The four largest wireless service providers are shuttering many retail stores and also reducing hours at other locations in reaction to the spreading coronavirus.
AT&T announced Wednesday it is shutting 40 percent of its stores, cutting hours at others, and closing all of its outlets on Sundays.
Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint announced similar plans.
Here’s a breakdown:
AT&T
“In retail, our goal is to limit employees’ exposure while still upholding our responsibility to meet the essential needs of first responders and customers who are counting on us,” said AT&T Communications CEO Jeff McElfresh
“So, today we’ll begin closing 40% of our company owned retail stores nationwide. Closures will continue while we concentrate our resources on select stores to meet the immediate service needs of our customers, including first responders and healthcare providers.
“At stores that do remain open, we’re adjusting store hours to be from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, and we’re closing all stores on Sundays.
Staffing in stores that remain open will adhere to social distancing guidelines, while still being able to serve customers.”
To learn more and to find stores, visit this AT&T website
VERIZON
“Out of an abundance of caution and to balance the safety of our employees with that of our customers, all Verizon owned and operated stores will be closed on Sundays beginning March 15 through Sunday, April 12,” Verizon has announced.
“In addition, from March 15 – 31, stores that are open will operate on reduced hours Monday thru Saturday, 10 AM-5 PM.
Workers will still be paid, the company added.
“[I]n order to increase social distancing and allow more employees take advantage of work from home, we’re reducing by 50 percent, the number of employees working shifts in our retail locations and paying employees for any shifts they may miss due to these scheduling changes. In addition, the number of customers in a store may not exceed the number of employees working at any given time,” the company added.
For store information, visit this Verizon site
T-MOBILE
T-Mobile began shutting stores as of Tuesday.
“We will close about 80% of our company-owned store locations, while maintaining compensation for our teams and supporting independent operators through the end of the month,” the company said.
Visit this T-Mobile site for updates
SPRINT
Sprint says it’s reacting to the virus by:
- Increasing cleaning and sanitization efforts
- Instructing employees to follow CDC guidelines on hygiene
- Changing store hours and closing certain stores to comply with local public health guidelines
