I was meeting with some bankers this week, and I asked how they address customers with masks when verifying IDs. With plexiglass dividers in place, they simply ask the masked customers to remove their coverings momentarily while they verified the match to the ID. I also asked if their industry, in general, had seen an uptick in masked robberies, as I assumed some criminals saw a real opportunity. Just a few years ago, a person walking into a bank with a mask on would draw major concern, for obvious reasons. Today, bank employees are more understanding but are “still on high alert,” I was told.
I also wondered how convenience store clerks dealt with masked customers who were buying alcohol or cigarettes. Early on in the pandemic, I asked one, and he told me that they took the customers’ word as they were told they could not require them to remove their masks. Today, that’s changed, and many convenience store clerks now handle the situation much like the banks by asking customers to momentarily lower their masks. Even so, I had to wonder if some minors saw a real opportunity. “Not so much,” I was told.
How about airports? With such stringent check-in policies, how are employees dealing with masked customers? If you have flown lately, you know that the process is much like what banks and convenience stores are doing — asking customers to momentarily lower their masks.
Although police admit that wearing masks has made crime investigation more difficult, most say they have not seen an increase in crime as a result. That’s good news, as we shouldn’t expect that all who wear masks are criminals.
Who was that masked man?
Have a thoughtful Thursday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com, 515-953-4822, ext. 305 |
