The Burden of Behavior Change
Lessened when Companies Step up to the Plate
Like many citizens of this new world dis-order under the COVID-19 pandemic shelter-in-place, after many unsuccessful attempts to order food online for pick-up or delivery, I finally suited-up with rubber gloves and braved a trip to the local Trader Joe’s grocery, not really knowing what to expect when I got there. It was 3:30 pm on a Tuesday, a time when I thought there would be perhaps less stock on the shelves, but also fewer people and therefore risk.
I was pleasantly surprised to see a model, if not fitting for this new normal, bizarre display of efficiency and order on the sidewalk in front of the store. The store manager, suited up in a cheery Hawaiian print standard-issue uniform at the front door, smiled brightly at the long line of customers waiting patiently and dispersed exactly 6-feet apart according to some 20 neatly drawn chalk lines under their feet. I took my place at one of the chalk marks as he gave a running list of suggestions that smacked of genuine concern and empathy for humankind. Was I now dreaming within this dystopian ground-hog day dream we xsare all living? Where were the hoarding mobs I experienced at Safeway just a week and a half ago, throwing caution to the wind as they desperately grabbed the last package of toilet paper or ramen noodles?
“Those over 65? Please step this way, come right in the front of the line,” the manager said assuredly. “Don’t worry folks, the carts have just been sprayed down with sanitizer. There’s plenty of sanitizer to use right here in front. Two more please, you’ll have plenty of time to shop and have room in the store.”
Inside the store, the chosen few myself included, indulged in our window of shopping safety, as if we were all given $300 to spend on our last few meals. (The thoughts set in — — were we?) The shelves were fairly well-stocked, with gloved and masked worker bees working furiously to keep them so. As I checked out, another smiling and cheery team member chatted me up, as another relieved him considerately so he could take a break to slather his gloves again with sanitizer.
As someone who works in applying behavioral science to service design and programming, and who worked many years in international development field within the “WASH” sector (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), this experience was like watching a beautifully choreographed behavior change ballet.
Up until a few weeks ago, most Americans had never really thought much about hand-washing and sanitation, unless they happen to work in the food, beverage, or medical industries. But simple behaviors like hand-washing and using a latrine are big deals for much of the developing world, where according to WHO and UNICEF, an estimated 2.6 billion people — over half the developing world — lack access to improved sanitation. Affecting behavior change in the WASH sector is very difficult for many different reasons, but in the US, access is not one of them. Simple things we take for granted, like hand-washing, clean water and a toilet, are matters of life and death in much of the world. Americans have collectively, with no judgement but just by virtue of experience, held the belief that this kind of pandemic happened elsewhere. Now, what was someone else’s problem is coming to roost on our doorstep.
So, let’s get back to the what separates the desperate hordes of people at Safeway, with the collective Zen at Trader Joe’s. For people to comply with behavior that they know is in their best interest, it’s not enough to simply have the knowledge. It’s not even enough to be driven by fear that is fueled by the media. The behaviors have to have an enabling environment to occur — that is easy made easy to do, be supported institutionally, and reinforced by social norms, i.e. what is everyone else doing at this very moment and time?
Although I didn’t know it at the time, over the past three weeks, Trader Joe’s announced on its website that six stores in NY, NJ, and Maryland were temporarily closing for cleaning, due to employees being infected with COVID-19.
What did Trader Joe’s do right? First, they owned up and told the truth. Then, they responded with rapid closures and global procedural changes that directly supported their customers with onsite guidelines and practical safety measures — all served with a smile and a genuine sense of empathy toward customers
No, they don’t deliver, nor do they offer pick-up, but their response to their customer’s needs and fears is what will be remembered and shared amongst people who were afraid to go to the grocery store. This will drive their business through the pandemic and beyond.
