Supermarkets and Covid-19

[DB]

The whole queuing system is self-defeating as it just means that people spend longer in close proximity. Like masks, it's one of those 'be seen to be doing something' things. Hope Testo don't do the same.

 

[Meerkat]

The whole queuing system is self-defeating as it just means that people spend longer in close proximity. Like masks, it's one of those 'be seen to be doing something' things. Hope Testo don't do the same.

Not if it’s done properly. My local Morrison’s used the clothes aisles as a queuing snake, with the markers on the floor to keep people apart. Then once at the front you got directed to the next available till. Which is much better distancing than queues at individual tills blocking aisles and leading to squeezing through and bunching.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Queuing in the car park, just to get into the store, will not be popular once we get to winter. There was talk of 'queuing in your car' and being called in, but no explanation of how non-car customers fitted in to the arrangement - take a traffic cone and stand in a space, wearing hi-vis?

A single queue to get to the tills seems reasonable, as it means people wait the same amount of time, and can be distanced appropriately. In my local Tesco they used the furthest aisle from the entrance, selling things such as printer cartridges, so not much shopper traffic to conflict with the queue.

Called into Tesco earlier, second time in a week! Didn't need much but had missed an item off my home delivery. That's the problem with home delivery, and the April lockdown type arrangements - a lack of flexibility or massive bother just for an odd item. I'd hoped we were past all that.

 

[DelayRepay]

Queuing in the car park, just to get into the store, will not be popular once we get to winter. There was talk of 'queuing in your car' and being called in, but no explanation of how non-car customers fitted in to the arrangement - take a traffic cone and stand in a space, wearing hi-vis?

I think the easiest way would be to let people arriving on foot go straight in, on the basis that they're unlikely to be buying a lot (given they'll have to carry it home), and therefore won't be in the store for long. You'd need a way to stop people arriving in cars from claiming to be pedestrians though.

A single queue to get to the tills seems reasonable, as it means people wait the same amount of time, and can be distanced appropriately. In my local Tesco they used the furthest aisle from the entrance, selling things such as printer cartridges, so not much shopper traffic to conflict with the queue.

I agree - I'd like to keep the single checkout queue. It also avoids you getting stuck behind someone whose card is declined, or is slow packing their bags or whatever, which always seems to happen to me!

Called into Tesco earlier, second time in a week! Didn't need much but had missed an item off my home delivery. That's the problem with home delivery, and the April lockdown type arrangements - a lack of flexibility or massive bother just for an odd item. I'd hoped we were past all that.

I agree on this point. I've done shopping then realised I've forgotten an item. Normally it's easy to go back in and grab the item and go through the self-scan till. Not so easy if it involves another 20 minute wait in the queue to enter the store while your frozen food defrosts in the boot of the car.

Morrisons seemed to try to address this by having two queues - one for big shops and one for little shops. If you went in the little shop queue you got in quicker but were not allowed to take a trolley. Not perfect, but would work for the majority.

 

[adc82140]

I have an idea. A £10,000 fine for anyone caught panic buying.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I have an idea. A £10,000 fine for anyone caught panic buying.

Define "panic buying"?

Restrictions on quantities deal with it better than waving fines about.

 

[takno]

Define "panic buying"?

Restrictions on quantities deal with it better than waving fines about.

And yet massive fines seem to be the path of first resort for everything now. Strange and scary times

 

[Meerkat]

“I’m not panic buying, I am logically buying more as I can see other people buying more and know from last time that this will lead to shortages for weeks”

 

[takno]

“I’m not panic buying, I am logically buying more as I can see other people buying more and know from last time that this will lead to shortages for weeks”

Hopefully the people who filled their garage with bog roll last time in the hopes of a quick profit will be less keen to try it again, and in fact will still have half a garage of bog roll to work through

 

[scotrail158713]

I have an idea. A £10,000 fine for anyone caught panic buying.

As @Bletchleyite said, define panic buying? Someone who lives on there own and panic buys will likely buy the same amount as a parent shopping sensibly for a family of six. How do we tell the difference?

 

[Darandio]

As @Bletchleyite said, define panic buying? Someone who lives on there own and panic buys will likely buy the same amount as a parent shopping sensibly for a family of six. How do we tell the difference?

I'd define it as a trolley full of loo rolls in a standard supermarket, not from somewhere like Costco. Or like I saw back in March, lifting whole cardboard shelf displays of pasta into the trolley, sometimes as many as 3 or 4 trays with 5kg of pasta in each.

 

[stevetay3]

The government should immediately introduce a £200 fine for panic buying, this practice is as offensive as all non social distancing , non mask compliance offences. The supermarkets should play there part in this, thay do not have to sell in large quantities to anyone.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Hopefully the people who filled their garage with bog roll last time in the hopes of a quick profit will be less keen to try it again, and in fact will still have half a garage of bog roll to work through

It could be a different set of people this time - the ones who got caught out last time by being too slow off the mark are now getting in first.

I walked past a neighbours house today, he had his garage door open. Two brand new washing machines, in the original packaging, just sat there, now that's stockpiling.

 

[Darandio]

It could be a different set of people this time - the ones who got caught out last time by being too slow off the mark are now getting in first.

I walked past a neighbours house today, he had his garage door open. Two brand new washing machines, in the original packaging, just sat there, now that's stockpiling.

Maybe they are going down a completely different route? Use less toilet paper and use terry towelling reusable nappies instead? Explains the need for additional washing capability.

 

[DelayRepay]

It could be a different set of people this time - the ones who got caught out last time by being too slow off the mark are now getting in first.

I got caught out last time. So I've stocked up to make sure I have enough to eat if I have to start 14 days isolation at any point. I don't want to go hungry, I don't want to rely on neighbours or volunteers and I'm not convinced that the delivery services will hold up. I'm not panic buying or stock piling and if anyone thinks I am, they can mind their own business.

On the other hand I have plenty of loo roll. I bought a huge box (64 rolls I think) back last year, because someone told me there might be a shortage after Brexit (and it was cheap as chips buying in bulk). Problem is the few visitors I have these days see it all stacked in the corner and assume I was one of the people fighting for it in Aldi.

 

[adc82140]

As @Bletchleyite said, define panic buying? Someone who lives on there own and panic buys will likely buy the same amount as a parent shopping sensibly for a family of six. How do we tell the difference?

It was a bit of sarcasm, as a response to seemingly the government thinking they can fine their way out of everything.

 

[Meerkat]

Barely any bogroll in the big Sainsbury’s this evening!

 

[bramling]

Barely any bogroll in the big Sainsbury’s this evening!

Still plenty in Tesco’s Carmarthen this evening!

 

[scotrail158713]

It was a bit of sarcasm, as a response to seemingly the government thinking they can fine their way out of everything.

Fair enough, sarcasm can be hard to convey in text.

 

[DelayRepay]

Barely any bogroll in the big Sainsbury’s this evening!

I'll sell you one for a pound.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

I got caught out last time. So I've stocked up to make sure I have enough to eat if I have to start 14 days isolation at any point. I don't want to go hungry, I don't want to rely on neighbours or volunteers and I'm not convinced that the delivery services will hold up. I'm not panic buying or stock piling and if anyone thinks I am, they can mind their own business.

On the other hand I have plenty of loo roll. I bought a huge box (64 rolls I think) back last year, because someone told me there might be a shortage after Brexit (and it was cheap as chips buying in bulk). Problem is the few visitors I have these days see it all stacked in the corner and assume I was one of the people fighting for it in Aldi.

You should not be remotely bothered. You have been sensible. Over the past few months, after the initial shortages, everyone has had the opportunity to slowly build up a modest supply of food. A four pack of soup on top of their normal shop one week, a three pack of tuna the week after etc. Nothing extreme, nothing to particularly trouble the supply chain - even if everyone did it. There are outlier cases (eg people who have just moved from abroad or to university or something), but I have little sympathy for people who, despite the first wave and lockdown in March/April have not made reasonable preparations for a potential second wave. Plus the preparations come in useful if you have to self-isolate after coming back from abroad or being in contact with someone who shows symptoms etc.

Non-published official policy, prepared for a previous pandemic (after 2006, can't remember which particular one) was that everyone should have two weeks supply of food in their house. The virus would arrive, sweep through the country in a fortnight, causing all sorts of disruption (manufacturing, supply chain, supermarkets etc) and then things would settle down. I understand that, in the cold war and until quite recently, it was a legal requirement in West Germany for households to have a two week supply of food. Don't know if it was ever checked up on or what the penalty was for not doing so.

 

[GB]

I think the easiest way would be to let people arriving on foot go straight in, on the basis that they're unlikely to be buying a lot (given they'll have to carry it home), and therefore won't be in the store for long. You'd need a way to stop people arriving in cars from claiming to be pedestrians though.

unfair and unworkable. People in cars would never get into the supermarket at those supermarkets that are close to towns or residential areas. And as you pointed out, you can’t really prove who is a genuine pedestrian against a car driver or someone that travels by taxi, public transport, car share etc.

plus what do you define as “a lot”? I often see people on foot carrying 3 or 4 bags...that’s pretty much the same as me as a car driver and the amount of shopping one buys isn’t necessarily indicative of amount of time spent in the shop.

 

[Meerkat]

unfair and unworkable. People in cars would never get into the supermarket at those supermarkets that are close to towns or residential areas. And as you pointed out, you can’t really prove who is a genuine pedestrian against a car driver or someone that travels by taxi, public transport, car share etc.

plus what do you define as “a lot”? I often see people on foot carrying 3 or 4 bags...that’s pretty much the same as me as a car driver.

It’s very easy to go “Ooh that’s a cheap price, I should stock up”, forgetting I have to carry it a mile home......

 

[Tracked]

Oh good my local Morrisons have brought back the queuing system for tills, with the ironically named speedy shop basket queue as pathetic as it was before, massive queue moving at a snails pace which grinds to a halt when people at the front don't want to use the self scan, which of course is the same line.

(Annoyed at the system for not, not those who don't want to use self scan)

Was going to pop to my local on Sunday but didn't manage to get in, had seen they were bringing back the queue system but they hadn't mentioned going back to normal Sunday hours (09:30 open, tills open at 10:00). I only wanted some apples, so as I was there at 09:25 I didn't bother. The queue system was bad last time; have been in a few times when trolley's were queued all the way down the central aisle, and multiple times later on when trolley users went into the handbasket queue then came to a complete stand halfway down (it used to be in the clothes section) while deciding what to do - this was later on in the use of that system, when they took the person off the entrance to the queues.

There was once before they had the handbasket queue when was queueing and got asked to come and use the self-service machine for my basket, it only meant walking by 3 trolley users in a narrow aisle!

 

[DelayRepay]

My local Morrisons also had the basket queues snaking around the clothing section. Which was fine.

Except that at the time, non essential clothes shops were closed, so there were more people than usual trying to browse the clothing section, which was difficult for all concerned when the aisles were full of people queueing.

I am surprised that none of the supermarkets took advantage by filling the queueing aisle with sweets and chocolates!

 

[david1212]

I went to my local Tesco superstore on my way home tonight.

Before March from 14:45 to 18:30 traffic in the vicinity would be a crawl but at 17:30 and after still free flowing and around traffic light junctions in one change.

No queuing to get in. The barrier blocking access to customer services and tobacco from the main checkouts has returned after being removed. All the 2m yellow and black tape spacing lines have gone, just the small blue circular stickers showing 2m spacing remain.

Some product lines had clearly taken a hit. Non of my normal loaf but overall typical stock level of bread so maybe just a glitch. However very little pasta, loo rolls and kitchen rolls stock was low, no bleach and little toilet specific cleaner plus non of numerous other cleaning products. Otherwise no obvious low stock or empty shelf areas in the aisles I went down.

No doubt in preparation for ' C ' day in three months time the layout of the fridges has been changed. Next time I go, probably three weeks, I'll have to be prepared to find the freezers and shelves changed too.

 

[MikeWM]

Tescos here are back to limiting toilet roll purchases to 1 pack per customer. Even so there were only a few packs on the shelves (better than none, I guess).

Groundhog Day, but rather less amusing.

They did have everythihg I actually went for, however.

 

[bramling]

My local Morrisons also had the basket queues snaking around the clothing section. Which was fine.

Except that at the time, non essential clothes shops were closed, so there were more people than usual trying to browse the clothing section, which was difficult for all concerned when the aisles were full of people queueing.

I am surprised that none of the supermarkets took advantage by filling the queueing aisle with sweets and chocolates!

My local Tesco managed (to be fair, probably inadvertently) to have the queue through the alcohol aisle - albeit the wine aisle not the cheap beer one. Not really ideal.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'm putting up my second box of "Who Gives a Crap", then - £10 a roll

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Had my Tesco home delivery today, entirely food based, all items delivered as ordered - except I got a larger pack of corned beef than ordered (as a substitution) - and paid less than the original item cost.

Called into the convenience store on my daily walk - seemed as crammed floor to ceiling as always, obtained the items I called in for. 100% mask compliance.