One of the most interesting solutions the WA state Liquor and Cannabis board had for minimizing COVID risk was temporary rules for Curbside service. That is when a salesperson comes to your car to either take and deliver an order or deliver a previously placed order, in some cases a drive thru service and still in others a walk up. The biggest gripe in my experience is when they get the order wrong, which also happens in-store.
It caused a huge rise in online ordering and processing and made it easier with more options to purchase cannabis. Some states even allowed delivery services to thrive (hey there Oregon) and they saw record revenues. There have been a lot of hits to the service industry during the pandemic and it has caused shifts in the ways that people do business, especially with regards to the level of contact.
This was an easy shift for the LCB, but they made the rules temporary, and Curbside went away in July with retailers and customers, especially medical patients not happy. Then the COVID Delta variant hit and numbers went right back up, so the LCB decided in August to activate the temporary rules and take a look in October and make a choice for more permanent rules on the 31st. And yes, the numbers are declining but weren’t we just here and know they are going to have a holiday surge? Really, is Curbside service so novel and troublesome?
Flashback to medical cannabis in 2013 at Sonshine Organic dispensary in Lacey, WA and they had a DRIVE- THRU! You could even order coffee with your dabs. Then drive away. It was super convenient and made sense especially for those with disabilities, so why did they go away in the 502 Rec system? Security might have been an issue at one point but the limits to specific spots and mostly preplaced online orders has minimized the risk of theft.
As a wheelchair user the fact I do not have to: build my chair, push in the store, banter over sales and get out med card, touch all sorts of surfaces, then roll out to find it raining and someone parked too close to the handicapped spot, so I can’t actually get back in my car, but have to wait until they return and move said vehicle so I can transfer and break down my wheelchair and check to see if my purchase is correct... are you still with me?
Online ordering and Curbside pickup, exchange money then get the product and change to roll on down the road is infinitely easier. It may not be for every shop and many customers prefer to have the shopping “experience”.
The rest of us say; for streamlined time sensitive service and ease of contactless delivery let’s hope that the LCB uses reason in offering Curbside pick-up as a permanent rule.
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