Our COVID-19 Plan
Statement From Stew:
First, I want to say THANK YOU to all the awesome people who purchased digital gift cards during the time we were closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Your support went a long way towards helping us pay our employees full wages during that time.
Deciding to reopen was a decision not taken lightly. We want to make sure we are doing everything we can to keep customers and employees, safe from infection transmission. We are stepping up our cleaning efforts and sanitizing everything between uses. This takes time so please be patient with us when it is busy.
We are also implementing some other policies and procedures to try to keep our environment sanitary. I won’t cover everything in this statement, but you can find out a lot more by going through the frequently asked covid questions just below this statement. Overall, we are all really excited to see everyone back to working on their cars. We hope getting back to wrenching will provide you with a sense of joy and accomplishment.
Lastly, I hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy. These have been hard times, many people have lost their jobs, and endured economic hardship. We have been fortunate as a small business to survive this and hope to continue to be able to serve you as the best Self Service garage! It’s your support that made it possible for us to open our garage doors in the first place and it will be your continued support that keeps them open.
Answering Your COVID-19 Questions
We have placed markers on the floor in the office to indicate where to stand when there are others present. We have also removed the chairs from the office area to create more space for customers to be able to move around the reception area without contacting another person.
In the garage area we have repainted all of the bay perimeter lines to mark the areas you are to stand within. Customers are not permitted to enter into another bay, even if invited. If a customer would like to socialize with a customer near them we ask they remain in their own bay and at least 6 feet apart.
Our employees will also be maintaining social distance with customers. This means that we may need to have you stand further back when we are trying to offer guidance.
You may still bring a friend but you may only bring 2 with you. We must limit the total number of people in the facility to try and help with social distancing.
The best we can offer is for you to pick bay 1, 2, 6, or 7. These bays are less likely to have other customers nearby. Bays 1 and 7 do not have another bay on either side. Bays 2 and 6 have another bay on only one side. We can’t guarantee any time where there won’t be other customers present.
We strongly prefer that you use non-contact forms of payment such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, or credit/debit cards. If you must use cash, we can accept it.
All tools, equipment, and work areas used by a customer are being cleaned after every use. After each use we spray down the workbench, lift controls, and other commonly used surfaces in the bay with an EPA registered disinfectant proven to kill COVID19. We are also regularly sanitizing surfaces throughout the office and garage area that customers utilize.
Along with cleaning regularly, we are requiring all employees to wear a face covering and gloves. We also are following social distancing guidelines, doing regular health checks at the start of every shift, and offering full paid time off for any sick employee.
Yes, we will be here to answer questions, provide advice, and give guidance. We ask that you stay 6 feet separated from us while we are in your bay providing advice.
Washington State requires all people to wear a face covering while inside a public place. This means you will be required to wear some form of face covering. This includes, but is not limited to, cloth face masks, bandannas covering nose and mouth, and/or clear full face shields. To make a long story short, if it covers your nose and mouth in some way, it’s probably going to count.
Anyone who doesn’t want to comply with wearing a face covering will be asked to leave.
We offer both clear full face shields as well as disposable face masks for sale. If you forget yours at home, you may purchase one from us.
It is as safe as we can make it for you to visit us. We are regularly sanitizing, strongly promoting hand washing, enforcing social distancing, enforcing the wearing of a face covering, and doing everything we can to try and keep you as safe as possible. We understand not wanting to take risks, so if you feel uncomfortable going out in public, we ask that you stay home.
No, we will not permit any waiting in the office area to comply with social distancing. Our office space is too small to allow this.