Supermarkets and Covid-19

[bramling]

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.

Picture of a trolley full of toilet roll on the front page of tomorrow’s Daily Mirror.

That’s pretty irresponsible IMO, though I suppose it’s something to find an amusing side to - until it starts off another pointless wave of panic buying.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Picture of a trolley full of toilet roll on the front page of tomorrow’s Daily Mirror.

That’s pretty irresponsible IMO, though I suppose it’s something to find an amusing side to - until it starts off another pointless wave of panic buying.

There has been lots of 'media' by various stores about not panic buying, how stocks are adequate etc. Now if anything was to start panic buying, it will be talk about not panic buying. Amplified when people's experience in store conflicts with that message. The press just want clicks, I don't want censorship but they really ought to offer some perspective and behave in a less hysterical manner. If it is the picture I saw, perhaps, like some people on here, he always buys in bulk or has a large family? If you aren't supposed to buy 48 rolls at a time, why do they make 48 roll packs!

Don't panic Mr Mainwaring, or Crisis, what crisis?

 

[Darandio]

Local smaller Asda this morning is out of toilet roll and pasta is down to the bare bones. The muppets are responding to the media.

 

[Mojo]

Local smaller Asda this morning is out of toilet roll and pasta is down to the bare bones. The muppets are responding to the media.

The Wheat Harvest this year was pretty dire by all accounts. That probably won't help on the pasta situation.

Heard someone report that there was a moderate queue to go into a local Sainsbury shop this morning. No idea if this was on account of panic buying or just an excess customer flow. Hopefully they haven't reverted to the shop capacities as low as they were in the spring.

 

[island]

I had to queue for about ten minutes to get into a Sainsbury's (not a Sainsbury's Local) on Wednesday. I was carefully monitoring my 70 minutes since I had stepped onto a bus so I could get the one back home for free (and duly did, though without much wiggle room).

 

[bramling]

The Tesco where I am (west Wales) seems to have kicked off since I was last in there.

Queueing system reinstated, and conspicuous empty space for toilet rolls, rice, pasta and bleach - though not wiped out by any means.

We got a telling off for two people being at a self-checkout, despite masks, and each roll having copious amounts of Perspex round it. I could have kicked off a out being treated like children, but out of respect for the member of staff (as it probably wasn’t her idea) I held my tongue, with some difficulty I must admit.

Not impressed.

 

[birchesgreen]

Telling off why?

 

[bramling]

Telling off why?

Apparently only one person is allowed at a self-checkout at any one time, “for social distancing reasons”. We’re not talking here about the tight ones found in something like a small London express store - these were pretty spacious and surrounded by Perspex screens. We were both well within the taped markings on the floor.

 

[birchesgreen]

So if a couple are shopping one does the checkout while the other waits somewhere? How stupid. I admire your restraint

 

[bramling]

So if a couple are shopping one does the checkout while the other waits somewhere? How stupid. I admire your restraint

I was told I could stand behind the till, so right next to everyone passing with their trolleys.

As I say I could really have kicked off, the only reason I didn’t was because I think the member of staff was just doing as told, as she pointed to a (not particularly conspicuous) sign near the queueing area with a list of about five different rules.

 

[Andyh82]

The media are fueling panic buying by keeping mentioning it

Did anyone run out of loo roll back in lockdown, so why are people stock piling now?

 

[bramling]

The media are fueling panic buying by keeping mentioning it

Did anyone run out of loo roll back in lockdown, so why are people stock piling now?

It isn’t about being short of toilet roll. It’s about Karen being able to march into her household and declare “we’re all prepared”.

The media are fuelling it, been on all the main news channels this evening.

 

[DelayRepay]

A neighbour of mine did. She didn't buy any because she believed the government and supermarket bosses who said there was no need. Then when she needed some, there was none to be seen. She was very cross. I swapped two loo rolls for three eggs (another commodity in short supply!)

 

[Cowley]

A neighbour of mine did. She didn't buy any because she believed the government and supermarket bosses who said there was no need. Then when she needed some, there was none to be seen. She was very cross. I swapped two loo rolls for three eggs (another commodity in short supply!)

There’s a joke in there about Egg-bind vs the need for toilet rolls...

 

[adc82140]

A neighbour of mine did. She didn't buy any because she believed the government and supermarket bosses who said there was no need. Then when she needed some, there was none to be seen. She was very cross. I swapped two loo rolls for three eggs (another commodity in short supply!)

I always found bog roll in shops that were not supermarkets. Karen only shops in supermarkets. B&Q always had loads. Mole Valley Farmers always had loads.

 

[MP33]

I went into Tesco yesterday just after 6.00 am. The place was almost deserted and well stocked with everything that I wanted. I noticed new shelves that were stocked with toilet rolls that I did not recognise. Have they put the cheap and nasty stuff by the entrance for the panic buyers?

I agree a photo from six months ago does not help. It appears to be the stock photo the same as the one when there is trouble at Football. The photo of hooligans with long hair and flared trousers is printed.

 

[DelayRepay]

I always found bog roll in shops that were not supermarkets. Karen only shops in supermarkets. B&Q always had loads. Mole Valley Farmers always had loads.

B&Q were shut. The village shop had sold out. They did get some stock in... by buying the remaining supplies from the pub when the pub closed.

 

[birchesgreen]

Well there was plenty of bog roll and pasta in Waitrose earlier this evening, i suspect a lot of the panic buying is by people who were caught out last time. Hopefully it will calm down a bit now.

 

[Cowley]

I always found bog roll in shops that were not supermarkets. Karen only shops in supermarkets. B&Q always had loads. Mole Valley Farmers always had loads.

You’ve just given your region away with that one...

 

[Busaholic]

You’ve just given your region away with that one...

Err... my wife goes into one in Penzance, her sister does the same in Alnwick.

 

[Cowley]

Err... my wife goes into one in Penzance, her sister does the same in Alnwick.

Oh I thought they were a southwest thing?

 

[Busaholic]

Oh I thought they were a southwest thing?

May have been at one time? The local one to me has had three names over the years that I remember. To me, a Londoner for most of my life (just!) Mole Valley is the Dorking/Leatherhead area of Surrey.

 

[Andy Pacer]

Maybe the amount of toilet roll panic bought in the spring is just running out now, so people arent actually panic buying they are just replenishing their stocks!!! (Yes it's a joke before the armchair critics start!!)

 

[adc82140]

Not a single supermarket delivery available for a fortnight here. Click and collect a bit thin on the ground too. What is wrong with people? No one ran out of food in March, the supermarkets didn't close. Are these restrictions responsible for some sort of collective madness?

 

[DelayRepay]

Not a single supermarket delivery available for a fortnight here. Click and collect a bit thin on the ground too. What is wrong with people? No one ran out of food in March, the supermarkets didn't close. Are these restrictions responsible for some sort of collective madness?

I think people are preparing for the prospect of having to isolate for 14 days. Plus those who have returned to work are now being asked to work from home again if possible. Naturally if you spend more time at home, you need more supplies - lunches, tea/coffee and more bog roll. This multiplies if your kids are also at home. I don't think anything is 'wrong with people' really; the good are for sale, the delivery slots are on offer so people buy/book them.

Personally I would normally start to stock up on non-perishables at this time of year anyway, in case of bad weather over winter. And this year we also have the threat of Brexit causing even more chaos to supply chains.

I've not had a problem booking a delivery though. The thing is, the supermarket are making the situation worse. I could go about 10 days between deliveries, but I have a saver pass which gives me weekly free deliveries on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, which kind of forces me into a 7 day cycle (too short) or a 14 day cycle (too long).

I've also, in the last couple of weeks, had coupons from two supermarket chains through the post. One offered £4 of a £20 spend (six coupons provided) and the other £6 off a £30 spend. If people are receiving these types of offer, they may well be adding extra non perishables to get to the minimum spend.

Last time, people who followed the instructions to only buy what they needed were hardest hit; if they had to isolate they didn't have enough stock in, and at that point couldn't go out and couldn't get deliveries. So I can see why people are being cautious this time. It is clear that the government haven't really done a lot of preparation for the problems this winter could cause so as individuals we have to do our own preparation. This doesn't mean filling the attic with loo roll, but everyone buying an extra pack for the reasons above soon adds up.

 

[JamesT]

I’m wondering about how the supermarkets’ capacity for delivery is looking now. They all hired extra staff to be able to handle more slots as everyone rushed to get deliveries. Have they maintained those levels or slipped back as things got a bit more normal after the peak?

 

[Bantamzen]

I've just come out of my local Aldi in Shipley. About 10 customers in, shelves all fully stocked, and more loo roll than you could throw a herd of panic buyers at.

 

[Cowley]

May have been at one time? The local one to me has had three names over the years that I remember. To me, a Londoner for most of my life (just!) Mole Valley is the Dorking/Leatherhead area of Surrey.

This must explain why I’ve never found the mythical and mysterious Mole Moor, Mole River, Molemouth and Mole Valley then...

 

[341o2]

Oh I thought they were a southwest thing?

Mole Valley is a district in Sussex, where the River Mole rises near Horsham and joins the Thames near Hampton Court Palace. Mole valley recently took over Scats and rebranded themselves as Mole Country stores

 

[takno]

I’m wondering about how the supermarkets’ capacity for delivery is looking now. They all hired extra staff to be able to handle more slots as everyone rushed to get deliveries. Have they maintained those levels or slipped back as things got a bit more normal after the peak?

Tesco announced the other day that they now have 1.5 million weekly slots available compared to 600k in March. I assume the other retailers are in a similar position. I did see a lot of them running the vans with two staff in March/April which has stopped now, but I'm assuming that was more about training people up than speeding up deliveries.

The only slight complexity is that they have been working at growing the market for home delivery since lockdown ended, and there will be a lot of people who aren't shielders but are now used to getting deliveries rather than going to the shops. People who can't or won't wear masks are likely to form a proportion of those, so there might be some interesting arguments at the doors of Asda if the delivery slots all have to go back to shielders.