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Wisconsin-Based Menards Facing Backlash Over COVID-19 Masks
Getty Menards' mask requirement is causing controversy.
Menards, the Wisconsin-based home improvement chain, is facing intense social media backlash over its requirement that customers wear face masks to protect against the spread of COVID-19.
"Won't be shopping at your store anymore since you are requiring masks and selling them at your store," wrote one angry Twitter user. "@Menards Really too bad you're making us wear masks to shop! I've been a loyal customer for 32 yrs. Not loyal anymore," wrote another.
Facebook groups have filled up with angry posts about Menards and its mask policy. People wrote they were going to switch to Home Depot or other stores that are not requiring masks. One man wrote, "I refuse to shop there if they require me to wear a bull sh*t mask that doesn't protect against sh*t, Management needs to pull their head out of their a*s. F*cking idiots."
@Menards screw you! Lost me as a customer for life. Masks won't help. Hope you all go out of business
— Stormdizzle (@Stormdizzle92) April 30, 2020
However, some people agree with the policy. "I don't understand the anti-mask debate. These are reasonable steps to safeguard people from contracting the virus," another man chimed in on Facebook.
Menards' website describes it as a "family-owned company started in 1958" and headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Menards has more than 300 home improvement stores located in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Menards founder John Menard, 80, is worth $17 billion, Forbes has reported.
Costco has also said that customers "must wear a face covering that covers the mouth and nose, at all times while at Costco," according to a statement on its website.
Menards says of its new mask requirement policy:
Due to COVID-19, we are requiring all Guests to wear a mask or face covering while shopping in our stores. If you do not have a mask or face covering, we have masks available for purchase. Thank you for your cooperation and efforts to keep our Guests and Team Members safe.
This author, indeed, was able to purchase a mask for $1 at a Menards store in Wisconsin. The mask was available for purchase at the customer service desk, and employees were wearing masks. In addition, Menards has banned children from its stores, writing, "We are no longer able to allow children under the age of 16 or pets (except service dogs) in our stores. If you look under the age of 16, you will be asked to show your identification (driver's license)." Menards was previously accused of selling face masks at too high a cost.
On Costco's Facebook page, there were far more supportive comments than negative for its mask policy when announced.
Here's what you need to know:
Hey @menards if I don't have the virus why is it not pro choice to shop in your store with out a mask on? I will take my money somewhere else ??
Also if your going to sell masks for $1 I'd think profiting off a rule you should maybe give them away for free to make a difference
— Caleb Hicks (@Calebh1122) May 1, 2020
Here are some of the comments on social media:
@Menards not only are you forcing your loyal customers to wear masks but you're charging us?? Are you kidding me? Will never be going back. Hoping to encourage others to do the same. Boycott.
— Shawn Bair (@ShawnBair9) May 1, 2020
@Menards screw you! Lost me as a customer for life. Masks won't help. Hope you all go out of business
— Stormdizzle (@Stormdizzle92) April 30, 2020
Menards in WI forced us to wear masks! Not going back again.
— AtotheB (@AtotheB10) April 30, 2020
I broke down and went to @Menards today. I paid $1 for a face mask with their new policy, yet I saw a bunch of employees not wearing their masks properly nor anyone else. I feel like I've robbed over the issue. I'll be taking my biz elsewhere until the policy is reversed.
— Josh Gohlke (@josh_gohlke) May 5, 2020
Tonight we were told we could not enter @Menards w/o a mask. My wife asked about medical conditions and the bouncer at the door said it doesn't matter. To be fair, they did offer to sell us masks. ? We declined and left. We have spent a lot of money there. Won't be back!
— Steve Sprotberry (@SSprotberry) May 2, 2020
Tonight we were told we could not enter @Menards w/o a mask. My wife asked about medical conditions and the bouncer at the door said it doesn't matter. To be fair, they did offer to sell us masks. ? We declined and left. We have spent a lot of money there. Won't be back!
— Steve Sprotberry (@SSprotberry) May 2, 2020
#tcnt Just left @Menards. Requiring masks to get in. I cant wear one for health reasons. They told me I can shop online. Thanks @Menards – you just lost a long time customer for your overzealous policy. Masks are for the sick, not the healthy. Actually can be worse!!
— Logic & Reason (@logcl_conserv) May 1, 2020
GO SHOP SOMEWHERE ELSE. Not worth going there because they don't allow people with anxiety problems who refuse to wear masks to enter. They don't allow kids in so take your business to Lowes or Home Depot. Fascist business stay away. Pic.Twitter.Com/WxVCTEJquy
— Tonita (@mmariscal111) May 4, 2020
Ohioans-don't shop #Menards. They won't let you in w/out a mask. DeWine faced blowback from trying to mandate masks, so he is getting businesses to do his dirty work. Don't patronize stores that won't let you in w/out a mask! Masks don't work anyway!
— Vivian Coblentz (@VivianCoblentz) May 6, 2020
Just tried to shap at @Menards . They are forcing people to wear masks. I guess I am done shopping there. #NoMasks
— Jason Koester (@JasonKoester1) May 5, 2020
Guess I will be driving the extra 30 minutes to shop @HomeDepot rather than going to my local @Menards. Requiring people to wear masks to enter isn't saving anyone, it's about control. If you're afraid, stay home. It's a pretty simple concept. #Communist #PoliceState
— erik lund (@elund7) May 1, 2020
Went to @Menards today but was denied entry because I wouldnt wear a mask due to an asthma condition. That's OK. There are a lot of other hardware stores here that I can shop at that don't require masks. I'm sorry they lost my business forever.
— PJ Anthony (@pjjanthony) May 5, 2020
However, another Twitter user wrote, "Thanks #menards for requiring folks to wear masks in your store. You're protecting your employees, shoppers and first responders. Thanks also for keeping the kids out since so many parents can control their kids touching everything."
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers praised retailers requiring masks as a good move. "Any time we take precautions is a good thing, and so, if Costco and others want to implement that, it's a good business decision on their part," Evers said, according to FOX6.
Silliness at @MenardsThey are requiring masks and selling them for $1.I only had 20's.They give me back $19 in 1s that presumably 19+ different people have handled recently. Pic.Twitter.Com/72pCOmBJta
— Rob Doar (@robdoar) May 3, 2020
Menards also asked customers and employees to do the following:
1. Wash hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based sanitizer.2. Maintain social distancing by keeping six feet between yourself and others.3. Avoid touching your face.4. Make sure to cover coughs and sneezes.5. Stay home if you feel unwell.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend people wear cloth face coverings to protect from COVID-19:
CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.G., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.
CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.
There is a dispute over whether masks are effective. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report that the science is inconclusive:
Overall, the available evidence is inconclusive about the degree to which homemade fabric masks may suppress spread of COVID-19 from the wearer to others. There are no studies of individuals wearing homemade fabric masks, in the course of their typical activities. Only limited, indirect evidence exists regarding the effectiveness of these masks for protecting others, when made and worn by the general public on a regular basis, the rapid expert consultation says. That evidence comes primarily from laboratory studies testing the effectiveness of different materials at capturing particles of different sizes.
That article referred to fabric, not medical, masks.
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Free Shipping As We Knew It Is Over
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Americans love free shipping, but they may have to spend more money to get it, according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal.
Retailers are trying to balance rising shipping costs with continued expectations for free delivery. Their options include raising the minimum purchase required to qualify for free shipping, slowing delivery times, and negotiating prices with carriers.
The first option seems to be gaining the most traction, according to the Journal. It says companies like Macy's and Abercrombie & Fitch have raised their free shipping minimums online.
Insider did a quick check of several popular retail sites. H&M offers free shipping on orders over $40. Uniqlo's minimum threshold is $99. On Target's website, customers need to buy at least $35 worth of merchandise to qualify for free 2-day shipping.
The Journal cites data from Narvar, a company that provides a "post-purchase" technology platform for retailers. Narvar said that the average minimum to qualify for free shipping has risen to $64 this year, according to data from 48 retailers, compared to $52 in 2019.
Free shipping "wasn't going to last, and finally the party is over," Satish Jindel, president of shipping data company ShipMatrix, told the Journal.
While it's unclear when exactly free shipping became ubiquitous among e-commerce retailers, the rise of Amazon Prime — and the free shipping that came with a monthly subscription — likely played an outsized role in the trend as companies strived to compete with Amazon, according to a 2017 research report from Insider Intelligence.
Amazon launched the membership program in 2005.
"Amazon Prime's free two-day shipping has led to an industry paradigm shift," the report said. "Online retailers — small and large — are increasingly offering the perk to keep from losing customers to the behemoth marketplace." Insider Intelligence is a sister company of Insider.
Carriers like UPS, FedEx, and DHL have faced higher costs recently, including wage hikes and fuel prices, which has translated into higher costs for retailers to ship items. Some retail companies have also begun to charge customers to ship back items they want to return.
But free shipping has become a fact of life for many Americans. That means it would be difficult for retailers to suddenly revoke it.
According to data from shipping technology firm Shippo, nearly two-thirds of Americans said they wouldn't buy something online without free shipping.
But nearly half of customers also said they would be willing to meet minimums to qualify — a positive signal to retailers that raising thresholds and nudging customers to add more items to their carts may be an effective way to offset rising costs for their businesses.
"Having some type of free shipping option is now a permanent expectation," Krish Iyer, vice president of strategic partnerships at shipping software company Auctane, told Insider earlier this year.
Here Are The Best Credit Cards For Free Shipping That Can Deliver Purchases In As Fast As 2 Days
Find the best credit card for you Learn More Credit CardsOnline shopping can save you a trip to the store, and free shipping makes it even more worth it. These credit cards offer free shipping through ShopRunner or a retailer, and signing up is easy.
Updated Tue, Jun 27 2023
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