Starbucks Canada’s Safety Precautions in Light of COVID-19
Starbucks has moved quickly to modify and adapt its operations to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Since the onset of the pandemic, Starbucks guiding principle has been to prioritize partner (employee) and customer safety, based on facts and science, and communicated with transparency.
Below is a list of Starbucks precautionary measures in company-operated stores located in Canada.
- Enhanced cleaning measures: Starbucks is committed to caring for the health and well-being of its partners and customers and playing a constructive role in supporting Canadian local leadership, health authorities and provincial governments. The company continues to observe elevated cleaning and sanitizing protocols to help prevent the spread of all germs in its stores with cleaning practices that are consistent with public health guidelines to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
- Mandatory facial coverings: All partners are required to wear a facial covering if they are working at a store. Partners are reminded not to touch their eyes, nose and mouth, and to wash their hands, maintain physical distancing and sanitize high touch surfaces frequently.
- Customer facial coverings: With widespread vaccine availability and the ongoing progress against COVID-19, Starbucks will follow local guidance and will lift mandatory facial covering requirements for customers, only where and when legally allowed by local government and public health units. Starbucks remains committed to playing a constructive role in supporting health and government officials as they work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
- Floor markers and signage: All stores will have in-store signage and floor decals to show customers how to navigate through the store and remain physically distant.
- Plexi-shields: As an added barrier of protection, customers will notice plexi-shields at the POS and handoff areas. Some stores may also have plexi-shields between partners working in side-by-side situations (ie. in the bar area). This provides an additional risk mitigation of airborne droplets being exchanged between partners.
- Hand sanitizer: In the entryway area of stores, hand sanitizer will be available for customers.
- Social distanced seating: In stores that are open for dine-in, available indoor and outdoor seating will be significantly reduced to accommodate 6-foot spacing between tables and to prioritize physical distancing in the cafe lobby and customer waiting areas. Tables will be sanitized between each customer.
- Partner wellness checks: As an additional safety measure, ahead of each shift, all partners are required to take their temperature and complete a wellness check. This ensures partners are ready and able to work and that every member of the team feels confident while working together.
- Pausing personal cups: Starbucks will continue to pause the use of personal cups and “for here” ware as a precautionary measure to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
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