Nelson ready to reopen | KYStandard.com – KYStandard.com

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These days, many concepts and methods long taken for granted are being redefined, and one of the chief ones among them is the phrase business as usual.

Its different, said Chris Simpson, a manager at Joe Hills Powersports & Equipment. The business traffic hasnt changed much, but the way it and most all other businesses conduct daily activities has been altered.

Weve got our sneeze guards up, he said, as well as markers posted in the showroom to encourage social distancing. It takes a lot of time to clean things every day. Its a pain in the butt.

But to observe federal, state and local guidelines to keep the business open, its a necessity.

Businesses deemed essential have been able to remain open during the pandemic, and more will be phased back in over the course of the next few weeks as owners and operators are asked to implement methods designed to keep employees and customers safe and limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Car dealerships have kept their parts and service departments open, but on Monday, showrooms can reopen as well, in addition to other businesses such as construction firms and office-based businesses.

Adam Roll, manager at Franklin Family Chevrolet, said it has led to a number of changes in how they do things at the dealership. In the parts and service department, theyve set up tape and tables at the check-in counters to give employees and customers a buffer zone, and theyre limiting how many people can be in the waiting room at one time. On Friday, Jeff Perkins, coordinator of the parts and service department, could be found sanitizing chairs in the waiting room. The same will go on in the showroom when it opens back up.

If you want to adapt to it, adjust to it, it will work, Roll said. He said despite the showroom being closed, the dealership still sold nearly 100 vehicles last month. Thats down some from their usual numbers, but online sales have helped, and if someone wants to test-drive a vehicle, Franklin has taken steps to make that process as contactless as possible, with customers arranging times and dropoff points so it can be done without an employee in the vehicle with them.

Susan Elmore, owner of Buzick Home Center, opened her doors again last Monday after having the sales floor closed and curbside pickup only during the weeks prior to that. There are signs posted at the door requiring all customers to wear masks while inside, and her employees have to wear masks while on the job. Its not mandated until Monday, but she decided to get a jump-start on it.

Were doing this for (the safety of) the employees and the customers, Elmore said, in addition to constructing plexiglass windows at checkout counters.

She said there has been some pushback from customers who dont want to wear masks while in the store Youre always going to have that but most people have been nice about it.

If you dont have one, we can give you one, Elmore said, and if the customer doesnt want to play by the rules laid out by the state, curbside pickup is always available.

Many professional services such as law offices and accountants have been able to remain open, but by appointment only in most cases.

Jason Floyd, an attorney at Fulton, Hubbard & Hubbard, said that while courthouses are closed to the public, some matters cant wait, such as custody disputes, child support and other family court matters. But in many other cases, people are waiting to seek out legal services until after things somewhat get back to normal. Some potential clients are out of work or operating on reduced income, making hiring a lawyer cost-prohibitive. Much of the rest of the time is spent working on wills and estates, and doing as much prep work as possible, he said. That, and trying to keep the calendar straight for when the courthouse does reopen the beginning of June.

Its exciting times in the court system, he chuckled, noting that district court Judge Jack Kelley will have his work cut out for him with an overstuffed docket when court reopens. Floyd said they had their first motion day via Skype last week, which was new, and they are electronically filing documents with the clerks office, or using drop-boxes for hard copies of documents.

Hair salons and other personal grooming businesses are scheduled to reopen May 25, but customers will be required to wait outside until time for their appointments, and they will be required to wear masks while inside. Workers will have to wear masks and gloves as well, which will slow down the process for hairstylists such as Rachel Vittitow Cissell, owner of Hair Studio in Bardstown.

Its definitely gonna be out of our norm, and probably aggravating at times, but at this point Im just ready to go back to work! she said.

When that does happen, she and other hairstylists figure to be very busy, with many people by that point not having had a cut in two months, and the first week back will feature rescheduled appointments that had to be canceled when the shutdown started.

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Nelson ready to reopen | KYStandard.com - KYStandard.com