Memorial City Mall offers locker pick-up service for customers
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Texas is taking another big step in reopening the state.
Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order last week that allowed retail shops to sell items through pick-up and curbside services only.
At Memorial City Mall, select stores are using a contactless locker pick-up service. Tyson Shield, co-founder of Uno, said Memorial City is the only mall that is using this unique service.
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"We actually launched with Memorial City Mall in December, and then we were closed down, and now this is our first day back up and running," Shield said.
He added that customers put in their orders online, the store fills the order, then UNO picks it up and puts the order in its designated locker.
Adriana Waer, store manager of Pandora, said she was hesitant about reopening, but the no-contact service gave her and her staff some peace of mind.
"The few customers that we have spoke with are excited to get the stuff that they want and how easy it is," Waer said. "We're all just trying to make sure that we are staying safe and being mindful of our surroundings."
At the Galleria, big brand stores remained closed. A spokesperson with the mall said they are directing people to their website, where they will update the list of stores using curbside services.
Across the street, some local stores like Relax The Back are open for business.
"With everybody being closed, our business is dramatically off," Brian Cario, Regional Manager of Relax The Back said. "We're off about 70 percent compared to what we did last year at this point and time."
In his 40 years in retail, Cario said he has never seen empty parking lots and little to no traffic quite like this.
"I've been through hurricanes," Cario said. "I've been through riots. I've been through tornadoes. I've never seen anything like this in my life."
