JD's Market, Cedar Creek,TX — Local services in Austin

I just sent this as an email to their main office:

I entered the store at approximately 7:00 PM on Monday, May 17th, 2021.  Since the mask mandate was lifted in Texas over two months ago and the CDC has issued guidance advising that fully vaccinated persons need not wear a mask, I was not wearing a mask at the time.  I walked through the store's produce section when the cashier working register number 1, Juanita V, yelled across the store, "Hey, put on a mask!".

I will admit, I was so taken aback by the complete lack of respect that I got angry and chose to ignore this "request".  Shortly thereafter, a security guard approached me.  He politely and respectfully asked me to put on a mask and stated that the cashiers will not serve me without it.  Because the security guard was professional and respectful, I proceeded to put on a mask and go about my business.

I approached the meat market/hot food counter in the back of the store where I noticed multiple JD's employees working behind the counter, handling food and raw meat without masks.  If it is JD's policy that everyone in the store wear a mask, then I would expect the policy to be enforced as aggressively with the staff as it is with the customers.

I made sure to check out at register 1 so I could inform Juanita V that her co-workers are not wearing their masks.  Surely, she would be appalled by their complete disregard of JD's policy as she felt the need to berate me for not wearing a mask.  As it turns out, she was not concerned that they didn't have their masks on.  When I mentioned that some of them had masks pulled down below their nose and mouth while working with customers' food, she said "well, they have a mask on".  When I chose to "wear" my mask the same way, she told me she would not check me out until I put my mask on properly and threatened to have the security guard remove me from the store.

At this point, I was very irate and not afraid to admit it.  I told her to tell her employees to put their masks on and then I will put mine on.  She told me that they aren't her employees because she's not the manager.  To which, I requested to speak to the manager.

I regret that I did not get the manager's name.  The manager told me that the staff behind the counter have to wear their masks for eight hours a day as if that is an excuse to violate policy.  I have to wear my mask all day at work, as do many others.  She then proceeded to tell me that the staff behind the counter have been vaccinated.  I, too have been vaccinated.  So, again, if that is a reason not to wear a mask, I should have been fine.  She then became apologetic for Juanita's incredibly rude and derogatory behavior and assured me that she would ensure all of the staff would be made aware of the policy.  Because after 14 months of COVID restrictions, I'm sure some of them aren't aware of what they are expected to do at work.

More importantly, this policy is rooted in fear and ignorance.  Any mask that is not an N95 mask will provide little to no protection against the COVID-19 virus for either the person wearing it or those around them.  Secondly, COVID-19 has a survival rate of over 99%.  While it is highly contagious, it is very unlikely that those who catch it will die.  Finally, the COVID-19 positivity rate in Bastrop and Travis counties is 2.8% and 2.4%, respectively.  Translation, despite the fact that Texas opened up at 100% over two months ago, the transmission of COVID-19 has continued to decline in our state.

I'm quite certain that nobody at JD's main office will actually read this email or take any action because of it.  But rest assured, I will not patronize your stores again.  And not because of your fear-based mask policy, but because your employees feel it is okay to be rude to...

ATTENTION **** INMINENT DANGER OF HEALTH ---please take care in hygiene practices--

3rd time I visit this store and always have bad experiences. when making my purchase that included sealed products, produce and poultry. At the time of checking out, the cashier Alejandra H. first throws my toasts in a rude way and they fall apart. second he handles sealed products and tries to mix poultry with bread and produces in the same bag. When recommending my wife that she should not do it. The cashier in a rude and sarcastic way yells at my wife and tells her that the employees are not trained to handle raw products and also that a customer is not going to tell her what to do. I speak with the manager and explain the situation and the imminent health danger that this means. then the manager goes to the cashier. and I'm waiting for the manager to solve the situation and just start helping the cashier pack and I see that they start laughing. So I think the manager just made me believe that he would fix the problem. It seems that the ties between employees and managers create trust between them to allow employees to affect and put our health at risk and, like the cherry on the cake, they are rude with...

While I am highly impressed with the amount of stuff here, and I realize it is new, my two visits have both resulted in significantly higher prices being charged at the register when the items are scanned than the prices marked at the shelf location. Two weeks ago I failed to notice an item marked $6.99 scanned at $8.79 until after I saw the receipt at home. Today again an item marked $7.49 scanned at $8.79. The clerk, Giselle, made the correction after I pointed it out to her, but JDs can make a LOT of money that way, and the authorities need to be monitoring that situation. I hope this gets corrected soon, and I can...