But a Tulsa QT employee, who spoke with the Tulsa World on condition of anonymity, said Monday that the corporation historically has been loyal to its employees but seems to have fallen short in this emergency.

Some QuikTrip employees say the company is doing little to enforce social distancing rules and is prioritizing profits over workers’ well-being, the employee said. Similar concerns were expressed in anonymous online posts.

Thornbrugh responded to the employees’ concerns Tuesday, saying QuikTrip is extremely proud of its store teams for providing “essential services to the community in this time of great need.”

“QuikTrip is in constant communication with our local governments and health departments to ensure that we are doing the right thing,” he said. “We are operating in full compliance with all of the advice and directives of those regulatory bodies in each of our locales and will continue to do so.”

QuikTrip employees have always been expected to wash their hands frequently and to wear gloves when handling food products, Thornbrugh said, and those efforts have been intensified to address the COVID-19 outbreak.