Widnes Model Centre Covid 19 Update

[Widnes Model Centre]

Hi all,

Posting our Facebook page updates for our customers not on Social Media. Final straw was Gill getting spat at. Be nice to your shops, we all need each other.

 

Widnes Model Centre

is sharing a COVID-19 update sharing a COVID-19 update sharing a COVID-19 update.Published by

Barry Williams

  · 15 m  ·

Hi all, following a discussion with all three of us, Barry, Gill and Tom. It is with a very heavy heart we have decided to close the shop to customers actually entering the premises. We have not taken this decision lightly and financially this past trading year as you would imagine has been disastrous. But health and safety of ourselves and our customers has to be our highest priority. This past week has seen us having customers coming in from the South East, The Midlands, Yorkshire and Lancashire as well as the surrounding Tier 4 areas. We have received an unbelievable amount of abuse from people who we have requested to wear masks and sanitize their hands. We have been threatened with being reported and action taken against us for discriminating against those who are, they say "exempt". Even though we have offered to serve them without entering the shop.

The effect this had had on ourselves has not been good. We are a small family run business, we are human beings trying our best for our customers and ourselves. Being threatened once too many times has been to say the least "discouraging". At best we are not achieving our goal of keeping anybody coming into our shop Safe and comfortable.

We will still be offering sales at the front door during our normal open days of Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. 10am until 3pm.

We sincerely hope you will all understand the reasons for us doing this and look forward to fully opening the shop as soon as it is safe to do so.

[08221]

So sorry to hear what has been happening to you all.

You are only trying to earn a living - sometimes people's behaviour really is beyond belief.

Hope all gets sorted out and you can trade as normal in due course, take care - stay safe and well.

[Bomag]

1 hour ago, Widnes Model Centre said:

Even though we have offered to serve them without entering the shop.

 

Not allowing 'exempt' people from having the same ability to browse as those wearing mask would likely be unlawful discrimination given the wording of the S.I. If you cannot maintain safety by providing space for people to keep 2m apart, irrespective of wearing masks, then your action to only do click and collect is perfectly correct. I cannot see why some would refuse to use some sort of hand sanitiser (they may want to use their own though) - as a Reduction measure rather than a Control measure its a much more reliable safety measure.

[Bucoops]

Unbelievable behaviour Stay safe guys

[Wicor-Models]

28 minutes ago, Bomag said:

 

Not allowing 'exempt' people from having the same ability to browse as those wearing mask would likely be unlawful discrimination given the wording of the S.I. If you cannot maintain safety by providing space for people to keep 2m apart, irrespective of wearing masks, then your action to only do click and collect is perfectly correct. I cannot see why some would refuse to use some sort of hand sanitiser (they may want to use their own though) - as a Reduction measure rather than a Control measure its a much more reliable safety measure.

We have checked this with the local council here and have been assured that we are within our rights to stop anyone not wearing a mask from entering the shop.  As many of these "exemption certificates" are available to anyone who has an internet connection and a printer they are not worth the paper they are printed on and there are really very few people who have a condition that prevents them from wearing a mask. 

We too have been sworn at and had Google reviews that are less than complimentary all because we are trying to keep ourselves and all of our customers safe.  Fortunately we are now in Tier 4 so we can only do Click & Collect until further notice.

Edited January 3, 2021 by Wicor-Models
typo

[maq1988]

There is no excuse for any kind of threat or assault regardless of 'exemptions', COVID or not - at any time past, present or future. That's just a lack of basic human decency.

 

Keep safe. Customers who are worthwhile will understand.

Edited January 3, 2021 by maq1988

[Jim Martin]

2 hours ago, Widnes Model Centre said:

Final straw was Gill getting spat at.

 

Honestly, what is the matter with some people? I don't care how exempt people are (and I've seen a suspiciously large number who claim to be): there's just no excuse for this sort of thing.

 

Jim

[Mike Bellamy]

 

We occasionally shop at Costco. They have recently emailed to say that those customers who claim to be medically exempt from wearing a face mask must wear a face shield instead. All of the customers have to pay an annual fee to be a 'member' and so they may be able to use that to get around any accusations of 'discrimination'.

 

Quote

 

Effective 23.12.20, we will require all members, guests and employees to wear a face covering (that covers the nose and mouth) at all Costco warehouse locations. Entry to Costco will only be granted to those wearing a face mask or a face shield. Children under the age of 11 are exempt. Please note that the additional requirement to wear a face shield for children over the age of 11 does not affect the requirement in Scotland for children age 5 and over to wear a face covering

Costco has had a face covering policy in effect since 24.04.20, but members who could not wear a face mask due to a medical condition were exempt. This is no longer the case. If a member/guest has a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask, they must instead wear a face shield. The use of a face covering should not be seen as a substitute for social distancing. Please continue to observe rules regarding appropriate distancing while on Costco premises.

Whilst this updated policy may seem inconvenient for some, we believe that the added safety is worth any inconvenience. Our goal is to continue to provide a safe shopping environment for our members and guests, and to provide a safe work environment for our employees.

 

 

[Jonboy]

2 hours ago, Bomag said:

I cannot see why some would refuse to use some sort of hand sanitiser (they may want to use their own though) - as a Reduction measure rather than a Control measure its a much more reliable safety measure.

I have psoriasis and had found long ago that using sanitisers more than three or four times over the course of a day leads to flare ups across the knuckles that take weeks to get back under control.

 

(good old soap and water is fine but sanitisers are a real problem for me and I am yet to find one I can use more often) Luckily with the majority of shops being closed it hasn’t been a significant issue this year.

[Ouroborus]

On 03/01/2021 at 15:16, Bomag said:

 

Not allowing 'exempt' people from having the same ability to browse as those wearing mask would likely be unlawful discrimination given the wording of the S.I. If you cannot maintain safety by providing space for people to keep 2m apart, irrespective of wearing masks, then your action to only do click and collect is perfectly correct. I cannot see why some would refuse to use some sort of hand sanitiser (they may want to use their own though) - as a Reduction measure rather than a Control measure its a much more reliable safety measure.

 

Its a face covering, not per se a mask.  A visor would meet the criteria.  

[stewartingram]

But a visor is stated by the authorities to NOT be satisfactory - it doesn't give the same protection as a mask. If a visor is used, then a mask must now be worn underneath.

[pharrc20]

On 03/01/2021 at 17:43, Jonboy said:

I have psoriasis and had found long ago that using sanitisers more than three or four times over the course of a day leads to flare ups across the knuckles that take weeks to get back under control.

 

(good old soap and water is fine but sanitisers are a real problem for me and I am yet to find one I can use more often) Luckily with the majority of shops being closed it hasn’t been a significant issue this year.

Yep I have found the same I avoid putting or rubbing sanitisers on the back of my hand as it aggravates my psoriasis too much, it is a bad enough this time of year.

Cheers Paul

[lwnameplates]

i will keep my opinion after been brandished a liar and getting abuse though pm on a certain model railway social media site, i feel very sorry for the actions that some have take against the shop owners its discusting but anyother comments i shall keep to myself. 

[Foden]

Such a shame it has come to this, I feel for you, and hope you, and your staff, manage to weather the storm, so to speak.

A little on the issue of face coverings though, if I may. My wife works for a NHS CRHT team, and they've had to deal with a sharp increase of cases lately where vulnerable persons suffering from mental health concerns have suffered a great deal due to questioning of exemptions. Whilst I wholly understand the frustration of any person being able to claim an exemption, there are, sadly, genuine cases of people with real reason for exemption (and whilst I'm referring to mental health in this instance, accept that exemption criteria can vary enormously beyond this) suffering by way of feeling singled out. It's a very real problem, that can, in some unfortunate cases push a vulnerable person over the edge, and has sadly resulted in numerous cases of self harm, and worse.

I'd urge anyone to be mindful of this, no matter how frustrating it can be, especially when we feel sure some people are taking the p***. There are delicate people amongst us, that don't (and shouldn't) feel it appropriate to fully disclose the nature of their exemption, but have a legitimate one no less. To such a fragile soul, feeling singled out in being disallowed from 'normal' shopping habits can have quite disastrous consequences.

Of course, that said, nothing excuses the assault on your staff, which is of course unacceptable.

Best of luck to you all, stay safe. 

Edited January 4, 2021 by Foden

[Grovenor]

Well, Boris has sorted it for now, no more non-essential shopping outside your home for the forseeable.

[JSpencer]

17 minutes ago, Grovenor said:

Well, Boris has sorted it for now, no more non-essential shopping outside your home for the forseeable.

 

I don't get it. Places of worship are to stay open and model shops are my places of worship....

[lwnameplates]

40 minutes ago, Foden said:

Such a shame it has come to this, I feel for you, and hope you, and your staff, manage to weather the storm, so to speak.

A little on the issue of face coverings though, if I may. My wife works for a NHS CRHT team, and they've had to deal with a sharp increase of cases lately where vulnerable persons suffering from mental health concerns have suffered a great deal due to questioning of exemptions. Whilst I wholly understand the frustration of any person being able to claim an exemption, there are, sadly, genuine cases of people with real reason for exemption (and whilst I'm referring to mental health in this instance, accept that exemption criteria can vary enormously beyond this) suffering by way of feeling singled out. It's a very real problem, that can, in some unfortunate cases push a vulnerable person over the edge, and has sadly resulted in numerous cases of self harm, and worse.

I'd urge anyone to be mindful of this, no matter how frustrating it can be, especially when we feel sure some people are taking the p***. There are delicate people amongst us, that don't (and shouldn't) feel it appropriate to fully disclose the nature of their exemption, but have a legitimate one no less. To such a fragile soul, feeling singled out in being disallowed from 'normal' shopping habits can have quite disastrous consequences.

Of course, that said, nothing excuses the assault on your staff, which is of course unacceptable.

Best of luck to you all, stay safe. 

I mentioned my own health issues and after speaking with specialists came to agreement it was doing my physical and mental health no benefit, even after one person admitted they knew nothing about said health in the next comment i was wrong and that i could wear one.

as i say i do not condone the behaviour towards the staff at the shop at all no one deserves that but letting one in and not the other is blatant discrimination in mine and many others eyes and can see frustrations of people and personally feel this could have been avoided by taking the mentioned methods from day 1.

 

again personally after reading said article and how the locals to the shop have reacted towards myself i certainly wont visit this shop in future and have once previously visited on my travels and would have again but after all this and i wouldn't spend my money again there, i had a encounter at 53A in hull and came to the exact same conclusion although i did just say fine turned around and walked slowly with a hobble away haha.

 

again before anyone jumps down my neck this is certainly not a personal attack on the shop but the same view i have to any shop.

iv said my piece and wish the shop every good wish but i just couldn't hold my tong, I just hope people understand my view rather than causing a argument.

[Trains4U]

1 hour ago, Grovenor said:

Well, Boris has sorted it for now, no more non-essential shopping outside your home for the forseeable.

The guidance is clear for retailers. Non essential retail may remain open for click and collect and delivery.

 

It doesn’t wholly tie in with the “only shop for essentials” advice, but wellbeing is almost as important as eating!   and having something to do could be deemed essential.

Edited January 4, 2021 by Trains4U

[Ouroborus]

5 hours ago, stewartingram said:

But a visor is stated by the authorities to NOT be satisfactory - it doesn't give the same protection as a mask. If a visor is used, then a mask must now be worn underneath.

 

 

I am aware of the .gov guidance, but when people wear masks that don't cover their nose, it certainly doesn't make a seal.    Put it this way, if we have people in who 'won't' wear a mask, they wear a visor.  And if they don't want to wear that, they can find somewhere else.

 

All face coverings to various degrees offer protection from droplet transmission.  A visor is impermeable.  Sneeze behind it and you'll see what you haven't exhaled over someone.    Seems fairly obvious to me that if you 'can't' wear a face mask, a visor is better than nothing.   I mean, why wouldn't you?

 

Personally, i think the issue with visors has come about through some of the bandit mask visors that only shield your eyes.  The visors we work with run from forehead to chest and wrap around to your ears.  But they only last a couple of days before the crap that they stop renders them hard to see through.   Hth.

Edited January 4, 2021 by Ouroborus

[Ouroborus]

1 hour ago, lwnameplates said:

I mentioned my own health issues and after speaking with specialists came to agreement it was doing my physical and mental health no benefit, even after one person admitted they knew nothing about said health in the next comment i was wrong and that i could wear one.

as i say i do not condone the behaviour towards the staff at the shop at all no one deserves that but letting one in and not the other is blatant discrimination in mine and many others eyes and can see frustrations of people and personally feel this could have been avoided by taking the mentioned methods from day 1.

 

again personally after reading said article and how the locals to the shop have reacted towards myself i certainly wont visit this shop in future and have once previously visited on my travels and would have again but after all this and i wouldn't spend my money again there, i had a encounter at 53A in hull and came to the exact same conclusion although i did just say fine turned around and walked slowly with a hobble away haha.

 

again before anyone jumps down my neck this is certainly not a personal attack on the shop but the same view i have to any shop.

iv said my piece and wish the shop every good wish but i just couldn't hold my tong, I just hope people understand my view rather than causing a argument.

 

 

This is the Facebook post?

[lwnameplates]

1 minute ago, Ouroborus said:

 

 

This is the Facebook post?

same thread but not my comment mine where removed.

[MarkC]

8 hours ago, Ouroborus said:

 

 

This is the Facebook post?

Admins on many social media model railway groups are sick & tired of abuse too - and will ban folk who post such things. I have to say, though, that the vast majority of posters in the groups I'm involved with are wholly supportive of the retailers.

 

Mark

[Widnes Model Centre]

Thank you for your kind comments. Our own Facebook post was shared far and wide on Social Media. There were some negative comments on some of the Model Railway forums, answered by members of those Groups. The one's above are not from our own page.

 

The support we received was outstanding. Over 22,000 people have viewed our Facebook post to date. The three of us spent most of Sunday and Monday evening replying to as many as physically possible.

 

On our own Facebook page, support was just like the Sanitizer sat on my desk 99.99% effective. I would like to add that the 0.01% negative post was from a poster who had a horrific lung condition, I have to take his word for that as we have done with a lot of customers. A quick look at his Facebook profile showed he had fairly recently walked nearly 4km, with 33,000+ steps and walked up 12 flights of stairs. I will leave you to draw your own conclusion on that one.

 

On the point of whether we have discriminated: We have served and allowed into the shop genuinely exempt people. A father and son who had to lip read. Others with clear issues. We have offered them the use of a mask or a face shield. Not cheap but safety first. But we first made sure they were the only ones in the shop at that time. Customers were very understanding on this. We have kept the double doors open with the back door also open to ensure good ventilation. Cleaning work surfaces between customers whenever we could. With the thousands of pounds we have spent on PPE, cleaning and perspex screens, we made the shop as Covid Secure as we could.

 

We did refuse access to the "you're not making me wear a muzzle", "fake virus" types. The guy who had breathing difficulties who came in sporting the gym wear from the gym across the road still sweating from his workout claiming he was exempt. "We don't wear face masks, government plans to track us all". One of whom did put on  a mask when I pointed out that it would hide his identity from the government watchdogs. Genuine customers were not the ones abusing us.

 

On a really positive note; only one customer was known to us.

 

Clearly Boris follows our Facebook page as he decided to follow our example.......

 

Stay Safe and thank you.

[Ouroborus]

9 hours ago, lwnameplates said:

same thread but not my comment mine where removed.

 

Thanks for clarifying.

It was a strange one because after i screenshotted the comments of facebook user 'MP' these comments also disappeared. You might remember, this is where MP doubled down on what he had said in the face of oncreasingly hostile responses.  The thread lasted all day, but only went after I posted the screenshot here.   What a coincidence!

And here's another peculiar thing.  The profile picture of MP on facebook has two people in it.  These people have a striking, almost uncanny resemblance to the people in your profile picture here on RMweb.  Well they do say everyone has a twin and obviously we've found yours.  Twice.  As Widnes Model Centre say above, amazing what you find on the internet.

I think calling it nonsense and labelling people as pathetic is what invited the 'pile-on' to MP and in my opinion, he got what he deserved.   As mentioned above, Widnes Model Centre have spent a lot of money on covid precautions and have like many others of us, become increasingly frustrated with the attitude of *some* of the public.  We're asking you to keep your distance, clean your hands and wear a mask.  Is it really that hard?  Or would you like that the next mask you wear be in a hospital bed?

[lwnameplates]

3 hours ago, Ouroborus said:

 

Thanks for clarifying.

It was a strange one because after i screenshotted the comments of facebook user 'MP' these comments also disappeared. You might remember, this is where MP doubled down on what he had said in the face of oncreasingly hostile responses.  The thread lasted all day, but only went after I posted the screenshot here.   What a coincidence!

And here's another peculiar thing.  The profile picture of MP on facebook has two people in it.  These people have a striking, almost uncanny resemblance to the people in your profile picture here on RMweb.  Well they do say everyone has a twin and obviously we've found yours.  Twice.  As Widnes Model Centre say above, amazing what you find on the internet.

I think calling it nonsense and labelling people as pathetic is what invited the 'pile-on' to MP and in my opinion, he got what he deserved.   As mentioned above, Widnes Model Centre have spent a lot of money on covid precautions and have like many others of us, become increasingly frustrated with the attitude of *some* of the public.  We're asking you to keep your distance, clean your hands and wear a mask.  Is it really that hard?  Or would you like that the next mask you wear be in a hospital bed?

thats fine and must be a double, my user is LWnameplates the LW meaning Liam White haha so feel sorry for the guy looking like me.

im affraid in reply to widness as much as i agree with the actions you have taken well did take we all locked down now haha, but how can you put you're hand on you're heart and say these people ARE NOT EXEMPT I'm not been funny surely that opens up for problems i didn't realise model shop owners where medical profesionals hence the lanyard showing HIDDEN disabilities. as said on Facebook I walk with a stick but that's the only real sign the rest you cant see (same condition that prevents me walking correctly but i do agree its difficult when we know people are taking the p**s but again you cant tar everyone with the same brush.

i think this is a situation that no one is wrong (apart from those choosing physical and verbal abuse towards the staff).

as i say in my opinion having a genuine need to not having one on, if i was interrogated and told i still need to wear one with the intention of spending money as said i would turn away and not visit again.

i have already done it to a shop in hull recently lossing over £600 of custom in one move, to me turning any money down is bad business.

as i say after the abuse and cross interrogation i got off customers of wmc and the wording and attitude towards genuinely disabled people from the shop in the statement, i have visited the store before a while ago when i lived in Elsmere port and when moving to Blackpool i would have visited again but certainly am unsure after what i have seen.

this is not a dig at the shop at all simply my opinion not as i say i invite for abuse.