Lansing-area retailers have rolled out appointment-only shopping. Here's how it went.

Customers who booked appointments at Playmakers in Okemos entered the footwear and athletic apparel store in groups of 10 on Tuesday. 

They were each directed to a designated station, where an assigned staff member answered their questions during the 40 minutes they were allotted to shop or browse. 

Stocked with cleaning supplies, the 10 stations are spaced throughout the store to meet the social distancing requirements outlined in a recent state order that allowed retailers to open to the public by appointment only. 

This was Playmakers' first crack at taking appointments. The 50 employees back at work kept commenting the reopening felt like Christmas morning, according to store Manager Lindsey Mulder. 

“It was exciting to see people and interact face to face again,” said Mulder, who was also pleasantly surprised that retail businesses in the Lansing area were opening at all. “We had plans in place to reopen, so we expedited them. The plan allowed us to make sure staff felt comfortable.”

The state gave retailers the green light to reopen with restrictions last week, but not every store was ready by Tuesday. Some retailers aren’t sure if reopening is financially feasible yet. Others want to take their time to get it right. 

Many like Elderly Instruments worried about the health of their employees, according to Lillian Werbin, a co-owner of the musical instrument retailer. 

“It’s more complicated than unlocking the door,” Werbin said. “Our industry is hands on. We want to make sure we can maintain our employees and make sure their safety and health is taken care of before adding another layer of worry.”

Reopening retail after a shutdown 

Reopening hasn't been a smooth process for every retailer. 

"Some customers have been belligerent," said Meegan Holland, vice president of communications and marketing at Michigan Retailers Association. "One retailer said some customers are nice and nicer, and others are rude and ruder. We are telling shoppers not to be rude." 

Holland has also heard from retailers that some customers refuse to wear face coverings. 

“Retailers are reopening with a whole new business model and cleaning regimen,” Holland said. “They had to train employees differently. Some are happy. Some said they need to hire more employees.”

Playmakers wasn’t able to reopen with all of its 100 employees. The business reduced staff after the pandemic forced the store to shift to curbside and online ordering. 

The 50 employees who returned to Playmakers on Tuesday helped serve nearly 100 customers who booked appointments and the few walk-ins they were able to accommodate, Mulder said. 

Customers are able book appointments at Playmakers online or via phone, but the booking process may differ at other stores. 

“It’s all over the map,” Holland said. “Some stores are allowing walk-ins if there are few people in the store. Others are asking that customers call. Some say they are not ready yet.”

Holland has been running a webinar to help retailers across the state prepare to reopen. The webinar focuses on best practices for cleaning, adjusting store layouts and social distancing. 

“For some, (setting appointments) is not an issue. Smaller stores often don’t have 10 people in there at once,” she said. “The large department stores are where it gets interesting.”

Popcorn shop prepares to reopen

If all goes as planned, Chad Jordan hopes to reopen Cravings Gourmet Popcorn this weekend after running the store solo.  

When schools closed, “we laid off our entire staff,” Jordan said. “For five weeks, I ran everything by myself. I brought in help sporadically.”

A Paycheck Protection Program loan, a forgivable small-business loan from the government, allowed Jordan to bring back his full-time employees and some part-timers to get the store ready for reopening. 

Only five customers will be allowed in the store at once. 

Everyone will be required to wear a mask. Those not wearing masks can order online for curbside pickup, he added. 

“For me, this has been about ‘What is the silver lining?’” Jordan said. “How can I make the business better or closer to bulletproof? If this happened again, how would we survive?”

Jordan found the answer to his own questions during the weeks he operated Cravings alone. He learned what worked and what didn’t. 

What had to go was an older retail point-of-sale system that wasn’t conducive to operating online and curbside during a pandemic. Cravings is in the midst of transitioning to a new system that integrates with its website and phones. Customers browsing from home will be able to see what products are in stock. 

“It’s a big change,” he said. “We had been with the same company for a decade. But the pros outweighed the cons.”

Waiting for the right time to reopen

Lynn Ross doesn’t want to rush to reopen Mother & Earth Baby Boutique before she and her staff are ready. 

“The hardest part is trying to navigate how quickly to move,” Ross said. “I can’t bring my whole staff back without knowing what the economic situation may be.”

“The other issue is childcare,” she added. “My team doesn’t have childcare. I don’t have it because summer camps haven’t opened.”

Ross plans to do a soft reopening in the future. She hopes to make the appointment-booking process fun when she does. She is also strategizing ways to get customers to book appointments without dealing with no-shows. 

But for now, she will continue offering curbside service. Selling via social media and promoting her products for mothers and children on the business website and on video has also helped, she said. 

“We are making it work,” Ross said. “We are seeing what customers want and what they feel comfortable with.”

Contact LSJ reporter Kristan Obeng at KObeng@lsj.com or 517-267-1344. Follow her on Twitter @KrissyObeng.

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