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Supermarket Update

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Butts

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The original thread on this was locked quite a while ago.

On my way to Tesco in this morning I noticed that there is still "crowd control" outside the M&S Food Store in Falkirk - ie people having to wait presumably for others to exit the store so they can enter.

At Tesco there are lights on entry but I've never seen it on anything but green.

Are the Marks measures being deployed anywhere else in the UK ?

I thought such interventions were a thing of the past.
 
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Silver Cobra

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Sainsburys are still using a "crowd control" system, or at least my local store is. I had to wait for around 3-5 minutes yesterday to be able to enter the store. It's actually the first time in a few months that I've had to wait in a queue to enter.
 

bramling

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Sainsburys are still using a "crowd control" system, or at least my local store is. I had to wait for around 3-5 minutes yesterday to be able to enter the store. It's actually the first time in a few months that I've had to wait in a queue to enter.

Queues quite often still at both my local Sainsbury’s branches during the daytime, especially weekends - both full-size stores (though one more spacious than the other). I gather my local Tesco Extra had massive queues the weekend before last too.

So not totally a thing of the past.

The M&S food store in my town also nearly always has a queue, but that’s a smaller store.

I bet my local Waitrose also queues at times, they’ve consistently been the worst of all right through this.
 

MikeWM

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Often there seems to still be a queue outside Ely Tesco in the middle of the day at weekends/holidays - looked like quite a substantial one early this afternoon when I passed heading for the station. The car park was almost full though, presumably people stocking up for the long weekend. I tend to go late in the evening however, and haven't personally had to queue there since about last May.

Sainsburys here is odd, because they have two entrances open during the day (and so presumably no queues, because how can you manage a queue with two separate entrances?) but in the evening they close the convenient pedestrian entrance and make everyone trudge down some stairs and enter via the carpark, though by that time they are invariably quiet enough to not need any queue either, so I'm not sure what they think they are achieving by closing the convenient entrance other than irritating people who don't arrive in cars.

Waitrose always seems to have a queue outside, though I don't pass it very often. I gave up on going there very quickly after all this nonsense started - they only seemed to be letting about six people into shop at a time, and while it isn't a massive supermarket they had plenty of room to let in a lot more than they were.

Was wondering tonight when 'you must shop alone' will end? Still on a big sign on the door of our Tesco. Seems very silly if they keep it past April 12th.
 

Crossover

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Not endured queuing myself but places are generally set up for it

Sainsburys Huddersfield had a member of staff on the door the other day checking masks. I only saw them on the way out (fat lot of good that was then!) and they seemed to be challenging someone with a snood (or possibly scarf) as a face covering and offering them a 3 ply one - only overheard part of the conversation but I’m sure “not compliant” was mentioned
 

Gloster

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The only one locally that seems to have crowd control is Poundland in Ryde: it is a somewhat cramped store inside. None of the others seem to have more than security to stop anyone who has not got a mask on, but Tesco did have its queuing barriers out last weekend. No going straight in: you had to walk about fifty yards to one side, round the end of the barrier and fifty yards back.

Marks & Spencer’s did have both entrances open earlier in the lockdown, but the member of staff at each one had a gadget that they could count customers in and out on. The two gadgets were in contact with each other and would indicate when the limit was reached. Later they shut the entrance nearer the town and everyone has to go in via the car park one.
 

Journeyman

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The original thread on this was locked quite a while ago.

On my way to Tesco in this morning I noticed that there is still "crowd control" outside the M&S Food Store in Falkirk - ie people having to wait presumably for others to exit the store so they can enter.

At Tesco there are lights on entry but I've never seen it on anything but green.

Are the Marks measures being deployed anywhere else in the UK ?

I thought such interventions were a thing of the past.
I'm in Linlithgow where the light outside is permanently green at Tesco, but Sainsbury's always has a big queue outside.
 

Flange Squeal

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My local Sainsbury's has never stopped monitoring numbers, with there always being someone with one of those number clicker devices (I'm sure there's a technical term!) stood by the entrance/exit on every visit I've made. I tend to go early or late though, so no idea if queuing has actually been occurring during the day.
 

Butts

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I've not been subject to any queuing measures recently and if I saw a queue I would shop elsewhere.

Exactly what I did the other day when I only needed a couple of bits.

Marks is actually closer to me but I bypassed it's queues and headed to Tesco where I walked straight in.

Why do people put up with it this far down the line ?
 

lxfe_mxtterz

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I believe my local Waitrose is still carrying on with the draconian queueing system and the utterly ridiculous and unfathomable "one per household" rule. Shopped there once during the pandemic to be interrogated upon entry due to being with another person (from my household) and and haven't been back since.

I've since gone to my local M&S instead which hasn't had any silly measures since the start of the pandemic.
 

Tracked

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These are all in/around Doncaster; Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl are the ones to the north of town, the Asda is at the south end, the rest are in the town centre. The big Tesco's aren't included as I've not been in/past them this year. The situation recently has been:

Morrisons; One way in/one way out, person at the entrance to the store watching people go in but if they're counting and if there's someone watching people go out it's not obvious. Not had to queue outside but I usually go at quiet times, I go past it regularly but haven't seen a queue for some time.

Sainsburys: Queue system at the door with staff member counting, usually quiet early in the mornings when I go, but I've seen people waiting to go in later on. One way system to get in/out (unlike Morrisons it's a single wide entrance/exit), but the route from the tills to the exit goes right across the entrance.

Aldi: Light above the door, never seen it anything other than green but I only usually go up that way when I'm shopping there. If someone is monitoring numbers it's not obvious, separate entrance/exit

Lidl: I rarely go in, went about 3/4 weeks ago and they'd a person on the door, go past it quite regularly but haven't seen a queue outside for some time

M&S: One way system with separate entrance/exit (entrance goes through clothing, exit is from the Food section), still queues to get into the store at busier times, and a separate queue in Clothing to get into the food section. I've usually gone in early in the morning so had no problems getting into the store, but been stuck in the queue to get into food the last few times.

Asda: Not been in but one of my regular cycle routes goes past it, up until recently there'd been people queuing outside at around 15:15 when I went past

B&M: Not been when it's been busy, so the only visible things have been hand sanitiser and face-mask wearing, no-one on the door counting when I've been and haven't seen queuing outside for some time (there was always a queue outside when I went past for several months last year)

Poundland: Changed this week, they've two entrances/exits - one outside the shopping centre they're in, the other inside - but had only been opening the one inside the shopping centre and counting people in/out. The outside door was open yesterday and I didn't see any staff on the door when I went past.
 
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cuccir

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Queues have picked-up at my local Tesco over last month or two, having all but gone over the winter. I don't know if they've reduced capacity or if more people feel confident going now? The measures never went away but the queues have definitely gotten longer recently.

Aldi still has the green lights but queues are rare - haven't seen any since Christmas.
 

birchesgreen

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My Waitrose (well the one my wife works at anyway) has security at the door though they don't seem to do much. Lidl is the same. No queuing or other nonsense inside either store.
 

cuccir

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Exactly what I did the other day when I only needed a couple of bits.

Marks is actually closer to me but I bypassed it's queues and headed to Tesco where I walked straight in.

Why do people put up with it this far down the line ?

It's different now but in the proper lockdown I really didn't mind queueing. Visitor facilities closed everywhere, can't travel... What else you gonna do? My pre-schooler tolerated the queues at the supermarket so every 20 min queue was 20 minutes of time I got to spend with her!
 

Hadders

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Just to clarify the position (again).

There is a limit on the number of customers allowed in shops. This is determined by the physical floor space and is formula based. Ordinarily the customer numbers don't get anywhere near the limit but if you happen to shop in a supermarkets that has a very high sales density them you might have to queue to enter at busy times.

Easter is the 2nd busiest time of the year for supermarkets so it hardly surprising that more people than normal might have to queue to enter.

Supermarkets monitoring the number of customers in the shops has never gone away (some use people to count, others use technology). It's just that normally the customer numbers don't reach the limit.
 

Alex C.

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I tend to go shopping very late at night (9-10pm) and I'm usually outnumbered by staff then so no queuing at all - for the times when I need a few specific bits, I go to Iceland and Waitrose and both of these still have queues quite often, I did go to past Waitrose at 7:45pm the other evening and there was a big queue - presumably due to Easter - and I wondered what would happen to those in the queue at 8 when the store shuts, they didn't seem to have stopped anyone joining the queue.

All our local co ops introduced electronic counting devices during lockdown 1 which were full height with a screen at the top displaying the number of people in the store and if you could enter. The only problem is that they worked on an IR beam so any time two people walked in close proximity it would count as one which sometimes meant it would stop you from entering when there was barely anyone in the store and other times you'd have a negative number of people displayed as being in store. Thankfully they have all now been switched off, a few have switched to the above door traffic lights and the rest have a security guard to manage the occasional short queue.
 

bramling

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Often there seems to still be a queue outside Ely Tesco in the middle of the day at weekends/holidays - looked like quite a substantial one early this afternoon when I passed heading for the station. The car park was almost full though, presumably people stocking up for the long weekend. I tend to go late in the evening however, and haven't personally had to queue there since about last May.

Sainsburys here is odd, because they have two entrances open during the day (and so presumably no queues, because how can you manage a queue with two separate entrances?) but in the evening they close the convenient pedestrian entrance and make everyone trudge down some stairs and enter via the carpark, though by that time they are invariably quiet enough to not need any queue either, so I'm not sure what they think they are achieving by closing the convenient entrance other than irritating people who don't arrive in cars.

Waitrose always seems to have a queue outside, though I don't pass it very often. I gave up on going there very quickly after all this nonsense started - they only seemed to be letting about six people into shop at a time, and while it isn't a massive supermarket they had plenty of room to let in a lot more than they were.

Was wondering tonight when 'you must shop alone' will end? Still on a big sign on the door of our Tesco. Seems very silly if they keep it past April 12th.

No one seems to be taking any notice of the “shop alone” nonsense. We were challenged once on it last year going in to Waitrose, which will be the last time we ever use Waitrose (never really liked Waitrose anyway, for me the only thing worth going in there for was celebration cakes).
 

sjpowermac

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Just to clarify the position (again).

There is a limit on the number of customers allowed in shops. This is determined by the physical floor space and is formula based. Ordinarily the customer numbers don't get anywhere near the limit but if you happen to shop in a supermarkets that has a very high sales density them you might have to queue to enter at busy times.

Easter is the 2nd busiest time of the year for supermarkets so it hardly surprising that more people than normal might have to queue to enter.

Supermarkets monitoring the number of customers in the shops has never gone away (some use people to count, others use technology). It's just that normally the customer numbers don't reach the limit.
Is the formula something that stores have been given by the government or has it been determined by individual stores?
 

WM Bus

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Aldi had lights on red and people waiting to go in outside one Sunday afternoon the other week.
Sunday is obviously a busy day.
 
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Jamiescott1

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My local m&s has 3 entrances. 1 is locked, 1 is exit only and 1 is entry.
To be fair every time I walk past the exit someone is exiting so I enter via this door.

My local tesco had a queue a few months ago when there was some media coverage about covid restrictions in supermarkets. I filled out a questionnaire on back of receipt complaining about the queue and I've not seen one since.

About 3 weeks ago my local wilko removed all the queueing barriers anf set up
 

bramling

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My local m&s has 3 entrances. 1 is locked, 1 is exit only and 1 is entry.
To be fair every time I walk past the exit someone is exiting so I enter via this door.

My local tesco had a queue a few months ago when there was some media coverage about covid restrictions in supermarkets. I filled out a questionnaire on back of receipt complaining about the queue and I've not seen one since.

About 3 weeks ago my local wilko removed all the queueing barriers anf set up

Wilkinson’s still have queuing here, though generally the queue is pretty short and fast flowing. To be fair at weekends it seems like the whole town is trying to get in there.
 

Skimpot flyer

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Often there seems to still be a queue outside Ely Tesco in the middle of the day at weekends/holidays - looked like quite a substantial one early this afternoon when I passed heading for the station. The car park was almost full though, presumably people stocking up for the long weekend. I tend to go late in the evening however, and haven't personally had to queue there since about last May.

Sainsburys here is odd, because they have two entrances open during the day (and so presumably no queues, because how can you manage a queue with two separate entrances?) but in the evening they close the convenient pedestrian entrance and make everyone trudge down some stairs and enter via the carpark, though by that time they are invariably quiet enough to not need any queue either, so I'm not sure what they think they are achieving by closing the convenient entrance other than irritating people who don't arrive in cars.

Waitrose always seems to have a queue outside, though I don't pass it very often. I gave up on going there very quickly after all this nonsense started - they only seemed to be letting about six people into shop at a time, and while it isn't a massive supermarket they had plenty of room to let in a lot more than they were.

Was wondering tonight when 'you must shop alone' will end? Still on a big sign on the door of our Tesco. Seems very silly if they keep it past April 12th.
My partner and I take no notice whatsoever of ‘shop alone’ signs. I don’t care if some idiots say this is ‘selfish’. I’ve had enough of their self-righteous posturing and hypocrisy. People shopped for months without masks last year, without anyone having had a vaccine shot, when ‘cases’ were far higher than now. Enough, already!
From a purely practical perspective, we don’t own our own transport and are limited in what we can carry. Why should she or I reduce what we can together carry by 50% FOR NO GOOD REASON??
 

bramling

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My partner and I take no notice whatsoever of ‘shop alone’ signs. I don’t care if some idiots say this is ‘selfish’. I’ve had enough of their self-righteous posturing and hypocrisy. People shopped for months without masks last year, without anyone having had a vaccine shot, when ‘cases’ were far higher than now. Enough, already!
From a purely practical perspective, we don’t own our own transport and are limited in what we can carry. Why should she or I reduce what we can together carry by 50% FOR NO GOOD REASON??

Yes “shop alone” really gets my back up. I don’t enjoy supermarket shopping at the best of times, and one way of making the experience as painless as possible is for two of us to go.

One thing which the virtue-signallers have failed to answer, is how can one person negotiate the checkout once the conveyer belt is full, apart from having to pack and then return to unloading the trolley, which is extremely time consuming and awkward.

If anyone has a problem with two people entering a supermarket together then they can do one! We do tend to shop in the evening though.
 

TPO

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Local garden centre has done something similar, lights at the door, plus they have a bizarre one-way system and the keep broadcasting an announcement asking people not to browse, but get what they came for and go. FFS. I hate shopping but browsing the plants outside at a garden centre used to be a pleasure, not any more. They have also put the prices up A LOT (no doubt to pay for all the "COVID-safe controls" which make is unpleasant) and the range is rather limited. Well, I won't be going back there for a while if ever.

TPO
 

Journeyman

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My partner and I take no notice whatsoever of ‘shop alone’ signs. I don’t care if some idiots say this is ‘selfish’. I’ve had enough of their self-righteous posturing and hypocrisy. People shopped for months without masks last year, without anyone having had a vaccine shot, when ‘cases’ were far higher than now. Enough, already!
From a purely practical perspective, we don’t own our own transport and are limited in what we can carry. Why should she or I reduce what we can together carry by 50% FOR NO GOOD REASON??
If they're all from your household anyway, surely the number of people you shop with makes absolutely no difference.
 

Bantamzen

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My partner and I take no notice whatsoever of ‘shop alone’ signs. I don’t care if some idiots say this is ‘selfish’. I’ve had enough of their self-righteous posturing and hypocrisy. People shopped for months without masks last year, without anyone having had a vaccine shot, when ‘cases’ were far higher than now. Enough, already!
From a purely practical perspective, we don’t own our own transport and are limited in what we can carry. Why should she or I reduce what we can together carry by 50% FOR NO GOOD REASON??
But you're killing the rainforest... Erm, I mean granny.... ;)

Seriously though, the one thing I've noticed in recent months is how people are loosing their fear of each other in supermarkets, with social distancing all but a thing of the past.
 

bramling

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If they're all from your household anyway, surely the number of people you shop with makes absolutely no difference.

I believe two people still counts towards the numbers in store, hence why some people claim it is selfish.

Likewise how apparently some people claim it is still faster for one person to work their way round the supermarket than two, which I completely refute.

Virtue signalling at its finest.
 

Mojo

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I was wondering this earlier; as if it’s some government directive to remind us to all be scared again, as I’d not seen it in ages before today.

Drove / walked past four different Waitrose shops today (actually been past 5 but the first one was closed as it was so early!), none of them near my house so I don’t know if normal, and they all had queues outside.

One was when I was on my way to Sainsbury’s which is 2 doors down from the Waitrose, and that had no queue despite being much busier, with people reaching over each other to get products and so on.
 
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