Supermarkets and Covid-19

[Bantamzen]

Is this what we have come to? Speechless.

Indeed, it comes to something when couples daring to shop together are described as inconsiderate and selfish. What a time to be alive.

 

[bramling]

Indeed, it comes to something when couples daring to shop together are described as inconsiderate and selfish. What a time to be alive.

To be fair, I don’t think this view is at all mainstream.

It’s simply another way of deflecting blame, in the same way some choose to blame non-mask-wearers for Boris’s choosing to implement a lockdown.

Whether some people find certain things selfish is also fairly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. When we have the likes of Hancock going round throwing out accusations like granny-killer, being labelled merely selfish is a bit anticlimactic!

 

[AM9]

Are they?? I'm not aware of any part of the current legislation which specifies "by law" the number of customers allowed
to be inside retail outlets at any one time other than the ongoing guidance with regard to social distancing, which admittedly
has caused some retailers to restrict access, but that is only really necessary in smaller 'high street' supermarkets such as Spar,
Co-op, Tesco Metro, etc. where space is severely restricted at the best of times; normal supermarkets are large enough to
comfortably absorb anyone who wants to visit without causing social distancing issues in the store even if everyone decided
to visit as a couple.


Temporary????! Do you really think that these pointless rules will not still be in place in six months time??





MARK

Six months is temporary, especially if the additional measures for the current Pandemic are still required. Dealing with the pandemic has meant drawing from aspects of the following established Acts:

The Health and Safety Act has been in force since 1974​

The Public Health (Control of Disease) Act has been in force since 1984​

The Civil Contingencies Act has nbeen in force since 2004​

The Coronavirus Act has been in force since March 25 2020.​

So six months is really quite insignificant and truly temporary in the world of health and safety legislation. We all need to recognise that.

Your describing them as pointless is your opinion.

 

[DB]

Six months is temporary, especially if the additional measures for the current Pandemic are still required. Dealing with the pandemic has meant drawing from aspects of the following established Acts:

The Health and Safety Act has been in force since 1974​

The Public Health (Control of Disease) Act has been in force since 1984​

The Civil Contingencies Act has nbeen in force since 2004​

The Coronavirus Act has been in force since March 25 2020.​

So six months is really quite insignificant and truly temporary in the world of health and safety legislation. We all need to recognise that.

Your describing them as pointless is your opinion.

But none of those causebthe current level of pointless disruption to normal life, do they?

 

[Richard Scott]

Six months is temporary, especially if the additional measures for the current Pandemic are still required. Dealing with the pandemic has meant drawing from aspects of the following established Acts:

The Health and Safety Act has been in force since 1974​

The Public Health (Control of Disease) Act has been in force since 1984​

The Civil Contingencies Act has nbeen in force since 2004​

The Coronavirus Act has been in force since March 25 2020.​

So six months is really quite insignificant and truly temporary in the world of health and safety legislation. We all need to recognise that.

Your describing them as pointless is your opinion.

But expect it's an opinion based on observation?

 

[yorksrob]

Fortunately the small tins of tomatoes have now reappeared at my supermarket. Bought three of them.

 

[AM9]

But expect it's an opinion based on observation?

Yes it's an opinion based on an observation. Other observations have influenced other opinions.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Fortunately the small tins of tomatoes have now reappeared at my supermarket. Bought three of them.

Excellent. Did you need three? Perhaps best to keep that quiet, certainly don't say that on Faecesbook.

 

[Skimpot flyer]

I was in a Tesco Express yesterday and there was no sign of that being applied.

Any such attempt to limit entry to one per household is so so simple to get around, it is utterly ridiculous.
If a couple are shopping and don’t have a car, no supermarket is going to get me to restrict my purchases to what I alone can carry. The other half only has to queue further back, or 2m behind me and not talk to me - a win/win

 

[bramling]

Excellent. Did you need three? Perhaps best to keep that quiet, certainly don't say that on Faecesbook.

Yes buying three of something is the height of selfishness and inconsiderateness!

We paid a visit to our local Tesco's last night. Not massively busy, though busier than one would normally expect on a Saturday evening. I'd concur with the observations elsewhere that there were certainly a handful who appeared to be in there for what might be termed leisure purposes! Traffic light system now in place above the entrance doors and appears to be functional (a big sign saying the automatic doors will remain locked closed if light is red - how dystopian!), however no queue. Likewise no attempt to stop couples entering. Quite a few gaps in stock - not sure whether this is panic buying or supply issues, in particular a few of our regular tinned items were out of stock. Needless to say the pasta section was completely bare as well. The alcohol cans aisle was doing a roaring trade just like during the last lockdown. All in all the experience was tolerable, but it was a bit frustrating to come out without having been able to get certain things.

 

[yorksrob]

Excellent. Did you need three? Perhaps best to keep that quiet, certainly don't say that on Faecesbook.

Actually, I could get through those in a week.

The beans come in packs of three, so I don't think I'm being unreasonable !

 

[trainophile]

Iceland are still doing multi-buy offers, so hardly discouraging people from buying more than they need. I have two packs of porridge oats and eight cans of baked beans due to this.

As for shopping without your other half - many blokes do this and spend their entire tour of the shop on their phone, asking what's needed and which of various things to get. Presumably chatting into their phones can spread the dreaded droplets, so more risky than going around the store with said other half, which largely eliminates the need to talk very much.

 

[bramling]

Actually, I could get through those in a week.

The beans come in packs of three, so I don't think I'm being unreasonable !

You're not, but if I'm apparently in the selfish club for having the temerity to go shopping as a couple then it's only fair you join me!

 

[yorksrob]

You're not, but if I'm apparently in the selfish club for having the temerity to go shopping as a couple then it's only fair you join me!

There were plenty of couples wandering around my local supermarket today - no one seemed too bothered !

 

[bramling]

There were plenty of couples wandering around my local supermarket today - no one seemed too bothered !

Clearly not Waitrose then?!

 

[yorksrob]

Clearly not Waitrose then?!

No. My lower-middle class pretensions don't stretch that far !

 

[Freightmaster]

We all need to recognise that.

No "we" don't - just because you seem to be revelling in the imposition of these tedious
rules and restrictions doesn't mean that everyone else feels the same...

Your describing them as pointless is your opinion.

For clarification, the reason I described them as "pointless" was not actually a personal opinion;
but the fact that supermarkets are near the bottom of the list when it comes to environments*
where the virus has been found to have spread from person to person, so as another poster put
it earlier in this thread, things like one way systems and 'couples not allowed' are nothing more
than Covid "theatre" to appease the fearful and do absolutely nothing to "protect the NHS"


*I fully support invasive measures locations where the virus has been proven to spread like wildfire,
such as offices, food processing plants, care homes, schools, etc.




MARK

 

[birchesgreen]

Well fairly quiet in Iceland and Farm Foods this morning, and a few couples too.

 

[david1212]

Yes buying three of something is the height of selfishness and inconsiderateness!

We paid a visit to our local Tesco's last night. Not massively busy, though busier than one would normally expect on a Saturday evening. I'd concur with the observations elsewhere that there were certainly a handful who appeared to be in there for what might be termed leisure purposes! Traffic light system now in place above the entrance doors and appears to be functional (a big sign saying the automatic doors will remain locked closed if light is red - how dystopian!), however no queue. Likewise no attempt to stop couples entering. Quite a few gaps in stock - not sure whether this is panic buying or supply issues, in particular a few of our regular tinned items were out of stock. Needless to say the pasta section was completely bare as well. The alcohol cans aisle was doing a roaring trade just like during the last lockdown. All in all the experience was tolerable, but it was a bit frustrating to come out without having been able to get certain things.

With pubs closed logically a connection there.

Cue to aim to avoid core leisure times.
Pre March I normally did my main weekly shop on a Friday, mid-morning if not at work or early afternoon if been at work in the morning. Since June ( I was on furlough April & May ) I have switched to Thursday evening on my way home from work.

 

[greyman42]

With non-essential retail closed visiting supermarkets has become a leisure activity in some areas. For example, the shop in my local town with the largest queue to enter was Primark, it doesn't need many of these people to spend their time at supermarkets instead to start causing a problem.

I don't doubt what you say but how do people consider visiting a supermarket a leisure activity. Do they walk around admiring the tins of soup and bunches of grapes and then enjoying the wait at the tills. Would they not be better of going for a run/walk/cycle ride?

 

[TPO]

Glad we've been doing all our shopping on line (as we have been for the past couple of years) and still are. (Although slots are again getting harder to book, we've got slots booked up until Christmas thankfully).

Maybe the supermarkets who ban couples haven't worked out yet that (a) its much quicker scanning/packing with two people and (b) it's much slower when the person in the supermarket keeps phoning the parner sat outside in the car to check on a particular item.

TPO

 

[lyndhurst25]

One thing I've noticed since Covid is that I keep getting overcharged for reduced price items! Normally I'd keep an eye on the checkout display while stuff is being scanned, but because of all the perspex screens that have been installed, you can no longer see it while you are loading your bags.

 

[bramling]

I don't doubt what you say but how do people consider visiting a supermarket a leisure activity. Do they walk around admiring the tins of soup and bunches of grapes and then enjoying the wait at the tills. Would they not be better of going for a run/walk/cycle ride?

Some people simply lack the thought process to do anything creative. I can’t understand why on earth anyone would spend a few hours at the supermarket out of choice, but people do, and they take the whole family with them.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Fortunately the small tins of tomatoes have now reappeared at my supermarket. Bought three of them.

Excellent. Did you need three? Perhaps best to keep that quiet, certainly don't say that on Faecesbook.

How do you know it wasn't a "3 for 2" offer?

 

[bramling]

No. My lower-middle class pretensions don't stretch that far !

Must admit I’m not fond of Waitrose. I find their range limited, and it seems to be rather more expensive with little quality benefit. With them having been consistently the worst round here for restrictions (as well as my own bad experience, they’ve also had consistently the worst queues here right through this) I am glad it’s not my regular venue for food shopping. The only thing they’re good for IME is celebration cakes!

Round here Waitrose also seems to attract a particular type of person, I’d imagine probably the type who relishes restrictions.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Maybe the supermarkets who ban couples haven't worked out yet that (a) its much quicker scanning/packing with two people and (b) it's much slower when the person in the supermarket keeps phoning the partner sat outside in the car to check on a particular item.
TPO

I bear no shame when shopping with partner. We both go our separate ways to get what's needed in different areas of the store and we are out much quicker than if me/wife shop alone

 

[birchesgreen]

I bear no shame when shopping with partner. We both go our separate ways to get what's needed in different areas of the store and we are out much quicker than if me/wife shop alone

Yes that's how we are. My wife tends to go through various aisles methodically where most items we want are while i go across further afield to get various items. Very hunter gatherer.

 

[HSTEd]

I don't doubt what you say but how do people consider visiting a supermarket a leisure activity. Do they walk around admiring the tins of soup and bunches of grapes and then enjoying the wait at the tills. Would they not be better of going for a run/walk/cycle ride?

Because walking, running, cycling are not everyone's cup of tea? Especially with godawful weather going around now.

People are probably just doing it to get out of the house, not really anywhere else to go.

 

[AM9]

Because walking, running, cycling are not everyone's cup of tea? Especially with godawful weather going around now.

People are probably just doing it to get out of the house, not really anywhere else to go.

That's exactly it. Waitrose is like a corner shop to me in terms of locality, I often see people I know (including some of the staff) and generally go there (alone) when I know that it will be quiet, - it also gets me out of the house when I'm not ready for a straight leisure/exercise walk/cycle. I'm rarely in there for more than 15 minutes and usually get everything that I want, unless the panic buying hoarders have been in there emptying the shelves.
In general terms, they stock what I want, they don't waste shelf space with really cheap lines like the other majors, which I prefer because buying those is usually a false economy anyway.

 

[DelayRepay]

And herein lies the problem, blame the couples just doing a completely normal activity in a perfectly reasonable manner, rather than the likes of Johnson and Hancock for coming up with these pointless and ineffective rules.

Yes you’re right it’s not a *major* sacrifice, but I’m now at the point where I am completely sick of making sacrifices to appease a segment of society, and am no longer prepared to do it.

Anyone who is bothered about having to queue as a result of couples in the supermarket should visit at a quieter time, and if this is a problem then perhaps communicate displeasure towards those who are making these rancid rules.

I know your reply to my post is a few days old, and the discussion has moved on, but I just wanted to reply...

I'm not blaming you, or anyone else who chooses to shop as a couple/family for the mess we're in. I completely agree that the blame sits with Johnson and Hancock.

I'm not bothered about having to queue as a result of couples in the supermarket. I am bothered about having to queue as a result of frankly unnecessary rules and regulations. I do not blame the couples who are shopping together for the rules. But I know the rules are not going to change, and so it would be nice if everyone could try to be as considerate as possible to others. If you have to shop together, then fair enough. I know some people do to make carrying goods easier. But if there's a queue, and you don't both need to go in, then perhaps one should consider waiting outside/in the car to allow another person to take their place.

You suggest people who don't want to queue should visit at a quieter time, which is reasonable. My counter argument is that perhaps those who want to shop as a couple/family are the ones who should visit at a quieter time, when there will be room to accommodate them in the store without affecting anyone else.

I also think the stores could do more - e.g. making sure all the checkouts are staffed to aid throughput, and not leaving half worked cages of goods blocking the aisles (I'm looking at you, Morrisons!).

Now I just need to decide whether to buy my essential Christmas decorations from a supermarket or online. I fully accept that some will think doing this kind of shopping in a supermarket is inconsiderate as I am 'using' a space that someone could use for grocery shopping!