Last week I went back to the delivery company I work for, after taking a precautionary 2 week quarantine since I was out of the country when everything started. Things have been interesting, to say the least, but I have to say that all of my customer interactions have been nothing but positive. They always have been, but in such a stressful, uncertain state our world is in right now, it would be easy to succumb to all the negativity floating around.
I'm going to start with some negatives though, as I'd like to end on a positive note and the bad stuff are really quite few. Mostly it has to do with the company I work for itself and its lack of providing basic things we need to protect ourselves and our customers. There is no order or monitoring to the distribution of cleaning supplies for the vans and hand sanitizer, so the morning crews seems to take everything and the units that leave in the afternoon are out of luck. This is assuming we're getting anything at all, I can only go based off of what I've heard since I have yet to see any product. Part of our daily tasks is to wipe down our vehicles at the start of shift and at the end, but I physically cannot do that if I'm not given the tools I need to comply. Good luck finding these supplies on your own either, as I'm sure most of you know by now, hand sanitizer and cleaning wipes are basically non-existent everywhere.
However, this company is great at hyping up their teams of dispatch companies- providing us with uplifting things like taco Tuesdays, treats like coffee and chips or cookies, and thank you's have been so prevalent lately as well. They are also providing us with two weeks paid leave if we need to quarantine (which I did) or if we get sick and a $2 raise for hazard pay. While I understand the seriousness of this situation, I also think our country needed a bit of a reset. In the past few days of driving around and the past few weeks of going on neighborhood walks, I have seen more of a community and family presence everywhere I look. Parents are getting outside with their kids and spending time together, neighbors are "hanging out" while staying in their respective driveways, so many people are out walking their dogs, biking and other activities, and everyone is in less of a hurry now that there's nowhere to go.
I think this quarantine is forcing people to take a step back and truly appreciate what they have, even more so than they normally would. I wonder how many parents would have the opportunity to spend time bonding with their children right now if this wasn't going on and the hustle and bustle of everyday life was taking over our capacity to slow down and enjoy our lives. I know a lot of people are probably going out of their mind right now and that this things seems never ending, but I have just been noticing so many positives that I wanted to point them out, in hopes that it gives someone a little light today amid an onslaught of depressing news, scary statistics, the humdrum of staring at the same walls with the same people, and overwhelming information.
Please take care of yourselves and your families. Stay apart in distance but close in heart!
Comments