If there was ever any pleasure to be found in shopping, for many that joy will be soon more diminished. The rules that are being told to be adopted by Dublin shops – ones likely to be pushed towards others beyond the capital, are going to have a serious deterrent effect.
As can be seen here in this news report:
Shop owners must ensure customers do not queue past the length of their shop front, and will be required to “take measures to prevent members of the public joining the queue” if it breaches this length, under strict protocols issued by Dublin City Council. The rules, coupled with two-metre distancing requirements, would mean that most shops could not have more than two or three customers waiting outside. Queues will be required to run along the shop front, and not perpendicular to it.
The queue must not extend beyond the length of the shopfront, but also must not begin immediately at the entrance door or run in front of a fire escape. Queues to different premises must not overlap, but physical barriers must not be used to control or manage queues.
To some extent or to a lot, these type of rules will be imposed by other councils around the country.
How every shop supposed to police this, councils are not being too defined about? it can be assumed that each shop will have to have a staff member assigned to people control if they are anyway busy or looking to be that way? If this is the case, could many streets will be filled by a members of many shops, standing around outside acting like police traffic control ?
To some business owners and public, it seems to be at first glance, bordering on madness. There also might be the potential that many arguments could happen hourly in any one street. Tempers might boil with frustration of either people waiting just to be allowed to queue or told you are not even allowed to queue! All this is assuming that the Irish weather will be good enough to allow this. standing around outside a shop in a rainfall is not going to make many people happy to be waiting.
For others just trying to get by – especially those infirm or in wheelchairs on more narrow pathways, it could be a further potential nightmare, just ducking, diving and swerving around the queues and others standing around even waiting to queue. Dublin owners must ensure queues do not exceed length of shopfront under council protocols so each queue for each shop will have to be small but still sticking out.
All this of course is going to deter people away from certain areas as they might consider a visit to a location “not worth the hassle“. Should this become the case, shops will see a further decline in the numbers wishing to cross their threshold, further declining their revenge collection potential – their ability to financially survive. Decreasing footfall is never good for any business.
It’s only a matter of time before the two meter rule will be abandoned. It will go down to one. Not to reduce it, will kill a lot of businesses. Fine Gael, a party that like to look after big business first before people, will certainly make the change if they can. Second wave be damned!
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Staff View.
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20 year barman. Re-educated as an I.T. professional, website creator, I.T teacher, digital media management & marketing professional. Studied accountancy, taxation, business management & law. Founder of UnitedPeople political party – click here. Previously the first National Chairman of Direct Democracy Ireland (DDI) & founder of the Louth branch of DDI. Author. Regular contributor to social media. TV & radio guest experiences. Appeared in the Oireachtas & Dublin Highcourts to defend the rights of citizens along with exposing many wrongs. Consistently seeks greater democracy & accountability from all elected levels of Ireland. Currently writing two books, non-fiction “Life Behind Bars” & “Better Tomorrows“.