BYRON, Ga. — This week, Governor Brian Kemp allowed certain businesses to open with restrictions, and one Peach County tanning salon is trying to abide by the rules.
Peach Beach Tanning first opened in November, but owner Ashley Fairchild said April is the peak time for tanning.
"We were nervous to re-open, just because we weren't sure if people would come or if they were still sheltering in place and didn't want to leave," said Fairchild.
After being closed for a month, Fairchild said she wasn't sure if her customers would be ready to return so soon.
"All of our regulars came back, and they were very understanding about the restrictions and the six foot and things like that, so we just let them know what was going on. We had been running some specials in March so we just kept them for this month and then May," she said.
Price specials aren't the only adjustment Fairchild and her staff made. She said there are a few new rules that will be in place until further notice.
"If they wanted to call on the way so we can have their bed ready, and they can walk right to the room. We don't come in contact with them, there's no physical contact with the customers," she said.
Some other changes include reduced hours Monday through Sunday, customers waiting for appointments in their cars, and longer wait times between appointments so staff can thoroughly clean tanning beds.
"We've been trying to do no-touch payments. So we do have a card reader, but we also have a square app where we can punch in their number so they don't have to touch anything if they feel comfortable doing that. Just trying to limit the contact as much as possible," Fairchild said.
She said she has some customers who visit for health reasons regularly and everyone has been patient with the adjustments.
"Everyone's just been glad to get out the house and come back in and just get a bit of normalcy with everything going on. In that 10 to 15 minutes they're here, they're just able to feel like everything is back to how it was before," she said.
Fairchild and her staff are also wearing masks and using hospital-grade products to clean. There are also two hand sanitizer stations in the salon for customers to use.
To see the full list of adjustments and hours, visit the Peach Beach Tanning Facebook page.
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