What does a typical day of yours look like at Ace Hardware?

It varies quite a bit. At Ace, I am the head trainer, so I train all new employees, but I also do back of house/office work; making sure reports are running, emails, that sort of thing. Before Covid-19, this time of year we would have hired new employees for the summer so I would be deep in training, but that’s way different now.  

In what ways has this pandemic changed your typical day?

It’s crazy. We did bring on new employees as temporary, so the training has been very brief. They are doing very specific jobs, so my role as trainer is not as critical as it used to be. 

What do you find most challenging during this time? And how do you cope with those challenges?

It’s dealing with the constant change. It’s hard to get a routine. For a while, it felt like there were new requirements every day. Just when you would understand the new rules, then it would change, and I think that was the most difficult. Being open to the change and being flexible and trying to make it work for everyone has been very interesting and challenging. 

 What has been the impact of social distancing in a store like Ace?

The main way we facilitated is limiting the number of customers in at one time. Everyone is wearing masks, both customers and employees. For the registers we put up plexiglass, and then we put tape on the floor, so people have a guidance on what 6 feet is. It’s weird because shopping is tight so it’s really hard to try and maintain. 

What is the most gratifying part of your job during the time of the coronavirus?

It is nice to provide a service and to help people.  For me personally, it’s been nice seeing people. I think people need purpose right now, especially those stuck at home. Customers have been doing tons of home improvement jobs, so it’s been nice giving them something to do. Helping people with those projects has been great. 

What do you do with your free time during social distancing?

I have a two-year-old, so we just play. We take a lot of walks and hikes. Mostly just out exploring, with a two-year-old it doesn’t take much. I feel like my world didn’t change too much. My husband is a firefighter at the airport, so both of our work schedules have been the same. 

How has the coronavirus affected you and your family?

We had planned to rent our house out for a year and take our son to the beach. We were going to live in a camper and just got to the east coast. We thought we had every safety net. It was perfect, we had people who were going to rent our townhome, then the world shut down, and then we figured now wouldn’t be a good time to quit our jobs. So, the coronavirus definitely changed our plans. 

Are there any lessons or silver linings you see in this situation?

I think, hopefully, it has allowed people to get a little more grounded. It’s given people a time to sit back and relax and prioritize. I feel like this is the world meditating a little bit. Maybe we can adjust in ways that are more beneficial for the environment and for humanity. 

Lastly, what message would you most want to give the public right now?

We feel you. It’s so hard what is going on right now, and just know that we are working twice as hard right now to try and make things better for you so just have patience with us. Our world is totally different as well and our jobs are much more stressful, but we’re working really hard to meet the customer needs.