Supermarket Update (2)

[greyman42]

They say it's about that, but we know it's not, it's to appease people who still want to wear masks, which is the majority in the eyes of the supermarket chains, hence why they continue with it.

It is actually a minority. If i know this then why don't the supermarkets?

I also imagine staff may still have a large say in this as they may wish to maintain some protection as they deal with hundreds of people each day.

Again, in my experience the staff dislike masks as much as the majority of the customers.

They should be asking real-life shoppers, but if they are going by polling it'll be from YouGov or surveys linked to their loyalty cards which get sent out to a small sample of customers and an even smaller will reply, usually those with the strongest opinion.

Correct.

 

[Hadders]

Why should they feel they have to follow "guidance" when it is not law?

Because customer confidence in a large business would soon evaporate.

We are generally anti-mask on this forum (as I am myself) but many people want restrictions to continue or feel that they are being lifted too quickly, and maintaining customer confidence is a big thing for a large business.

As I said upthread I expect this to be a ‘glide path’ with signage and language being toned down in coming days and weeks.

 

[island]

Absolutely BONKERS! Why don't they(and numerous other companies) use the scrapping of mandatory face mask laws on Thursday as good reason to completely move on from this "Covid measures" nonsense??!!

Of course, there's nothing they will be able to do now to those who choose not to wear a face mask in their stores. But nevertheless, it's still annoying they're going to have a "Please wear a face covering if you can" messaging throughout their stores for probably MONTHS to come.

Just been to my local Sainsbury's. That particular branch, from 30th November when mandatory face mask laws were stupidly brought back again, compliance with face masks was very high(at least 90%). However just now when I was in there, only about 50 to 60% of people were wearing them. Lots of people can't wait until Thursday to ditch their pointless face masks! Come Thursday I expect and hope the numbers wearing face mask in that branch(and indeed in shops/supermarkets all over England) will be much much lower!

They were similar before July 19th; the signage and attitude that actually materialised was "wearing a mask is now a personal choice, please continue to wear one if you can" but no enforcement or cajoling.

They are simply trying to come up with messaging that will get them the least amount of grief on social media.

 

[43096]

If it's all about "keeping people safe" then they'd be better not selling tobacco, alcohol and fatty foods.

It’s nothing to do with “safety”. It’s (in theory) about health. Amazing how often the safety line gets trotted out when it’s nothing to do with it.

 

[david1212]

...
In quote
Health guidance, however, will remain for people to wear a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces, where you may come into contact with people you do not normally meet.
...

Government guidance recommends face coverings be worn, especially in crowded places such as shops and public transport so it’s hardly surprising that the country’s largest retailers are following this guidance.

Personally I will not be following the guidance but many people will choose to do so. I see it as a sort of ‘glide path’.

Simple response to that is do not go to a supermarket when crowded. Even in the lead up to Christmas I was never in any shop I would describe as crowded nor long queues at checkouts, at most three or four in front per checkout ( i.e if twelve in front at least 3 checkouts in use ). A couple of times annoying to have someone breathing down my neck rather than standing back.

Harder to avoid for public transport particular if cancellations and/or short formations.

 

[DelayRepay]

I went to the Tesco near me on Sunday and they'd already removed the 'you must wear a mask' sign. This is a good sign as last time they had lots of posters and announcements about wearing masks, even though they weren't mandatory.

Locally, I have found Morrisons to be the store with the least Covid 'rules' and restrictions. They got a bit carried away in the early days, but they were the first to re-open their counters and cafe, the first to revert to normal queueing arrangements and haven't gone overboard with signs and announcements. They did go a bit overboard with constantly referring to their staff as 'key workers' but I'll let them off because the shopping experience was much more pleasant than at other stores.

 

[greyman42]

Because customer confidence in a large business would soon evaporate.

We are generally anti-mask on this forum (as I am myself) but many people want restrictions to continue or feel that they are being lifted too quickly, and maintaining customer confidence is a big thing for a large business.

The large majority of people i speak to, who don't use this forum or railways, want masks dropped.

They are simply trying to come up with messaging that will get them the least amount of grief on social media.

This is probably the reason for not dropping the mask messages.

Simple response to that is do not go to a supermarket when crowded. Even in the lead up to Christmas I was never in any shop I would describe as crowded nor long queues at checkouts, at most three or four in front per checkout ( i.e if twelve in front at least 3 checkouts in use ). A couple of times annoying to have someone breathing down my neck rather than standing back.

Harder to avoid for public transport particular if cancellations and/or short formations.

Have you got a reason for trying to avoid Covid like the plague, because it is not the plague.

It’s nothing to do with “safety”. It’s (in theory) about health.

Same answer. They should stop selling tobacco, alcohol and fatty foods. Add salt laden foods to that list so there goes your bacon.

 

[Grecian 1998]

As said upthread, I suspect the only reason supermarkets will be putting up notices or making announcements is to be seen to be doing something to avoid grief on social media or flack from the unions - that's what happened after 19 July. It will however be entirely non-confrontational and if you don't wear a mask, which there is no compulsion to do from tomorrow, no-one will question you over it.

If it's anything like July, then around 80% of people may be wearing masks tomorrow, but that number will quickly drop rapidly.

 

[yorkie]

Unions are notoriously far left / authoritarian in nature and yes some companies are keen to placate the bonkers unions.

I think Sainsbury's hoped to avoid incurring the wrath of the cold/blue heart brigade on Twitter but they actually got a load of flack (and rightly so) from people opposed to masks. Hopefully they will realise the error of their ways and take on board the feedback.

I am now going back to visiting Morrisons again and will be reducing my visits to Sainsbury's.

I had been keeping visits to Morrisons to a minimum during the recent mask mandate and only went once; it was unpleasant seeing so many masked customers but I was pleased to observe most staff were, very sensibly, not wearing them.

 

[Cdd89]

I don’t care what messaging Sainsbury’s puts out. My local branch (pre-December) had less than 10% of staff and customers wearing masks, and I fully expect that to be the case going forward based on local demographics.

 

[bramling]

I don’t care what messaging Sainsbury’s puts out. My local branch (pre-December) had less than 10% of staff and customers wearing masks, and I fully expect that to be the case going forward based on local demographics.

It’s certainly been similar in the two small London stores I use. There was a slight increase when the mandate came in, but it tailed off soon after. I’ve been in both without a mask on a fairly regular basis without any issue. My local Sainsbury’s is more of an issue, certainly dirty looks abound in there, though not as bad as Waitrose!

 

[Bungle73]

I just went to my local Asda, and I'd estimate it was around 50/50. It was fairly empty though.

Last time masks were dropped I stuck with one for a few visits, until I saw what everyone else was doing. This time I went in sans mask from the off. I'm glad they've gone again, hopefully permanently this time.

 

[nw1]

Unions are notoriously far left / authoritarian in nature and yes some companies are keen to placate the bonkers unions.

While I recognise the vital role that unions have to play in preventing employer abuse, and am a union member myself, when I had Covid in November (about the 35th most severe viral illness of my life, perhaps) I was warned by my rep 'you do know you'll be ill for the next six months'.

While I do accept that some people do get 'long Covid', it is not typical for most cases.

 

[Pit_buzzer]

Just been to my local b&m, what a refreshing change.
All the covid notices have disappeared from the entrance, it really felt like normality had returned.
Unfirtunately nothing seems to have changed at sainsburys or m&s and first bus are still showing mask messages on the destination displays

 

[Butts]

Have some sympathy for the rest of the UK especially Scotland

It seems we are to be lumbered with "masked shopping" for the foreseeable future.

Can no rid us of this troublesome abbess !!

 

[greyman42]

Have some sympathy for the rest of the UK especially Scotland

It seems we are to be lumbered with "masked shopping" for the foreseeable future.

Can no rid us of this troublesome abbess !!

The public themselves can by refusing to wear the masks. Whether enough are up for this is another matter.

 

[Yew]

Why should they feel they have to follow "guidance" when it is not law?

Why do I get the feeling that they won't follow any guidence that financially disadvantages them...

 

[Mojo]

I noticed the signs in Sainsbury’s this morning were a lot less friendly than previous. The old signage said “Wearing a face covering is now a personal choice. For the safety of our colleagues and customers, please continue wear a face covering if you can.” This was printed on their maroon background sign.

The signs now are on a blue background (same colour as when they were mandatory), and say “Please wear a face covering if you can.”

 

[Huntergreed]

I’ve seen a lot more signs that say “thank you for continuing to wear a face covering out of respect/courtesy for others”. Needless to say, I find that very patronising and presumption, not to mention it implies that anyone who cannot wear a face covering is not respectful or courteous, which is clearly nonsense.

 

[3rd rail land]

I'd like to avoid Sainsburys but unfortunately they have monopoly in my area.

That said I do get most of my groceries via online shopping from ASDA so I only go to a bricks and mortar shop for groceries perhaps 2/3 times a fortnight for a handful of items. Things like milk, vegetables and suchlike which aren't easily freezable so I can't buy sufficient quantities of each time I place an online order. Of course I could buy frozen veg but I find fresh stuff to taste so much better and I have a fairly small freezer anyway so I don't have space for large bags of frozen veg etc...

 

[Freightmaster]

I’ve seen a lot more signs that say “thank you for continuing to wear a face covering out of respect/courtesy for others”. Needless to say, I find that very patronising...

Reminds of the similarly passive/aggressive "thank you for driving carefully through our village" notices...





MARK

 

[Strat-tastic]

I'd like to avoid Sainsburys but unfortunately they have monopoly in my area.

That said I do get most of my groceries via online shopping from ASDA so I only go to a bricks and mortar shop for groceries perhaps 2/3 times a fortnight for a handful of items. Things like milk, vegetables and suchlike which aren't easily freezable so I can't buy sufficient quantities of each time I place an online order. Of course I could buy frozen veg but I find fresh stuff to taste so much better and I have a fairly small freezer anyway so I don't have space for large bags of frozen veg etc...

You can freeze milk.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

You can freeze milk.

Not that good an idea though if you normally still get your milk in glass bottles!

 

[3rd rail land]

You can freeze milk.

Yeah, if I had an adequately sized freezer. Mine is built in and not very large. If it weren't built in I'd consider replacing it with a larger one.

 

[alastair]

I noticed the signs in Sainsbury’s this morning were a lot less friendly than previous. The old signage said “Wearing a face covering is now a personal choice. For the safety of our colleagues and customers, please continue wear a face covering if you can.” This was printed on their maroon background sign.

The signs now are on a blue background (same colour as when they were mandatory), and say “Please wear a face covering if you can.”

Better at local M&S just now. Small signs on door - "face covering your choice". Staff 50/50 wearing/not wearing. Customers 70/30.

 

[Bungle73]

After the serenity of my local Asda (where there is nothing Covid-related, save the lingering sanitation point at the entrance and the anti-bacterial trolley handles) the other day, today I visited a Sainsbury's in the next town. Sign at the door telling people to wear a mask "if you can" (whatever that means), signs at the end of every aisle going on about distancing (why?), and announcements going on about masks. Give it a rest fgs.

 

[Kremlin Stooge]

Yesterday morning my local branch of Morrisons still had notices up along the lines of: In line with recent government announcements customers are required to wear face coverings unless clinically exempt. Whereas inside the store, the public address was using the word ‘encouraged’ rather than ‘required’.

Masked/unmasked was about 50/50.

 

[david1212]

Have some sympathy for the rest of the UK especially Scotland

It seems we are to be lumbered with "masked shopping" for the foreseeable future.

Can no rid us of this troublesome abbess !!

Some of us in England are very aware and sympathetic to those in Scotland also Wales and Northern Island.


Last Thursday more mask wearers in Aldi than I expected. I have not been anywhere else.
I expect a decline in the next couple of weeks.

Toiletries and cleaning products are still the main areas with some items not available.

 

[Tracked]

Just been to my local Morrisons; 70/30 Masked/Non-Masked (Old and young people with them on, though I think the older were a little more likely to be using them), didn't see anything about mask use being enforced. The shelves have appeared less empty recently, although at least some of this appears to be the result of staff using more generous spacing between products on the fruit & veg shelves

 

[ExRes]

I went into a Sainsbury in Canterbury today, as well as being one of the most sloppy and tatty supermarkets I've ever been in they were playing their stupid covid announcements virtually non stop, the brave people of Kent were also at least 70/30 masked, maybe they still worry about the Black Death getting into their cathedral