Walmart (WMT 1.60%) has updated its services yet again, raising the bar for how to treat customers and employees in a time of crisis.
New standards for helping workers
The company said it will waive the $4 fee that associates pay for access to telehealth services through one of its health plans. They also have access to Resources for Living, a program that provides three free mental health counseling sessions at any time of day.
Image source: Walmart.
Another initiative to help workers is weekly access to half of their earned wages so they can use their earnings when they need to. The company is also giving workers access to the third-party mobile app Even, which coaches users in financial wellness and budgeting.
Finally, Walmart is placing plexiglass barriers at pharmacy checkout lanes and will have them by all cashiers over the next few weeks. This is meant to provide an extra level of protection to shield cashiers from germs.
Doing even more to keep stores safe
Walmart is also increasing actions to add levels of safety for customers. It normally sells chemical spray sanitizing kits for individuals, but it will now be using these kits to disinfect shopping carts between uses throughout Walmart stores.
It will also be placing decals on the floors of stores by entrances and checkout lanes so customers can better judge how far away they are from each other in order to achieve proper social distancing.
"America is getting the chance to see what we've always known -- that our people truly do make the difference," Walmart COO Dacona Smith said. "Let's all take care of each other out there."
