepare food under controlled sanitary conditions, but service is now limited to to-go orders, with use of dining tables on premises suspended.
“We wanted some tangible way to express to our employees how much we — and the shopping public — appreciate their efforts during this extraordinary time,” Giesick said. “Nothing is more tangible to an employee than their paycheck, so for the next three weeks, each hourly employee’s wage will be increased by $2.50 an hour.”
Salaried employees, who are eligible for bonuses as part of their compensation package, will be guaranteed 100% payout of their March and April bonuses.
Hourly Enmarket employees will receive a one-time check equivalent to $2.50 per hour for all hours worked from March 26 through April 15. This will include field technicians and other hourly team members that work in the field to support multiple stores.
The company previously committed to raising pay rates by $2 per hour for all non-salaried store employees for the same time period.
Meanwhile, Enmarket’s adoption of self-checkout technology in 2019 is proving its value during the current pandemic. For example, Skip frictionless checkout enables users to check out on their phones, without direct interaction with a cashier.
