Tri-State Outfitters refuses service to influx of unmasked shoppers

Christ Church Pastor Doug Wilson encouraged members of his congregation and the Facebook group De-Mask Moscow to Christmas shop Tri-State between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Dec. 10, as long as these shoppers did not wear masks.

Between 25 and 30 people showed up at the Moscow location not wearing masks, according to Tri-State Outfitters President Joe Power. The store manager, Jennifer Laferriere, alerted Power to the situation.

The shoppers said they were still following the protocol set by Moscow’s mask order, but they were still in violation of the store’s policy, Power said.

Moscow’s mask order states every person in the city must “wear a face covering when in public when the 6-foot physical distancing cannot be maintained,” but Tri-State Outfitters requires masks within its buildings regardless of physical distancing.

All Tri-State Outfitters employees are required to wear masks and normally, the store sees 95% compliance among shoppers, Power said.

Daniel Foucachon, one of the shoppers and a member of Christ Church, said he has regularly shopped at Tri-State Outfitters without a mask before. He said the action was meant to provide a financial “shot in the arm” to a local business.

This was the first concerted effort this group made to do something like this, an “experiment,” in Wilson’s words. Foucachon said it ended in “utter failure.”

The shoppers wearing masks were allowed to complete their purchases and finish shopping, but those without masks were asked to leave. While some argued with the decision, most wished the employees a merry Christmas as they left, as stated in Wilson’s post.

Foucachon filmed the moment unmasked shoppers were asked to leave the store. In his caption, he stated he had “about $50 worth of inventory and wasn’t done Christmas shopping,” adding the company had “lost thousands from a group of people making a point to ‘buy local.'”

“Please understand that we will not put our employees and fellow customers health at risk,” Power stated in a Facebook post. “The short term profit is not worth the long term risk.”

After the unmasked shoppers left, staff members were posted at the doors for the remainder of the business day to ensure all shoppers who entered were wearing masks. The store had not been doing this beforehand because it did not want customers to feel threatened, but now the action is a necessity, Power said.

“It’s kind of a waste,” Power said. “They think we’re being financially impacted by a government ordinance, but what we’re being financially impacted by is the fact that now we have to take employees who are crucial and have them do a task other than help customers.”

Wilson’s post stated “a number of merchants are caught between the demands of the city government and the financial realities of keeping a business open” and that he had reason to believe the group’s actions “would not be unwelcome.”

Power stated in his Facebook post, however, that the store was not asked if this was the case. Tri-State Outfitters was able to provide wages and health insurance to employees while closed at the beginning of the pandemic and, according to Power, does not feel caught between the city and finances.

“In fact, the ‘financial reality’ of us keeping our business open depends on our staff staying healthy,” Power stated. “Our employees being put needlessly at risk is actually devastating to our business.”

Moscow’s mask order is not likely to hurt Tri-State Outfitters financially, Power said. But closing the week before Christmas because too many employees contracted COVID-19 or needed to quarantine could hurt the business, he said.

“I do not believe it was an act of support because as a company, we are following the mask ordinance, we actually want our employees to be healthy,” Power said. “If it were an act of support to Tri-State Outfitters in Moscow, Idaho, the request would not have been for maskless shoppers. It would have been for shoppers to come into the store, not maskless shoppers.”

Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]