GameStop instructs employees to tape plastic bags around hands while at work

GameStop has reportedly told its employees to wrap a plastic bag around one hand in order to process purchases from customers using the chain’s new ‘delivery at door’ option.

The report comes from The Boston Globe, where a manager for GameStop said that he had received the instructions from a district leader.

The ‘delivery at door’ method involves customers either ordering their product online, ordering their product through the GameStop app, or scanning at QR code at certain store locations.

As we previously reported, the product will be “picked up and packed” by the in-store employees, who will then work with the customer to allow them to pick up their order either curbside or at the store’s door.

It apparently turns out that “picked up and packed” actually means that workers have been told to take a plastic bag, tape it around one hand, and open the store’s door enough for them to take the customer’s credit card.

Using their bagged-up hand, employees are then instructed to run the customer’s card, flip the bag inside out in order to leave the card inside, put the purchase in the bag, and then hand it back to the customer through the door.

It appears that there are no instructions on whether employees should be touching the purchase and handing it back to the customer with another bagged-up or gloved-up hand.

The manager reports that the message forwarded to him instructs employees to “Lightly (you want to be able to get it off easily) tape a Game Stop plastic bag over your hand and arm. Do not open the door all the way —keep the glass between you and the guest’s face — just reach out your arm.”

Despite the fact that GameStop isn’t considered an essential service by the state of Massachusetts and all stores should be closed during the coronavirus pandemic, the manager also told The Boston Globe that the district leader “explicitly told him” that their particular store had permission from the state to open.

The Boston Globe says that GameStop did not respond to questions about the payments at the door, the plastic bags, nor the fact that GameStop isn’t considered an essential service in the state of Massachusetts.

About COVID-19:

This footnote will be included in every relevant article regarding the coronavirus pandemic that is written by this author. All information is sourced from the official WHO website and is correct at the time of publishing.

COVID-19, also known as coronavirus disease and previously known as 2019 novel coronavirus, is the disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). COVID-19 has officially been classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation.

At the time of publishing, there have been 693,224 cases and 33,106 deaths confirmed globally.

If you start displaying symptoms of COVID-19, the smartest thing to do is to isolate yourself from others and remain at home until you recover. If you start feeling worse, seek medical advice as soon as possible while keeping a safe distance from others.

Maintaining good hygiene practices, such as washing your hands regularly and covering your mouth when you cough and sneeze, can help to prevent the spread of most viruses and keep yourself and others safe from infection.

It’s important to note that SARS-CoV-2 does not discriminate in who it infects. Even if you’re lucky enough to be asymptomatic, you can still be a carrier, and you can still infect others. Be smart and stay at home.

For any concerns regarding COVID-19, you can visit the World Health Organization website to check on the status of the outbreak and educate yourself on related issues.