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Supermarket Update (2)

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Butts

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Has anything changed anywhere in the UK with regard to one way systems, masks, traffic lights and queuing outside being reintroduced ?

Nothing seems to have changed in Scotland - in Falkirk at least.
 
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Mag_seven

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I notice my local Tesco have switched back on the "Red / Green" light system. That said it was red the other day and they were not preventing people from entering the store.
 

Hadders

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Nothing in England at the moment although screens have made a return in some supermarkets to provide 'customer reassurance'.

In NI, Scotland and Wales I understand distancing is back along with more stringent restrictions on numbers.
 

Tramfan

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I notice my local Tesco have switched back on the "Red / Green" light system. That said it was red the other day and they were not preventing people from entering the store.
My nearest couple of Tesco stores never got rid of them. Never seen them on anything other than green either
 

matt

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My nearest couple of Tesco stores never got rid of them. Never seen them on anything other than green either
Same for me, it has always been green. It was green a couple of days before Christmas when they were queuing to get into the car park.
 

marks87

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Our local Asda has returned to separate in and out doors, and notionally has barriers set up for a queuing system. But I suspect this is just bare minimum compliance with the new “measures” - I was in there on Christmas Eve and it was rammed, but there was no queue.

A nearby Tesco has had separate doors since March last year.
 

Tracked

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Noticed the other day that the local Morrisons had started to arrange shelving in the entrance towards the separate entrance/exit they had last year.

The Aldi near me has had the red/green light on it since last summer, never seen it red
 

_toommm_

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My nearest couple of Tesco stores never got rid of them. Never seen them on anything other than green either

The Tesco near my uni building and Leeds General Imfirmary went red quite a few times at lunchtimes. I’ve not noticed if it still has the lights, but when the light was red the door sensors were turned off from the outside so it was impossible to enter.
 

DelW

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I walked past my local Tesco Express (in Surrey) yesterday and noticed that the traffic lights were back in use for the first time for several months. There were three or four people queuing outside awaiting a green - I think that, as toommm mentioned, when they're on red the doors will only open for someone leaving.

Nearby large Sainsbury's divided their porte-cochere entrance into in and out streams in spring 2020 and have kept that throughout. There were always separate in and out doors for the shop itself, so I'm not sure what benefit they see in splitting the porch up.
 

Towers

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Just prior to Christmas I stood in a queue of probably 10 - 15 or so people waiting at the 'traffic lights' to enter a large Tesco store in the southeast. There was no attempt to actually police or enforce it, the security bod was at their usual spot just inside the store, but the punters were certainly complying with it. It was the first time I'd had to queue for a shop since peak lockdown!
 

Mojo

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Tesco never ditched the capacity limits in their shops, and still had marketing to this effect, even after social distancing was dropped by the Government back in the summer. The green and red lights never seemed to have worked properly though, as I have seen red lights with hardly anyone in the shop and it still not changing to green despite several customers exiting, and most people probably don't pay attention to it when the doors are already open. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think any other major supermarket chains retained store capacity numbers aside from Tesco.

Sainsburys near my work brought back screens between facing checkouts, running from about half way along the conveyor to just before the packing area, but there's still none between the self service.
 

Ostrich

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During 2021, our local Waitrose (in Dorset) was given a major refurbishment which, amongst other things (extension of the café, new freezer cabinets, installation of self-checkouts, so on) included the creation of a separate exit from the store. So they can now implement a proper one way system if they need to, but I assume the separate entrance / exit idea was part of the original "plan" anyway, not necessarily with Covid in mind. Checkout screens have never been removed since their original fitting, but there is now a return of part-time security, albeit just the one guy smiling serenely at you as you leave the store. There's no attempt to limit numbers in store. The 4 new self-service checkouts are individually screened.

The only supermarket with a traffic light that I visit is Aldi, and I've never seen it on anything other than green.
One smaller supermarket cum Post Office (OneStop) is prominently indicating masks are compulsory; that may have something to do with the main Post Office organisation who locally have had a draconian approach to lockdown throughout. Mask-wearing generally in local supermarkets is now pretty much back to 100%, a distinct change from a visit I made to a local Asda in November when, as far as I could tell, I was the only punter wearing one!
 

Bikeman78

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Has anything changed anywhere in the UK with regard to one way systems, masks, traffic lights and queuing outside being reintroduced ?

Nothing seems to have changed in Scotland - in Falkirk at least.
I've not yet seen a queue outside a shop in Wales but all the petty barriers are back at Sainsburys and there is someone just inside the door badgering people about masks. Absurdly the entrance door is the one further away from where the trolleys are parked.
 

PeterC

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Our post office was controlling numbers before Christmas. A farm shop near us has a sign limiting numbers but no enforcement.

Supermarkets seem unchanged. Waitrose never removed the screens between the self checkouts from the first lockdown.
 

Butts

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Good to hear Supermarkets son't seem to be implementing such draconian methods as earlier in the year.
 

Freightmaster

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Good to hear Supermarkets son't seem to be implementing such draconian methods as earlier in the year.
Not surprising to be honest; why would supermarkets implement (costly and operationally restrictive) measures
above and beyond what the law dictates - it doesn't make any sense whatsoever from a commercial point of view?




MARK
 

DannyMich2018

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Tesco Hinckley still have their 2 staffed basket tills but not been used for more than 2 years. They blocked off by displays. Also why do they fleece you if you have no Club card? I do and always use it but for anyone without one it's easily one of most pricey supermarkets.
 

DelayRepay

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I note with some disappointment that Waitrose have not re-instated their free coffee, which was removed 'due to Covid'.

I note that every other establishment (other supermarkets, petrol stations etc) that have similar coffee machines have either reinstated them, or never switched them of in the first place. Amusingly, my local petrol station's Costa machine has a notice saying it remains in service to support critical workers, but they have removed the stirrers and napkins as a precaution!
 

adc82140

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I note with some disappointment that Waitrose have not re-instated their free coffee, which was removed 'due to Covid'.
Covid was a convenient excuse. Someone I know who works for Waitrose said it was costing the company a fortune, and a lot of "customers" came in, helped themselves to the coffee and went out again without buying anything.
 

island

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Tesco Hinckley still have their 2 staffed basket tills but not been used for more than 2 years. They blocked off by displays. Also why do they fleece you if you have no Club card? I do and always use it but for anyone without one it's easily one of most pricey supermarkets.
Because they're buying your personal data in the form of shopping preferences.
 

DannyMich2018

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Because they're buying your personal data in the form of shopping preferences.
Yes they are. I always try to pay by cash when I can too cause I don't want my bank knowing how much I spend on where and how often etc. Do find Asda best for prices out of the big 4 and don't go Lidl due to poor quality. I really do recommend Morrison's breakfasts now they had improved the selection of food-I had medium one last week with a cup of apple juice for less than 7 quid! No more pricey than Wetherspoons now and much nicer too!!
 

Typhoon

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Just come back from nearest Sainsburys, hand sanitiser but running out and the cleaner for the baskets/ trolleys. No restriction on numbers coming in or out, no staff member near the entrance (one woman cause the alarm to go off, repeated it when no-one turned up, in the end she went looking for a staff member), shoppers going out of the 'in' door (at one time there was a physical barrier to stop that). There was less monitoring than last summer - at least then there was security or a staff member by the door (even if it was to encourage shoppers to self scan).
 

Bikeman78

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Just come back from nearest Sainsburys, hand sanitiser but running out and the cleaner for the baskets/ trolleys. No restriction on numbers coming in or out, no staff member near the entrance (one woman cause the alarm to go off, repeated it when no-one turned up, in the end she went looking for a staff member), shoppers going out of the 'in' door (at one time there was a physical barrier to stop that). There was less monitoring than last summer - at least then there was security or a staff member by the door (even if it was to encourage shoppers to self scan).
Lucky you. In Wales they are really going for it. All we need now is queuing in the rain to come back and we're basically back to last winter.
 

Berliner

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Nothing I've noticed in big supermarkets here in Scotland. A few smaller shops are again showing the 2m distancing signs or displaying the permitted number of customers allowed inside at any one time, but largely unenforced from what I can see.
 

james60059

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Tesco Hinckley still have their 2 staffed basket tills but not been used for more than 2 years. They blocked off by displays. Also why do they fleece you if you have no Club card? I do and always use it but for anyone without one it's easily one of most pricey supermarkets.
I was wondering about those 2 tills as well, don't go very often as I'm closer to Morrisons but only go to Tesco if visiting the g/f's family. As for the clubcard, maybe that's another discussion thread :lol:;)
 

Mojo

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Sainsburys near my work brought back screens between facing checkouts, running from about half way along the conveyor to just before the packing area, but there's still none between the self service.
Obviously spoke too soon as went in yesterday and the screens are back between the self service checkouts, but it isn’t as bad as before where the screens were all along the queueing area too.
Not surprising to be honest; why would supermarkets implement (costly and operationally restrictive) measures
above and beyond what the law dictates - it doesn't make any sense whatsoever from a commercial point of view?




MARK
Tesco obviously thought there was some kind of commercial benefit in it after freedom day; they maintained limits (although perhaps they were so high they knew that it was highly unlikely they’d ever be required) and also had out of all the supermarkets the strongest pro-mask signage.
I note that every other establishment (other supermarkets, petrol stations etc) that have similar coffee machines have either reinstated them, or never switched them of in the first place. Amusingly, my local petrol station's Costa machine has a notice saying it remains in service to support critical workers, but they have removed the stirrers and napkins as a precaution!
Toolstation used to have a Klix machine offering free hot drinks, this was still out of service last time
I was there, sign had something words to the effect of “at this time” and “for your safety” on it.
 

timothyw9

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Sainsbury's Local @ Manchester Piccadilly got rid of the screens a few months ago and they don't seem to have returned. Tesco Metro in Manchester City centre never got rid of them (despite the fact they don't achieve anything )
 

route101

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The Tesco near my uni building and Leeds General Imfirmary went red quite a few times at lunchtimes. I’ve not noticed if it still has the lights, but when the light was red the door sensors were turned off from the outside so it was impossible to enter.
Yes, Tesco like that down south is like that. Only place in last 8 months in England I have come across enforcing numbers still.

Nothing changed in the Supermarkets in Scotland from my visits to Morrisons.

Lego store and H&M in Edinburgh had queues outside.
 

Jamesrob637

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Don't wish to turn this into a mask thread but, given a choice between wearing a mask inside or queuing outside, give me that mask any day!
 
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