F'ing A, did he need to write a novel to his clientele about his decision regarding masks? I barely made it through the first paragraph.
Posted today on Facebook:
"Hey guys! Just wanted to get this out of the way... it sure is a way trickier one than anybody could have imagined... more tricky than it needs to be, but alas...
Following most other small businesses in the area who either have an optional policy set in stone, or a requirement policy that is silently not being enforced, we will be RECOMMENDING masks, but we will not be requiring them. We stand behind fellow businesses requiring masks, and those just recommending them like us, alike. Our staff will be wearing masks, and our best sanitation efforts will be in place of course. (That's a different post)
Unfortunately we are in a tough spot with this, and we never thought masks would be such a controversial topic. We're human, and like you, we're probably wondering if these masks
are really worth it like everybody else... but we also have no problem just wearing one because it's easy and may help somebody else besides us. We're in the middle.
Apparently many people do not feel so non-chalant about it one way or another, and we also recognize this. Our staff and close friends here stray over all political parties, and needless to say we're overwhelmingly ALL upset and somewhat disgusted with certain people in our OWN political parties... while most people are being wonderful as always, certain people are seemingly becoming very rash and unhumanlike about this in both directions, even in our local area.
A fellow Ephrata business owner who has been open for the last few weeks reached out to me, very upset and anxious, as a warning. Needless to say her warning and experience made me feel much disdain to BOTH political parties and was a grim reminder of how awful SOME people can be, regardless of affilitation or beliefs. She has been insulted, screamed at, and even threatened... by people of of all views... right here in our local Ephrata area. She is also doing a "recommend but not require" policy. Even with this neutral, light, and forgiving policy compared to others, she has people yelling in her face for "daring questioning their constitutional rights by recommending they wear a mask" by even just recommending they wear one (which isn't a violation of your rights), and the other side of "how dare you not somehow force all these people to not wear masks, you are a terrible person and a terrible business owner". (We can't really force people to do anything) Some people on both sides of the issue are going off the rails and becoming unhumanlike to this poor business owner who is trying her best. Somebody even tried to pick a physical fight... right here in Ephrata. And then there's those people that are just doing what they feel is best and keeping their cool about it, and understand people are going to do what they're going to do regardless of what us business owners say (thank you to those people for understanding).
In our shoes, us small business owners have 3 options:
We have option A, which is require masks 100%, which will make about 50% of people very upset and cause a lot of confrontations especially with the majority opinion in our Central PA area seeming to have some sort of disdain towards masks.
We have option B, which is to let it be a free for all with no safety precautions, which will make the other 50% of people upset, and isn't something we want to do.
We have have option C, which is leave it up to you and recommend mask use, wear masks ourselves, and do our best to be safe. Additionally, we also can't be certain wearing a mask for hours at a time is good for you either, so we want customers to be able to take breaks if need be on their own regard for themselves. Option C will be fine for 90% of people,
but still seemingly drastically upset the top 5% "most vocal" of each opposing group mentioned above for drastically different reasons. "How dare you recommend I wear a mask" vs. "How dare you not require masks"
As you can see, there is no perfect option. Nor is there any inkling of an option D, or E, or F, so on and so forth. So we're going with Option C.
Heck, even with politics, personal views, and comfort aside, we also realize wearing a mask for several hours during a Gameseum visit, health-wise, is like apples to oranges of visiting the grocery store for 15 minutes, and cannot in good faith recommend wearing a mask for hours at a time during your visit either... we feel left in the dark about this issue by the health authorities, and have no knowledge on if wearing a mask with an all-day pass is actually better or worse for your health with all the oxygen concerns, so it is up to you and your discretion. We're not doctors. There's so many variables here to consider, to the point of where Option C is the only realistic option in any form, even with social opinion concerns aside. "Do you", at your own risk. You know what is best for you.
Needless to say, we also certainly welcome those who do not feel it is safe, to stay home until you feel it is safe and comfortable to visit. Our heart goes out to those who are vulnerable to COVID-19 more than others, and certainly don't recommend you stop by until it is safe for you to start heading out of the house - I don't imagine you would right now anyways, masks all around or not. Your health is more important to us than anything, and certainly want to make that clear... if you're vulnerable, whether we 100% required masks or not, I can't imagine you will be visiting quite yet... and that's fine, and we love ya!
At the same time in the other direction, if you somehow get vocally upset about a sign on the door just RECOMMENDING a mask - not even requiring one - you're welcome to your opinion too, and can come back later all the same. We're not forcing anybody to do anything, whatsoever.
Again, we are in awe of how some people of either political parties and views surrounding this issue have become. Unhumanlike. Having an opinion is fine, but we will say if your beliefs over masks or lack thereof, one way or another, cause you to become confrontational, rude, unhumanlike, threatening, and condescending towards staff members of businesses including ours, just don't come here. We do respect anybody's right to disagree, or even quietly exit, and we sadly expect to see some of that until this all passes us by - despite wishing there was a perfect option. At the same time, we don't have time to deal with grown adults causing a scene or insulting our staff members or other customers. We will not tolerate anybody insulting or berating another customer for wearing a mask nor not wearing one. We are between a rock and a hard place, in addition to being shutdown for months... we are doing our best to please everybody. We have had staff members out of work for months looking forward to getting back to work and everybody having a fun, safe time here, and helping others do the same. There is having an opinion quietly and choosing when you wish to visit, and then there is being a jerk and causing problems - a thing that seems to span all political parties and beliefs. It is disappointing that even when our fellow business owner friend is just RECOMMENDING masks, that she is still being yelled at and literally physically confronted by people of both sides - even when not forcing anybody to choose one way or another. Where did the humanity go?
None of this can be pinned on business owners... We are not the ones requiring masks in businesses (but are being threatened with large penalties for not doing so, but people don't seem to remember that part), nor are we the ones recommending people not to wear masks... point those comments to their appropriate directions... we are
just here to run an arcade. We are not people police one way or another, and refuse to be put in that position... it's just not our place, it's not our job, nor what we want to do. We will be leaving what each person wants to wear up to that person. Safety is our #1 priority, but considering people are becoming violent towards other local business owners, and long-term use of masks is questionable itself at best, we feel it is best to just do what we can to encourage, but not require, mask use. Being neutral is really the only way for us to go on this, for both social and health reasons. We also recognize regardless of our stance on masks, those at risk will thankfully not be visiting the arcade until the world is 100% safe, which helps make this decision easier for us. If we were an essential business that people of these concerns were visiting, we would take a stronger stance, but we're sure those vulnerable will already stay away from me for now regardless if we required masks or not.
I personally have been at least questioning certain areas of mask use like I'm sure we all have, but I also respect any business that asks me to wear one by just doing so without feeling offended... I guess I'm a rare political mish-mosh or just apolitical on the whole thing. Even if I think masks are questionable (which may or may not be true), I also don't have a problem one just wearing one if asked... works great at best, couldn't hurt at worst... that's just me... I'm super neutral... but I know some people feel differently... and apparently the issue is not so cut-and-dry to some, so you are welcome to do as you please. We do ask if you are medically able to, please wear a mask, or at the very least, just be a kind human being to our staff and fellow customers regardless if you are wearing one or not. Kindness is not political. It is universal. The majority are being decent people as usual, but the horror stories I'm hearing are deeply saddening... and again, span all political views. This has ALWAYS been a fun place free of arguments or trouble as soon as you walk in these doors... an escape from the world's problems for many, long before these particular issues... please help us keep it that way. We hope to see you July 3rd, and if not, we hope to see you as soon as you're ready.
Keep the comments civil towards each other.
Thank you."
