Current Events > Experts are saying it is time to ban people from going into grocery stores

(+) Yeah! (+)

I don't think they do curbside at Publix or Aldi.

At least I've never seen it advertised or done.

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shockthemonkey posted...

This inability to see things any way other than how they currently are is dangerous.

Welcome to the America's biggest problem.

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We need a permanent lockdown. Even if we get a vaccine for this virus the next one is right around the corner.

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So, this is a situation that is infinitely worsened by Trump's administration refusing to put money in people's hands beyond the paltry 1200 some have already gotten (and largely spent on past due rent).

Pickup services charge premiums on everything. Markups on the items themselves, pickup fees, delivery fees, tips, etc. As they're rapidly hiring on new workers, lots of these people are making mistakes. I had an order from Target where the girl bought multiples of an item and added in about twenty extra dollars worth of substitutions (without calling like she was supposed to) to my bill.

For me, an unexpected twenty added on isn't a big deal. For some people, that along with the premiums makes pickup/delivery unaffordable. So, the government either needs to subsidize these operations to make them as cheap as shopping in stores or they need to make regular payments to everyone.

Also, as an aside, the one way lanes seem like a horrible idea. I had to deal with them at the grocery store recently and it just resulted in me being in the store longer/coming into contact with more people because I had to go down aisles I didn't need to be in.

Its too late

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Please also keep in mind that a lot of people get their medications from a grocery store or Walmart/Target pharmacy. An instacart shopper cannot pick these up. Some pharmacies offer a delivery service, but cannot deliver certain medications (say, controlled substances like Adderall). In my experience, it's a pain to transfer prescriptions when the world isn't currently experiencing an apocalypse; I can't imagine the hellish nightmare of trying to even talk to a person on a customer service line right now.

_Rinku_ posted...

Please also keep in mind that a lot of people get their medications from a grocery store or Walmart/Target pharmacy. An instacart shopper cannot pick these up. Some pharmacies offer a delivery service, but cannot deliver certain medications (say, controlled substances like Adderall). In my experience, it's a pain to transfer prescriptions when the world isn't currently experiencing an apocalypse; I can't imagine the hellish nightmare of trying to even talk to a person on a customer service line right now.

You can get prescriptions delivered.

uwa ej posted...

You can get prescriptions delivered.

Thank you for proving that you didn't read my whole post! Please try replying again when you can read more than two sentences. :)

As someone who works in the retail field I agree. I've said it time and again, my ass is being put in the fire every time someone walks through that door during this crisis. That doesn't mean the store has to shut down. Quite the opposite actually. By switching from a walk-in service to a pick-up/delivery service we can make sure everyone continues to get fed, while at the same time employing the same amount of staff to deal with everyone.

Update the website to show what is in stock, and cashiers can take phone call orders, while cart pushers can drop them off outside the entrance when they pull in, or even put them in the trunk. No one loses their jobs, and people get fed.

The one thing that myself and the security guard at our store agree upon is that many people are coming in to buy televisions(we have actually cleared out on a good amount of tvs during this time), as well as other non-essential stuff. It's not essential, so it doesn't need to be open to the public.

Ivany2008 posted...

As someone who works in the retail field I agree. I've said it time and again, my ass is being put in the fire every time someone walks through that door during this crisis. That doesn't mean the store has to shut down. Quite the opposite actually. By switching from a walk-in service to a pick-up/delivery service we can make sure everyone continues to get fed, while at the same time employing the same amount of staff to deal with everyone.

Update the website to show what is in stock, and cashiers can take phone call orders, while cart pushers can drop them off outside the entrance when they pull in, or even put them in the trunk. No one loses their jobs, and people get fed.

The one thing that myself and the security guard at our store agree upon is that many people are coming in to buy televisions(we have actually cleared out on a good amount of tvs during this time), as well as other non-essential stuff. It's not essential, so it doesn't need to be open to the public.

Does it make that much of a difference if someone picks up a TV or other non-essential item while they're picking up their essentials? I can understand the frustration if they're coming in just for the sake of one frivolous item or touching everything for no reason, but things are going to get pretty dire if absolutely no one is buying TVs, movies, books, etc.

_Rinku_ posted...

Does it make that much of a difference if someone picks up a TV or other non-essential item while they're picking up their essentials? I can understand the frustration if they're coming in just for the sake of one frivolous item or touching everything for no reason, but things are going to get pretty dire if absolutely no one is buying TVs, movies, books, etc.

People are just coming in to buy those things though. Christ I wheeled out a bbq and patio set yesterday. That's not essential. A case could be made for tvs, but you can just order them off our website and have it wheeled to your car from that department. Contact-less.

Ivany2008 posted...

People are just coming in to buy those things though. Christ I wheeled out a bbq and patio set yesterday. That's not essential. A case could be made for tvs, but you can just order them off our website and have it wheeled to your car from that department. Contact-less.

Okay, and the people coming in just for those things are being jerks. Again, what's the issue with rolling it into an essentials order?

Also, does your store have ways to accommodate orders for people using food stamps or who can't order online? This whole situation has made me worry for people like my grandmother. She's eighty years old, has never owned a debit card in her life, and doesn't understand the Internet. There is zero chance that someone like her could ever place an online order. Luckily, someone is helping her, but I know a lot of folks aren't that fortunate. Completely closing stores to the public will kill these people.

I feel a lot safer and more comfortable working now than I did last month. My store has handled things really well in my opinion. I'm still fairly concerned just because it has to be inevitable that an employee will get infected. But as far as I know, that hasn't happened yet.

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The horse is out of the barn so to speak, so you might as well just let Coronavirus run its course in the human population and burn itself out.

And it will have to be this way in the end because a vaccine is at least 2 years away and the stay-at-home order is not gonna last that long.

In fact, Trump is ending it May 1st.

.

.

Fuck these "experts", I've already lost my previous job.

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_Rinku_ posted...

Okay, and the people coming in just for those things are being jerks. Again, what's the issue with rolling it into an essentials order?

Also, does your store have ways to accommodate orders for people using food stamps or who can't order online? This whole situation has made me worry for people like my grandmother. She's eighty years old, has never owned a debit card in her life, and doesn't understand the Internet. There is zero chance that someone like her could ever place an online order. Luckily, someone is helping her, but I know a lot of folks aren't that fortunate. Completely closing stores to the public will kill these people.

No, we don't have food stamps in my province. There are programs in place for people like that where they can get some one to pick groceries up for them, one store in particular does delivery and if your a constant customer they will even have a duplicate key to your house where the owner of the store will enter and put away the groceries for you.

And once again, I stress that options can be put in place where people can call in to place an order for people that can't be bothered to adapt. Even my 83 year old grandmother has learned to use a computer and she lives in a rural part of the province where the internet is shoddy at best. Rather than the store be a fucking death trap because morons can't be bothered to follow simple rules. We have a simple 6 foot rule that is put out by the department of health and people can't even follow that simple thing. No, they must be with their family all 4 of them.

Also our store doesn't accept cash right now, its too easy for disease to transfer. We do accept debit/visa and the like and sanitize those consoles after each use.

CrazyandLazy posted...

Who's going to feed people? Definitely not 'Experts'. These same 'Experts' saying masks are useless. lol

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Ivany2008 posted...

No, we don't have food stamps in my province. There are programs in place for people like that where they can get some one to pick groceries up for them, one store in particular does delivery and if your a constant customer they will even have a duplicate key to your house where the owner of the store will enter and put away the groceries for you.

And once again, I stress that options can be put in place where people can call in to place an order for people that can't be bothered to adapt. Even my 83 year old grandmother has learned to use a computer and she lives in a rural part of the province where the internet is shoddy at best. Rather than the store be a fucking death trap because morons can't be bothered to follow simple rules. We have a simple 6 foot rule that is put out by the department of health and people can't even follow that simple thing. No, they must be with their family all 4 of them.

Also our store doesn't accept cash right now, its too easy for disease to transfer. We do accept debit/visa and the like and sanitize those consoles after each use.

Okay, sounds like those are all solutions that work for your store but would be disastrous as a blanket policy. Where I live, food stamps are the only way some people have food and can't be used for online purchases. Also, I personally would never trust anyone who wasn't an immediate family member with a copy of my house key (think about how easy it would be for someone to "borrow" the key from the store owner, copy it, and then break in with it later).

Sucks that a few dummies ruin it. Please keep in mind that, at least for some of those families, they are probably faced with the choice of "bring my kids to the store or leave them at home alone/risk CPS taking them away." Not sure about where you live, but in many states in the US, it's actually illegal to leave children under the age of twelve home alone. I'm sure there are a few morons just bringing their whole families for the hell of it, but not everyone is like that.

Do y'all at least accept checks? Used to drive me crazy when I'd go grocery shopping with my grandmother and she'd be the little old lady busting out the checkbook at the register, but if you don't accept cash and they don't have a card...

This **** is getting oppressive at this point.

Whoever accepts this is already well off and is comfortable for the next 1-2 years. Some of us just lost like 50%-80% of our income, and are barely scraping by. I understand flattening the curve, but let's not destroy ALL of our freedoms while we are at it.

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At what point do we say "no more restrictions"? I'm fine and complying with everything up to this point. But there are horror stories where police have arrested people for boating on a lake by themselves, for taking hikes, etc. At some point you have to say that, even if in some microscopic way an activity might put others at risk, they should still be allowed to do that activity.

I mean what if you found out with 100% certainty that banning all video games would save *one* life. Would you do it? Humans need more than physical security to live. Your mental security is crucial as well.

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dolomedes posted...

in one shift at my store i am in a situation in which i come into close contact with at least a hundred strangers.

this isn't the same as a person hiking on a closed trail.

I agree. You shouldnt be put in the first situation. Hiking should absolutely be allowed. So where is the line to be drawn when it comes to restrictions? What restrictions should not be made?

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What about the elderly? My community has a lot of older citizens who have no family or anyone to assist them. They of course can go to a store and get what they need but wouldn't know the first thing about picking out groceries online (if they even have a way to go online in the first place, which many don't). Alot of them are stubborn and set in their ways, they won't take to not being able to go into a store well.
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Really, unless martial law is declared by Trump, authorities have no right what so ever to be putting these rules in place.

But if martial law is declared then you best fall in line or you'll put under the jail.

Stop with the restrictions, it's time to face the facts, you can't save everyone.
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I really dont get the people that are limiting their view to current infrastructure. If stores shut down and offered curbside pickup, thats not insta cart. Thats not tacked on fees and randoms picking out substitution brands for you. Thered be plenty of employees because they could utilize everyone who currently is only dealing with the public. The reason online orders are taking so long currently is the internet orders have increased, but they are probably unwilling to take staff off the floor to help deal with that because stores are still busy. Even if it means bringing in more staff (a good thing), it could easily be done.
Adjustments could be made potentially for the food stamps issue as well. Considering the registers already can decipher whats not food and only charge eligible items to the ebt card while leaving the rest to be picked up by a debit card, id be willing to bet the state could somehow enable e-transactions. Or even if not, there could be an option like with pizza of pay when I get there, and someone could bring a card reader out for you or run your card in real fast like restaurants with curbside have been doing.
I could see people who dont have cars perhaps utilizing instacart for just grocery delivery, obviously things would have to be modified but those apps modify things all the time.
I cant tell you how many people Ive seen in stores wearing masks with them down under their noses. That continue to text on their phones in their gloves then put it against their face to take a call. People picking up items then putting them back down again or even the time I watched a mom pull a product from her baby who was sucking on it and stick it back on the shelf. The general public is pretty idiotic even when they think theyre trying to be safe. Why should we do anything to endanger others right now, when other means exist? I guess just so we have a place to go to get out of our house? Really not a good trade there....

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_Rinku_ posted...

Okay, and the people coming in just for those things are being jerks. Again, what's the issue with rolling it into an essentials order?

Also, does your store have ways to accommodate orders for people using food stamps or who can't order online? This whole situation has made me worry for people like my grandmother. She's eighty years old, has never owned a debit card in her life, and doesn't understand the Internet. There is zero chance that someone like her could ever place an online order. Luckily, someone is helping her, but I know a lot of folks aren't that fortunate. Completely closing stores to the public will kill these people.

Absolutely. No one needs a patio set or a TV or anything else that's frivolous right now. We need to all stay inside and only order the minimum of the essentials that we need.

Daffadilio posted...

I really dont get the people that are limiting their view to current infrastructure. If stores shut down and offered curbside pickup, thats not insta cart. Thats not tacked on fees and randoms picking out substitution brands for you. Thered be plenty of employees because they could utilize everyone who currently is only dealing with the public. The reason online orders are taking so long currently is the internet orders have increased, but they are probably unwilling to take staff off the floor to help deal with that because stores are still busy. Even if it means bringing in more staff (a good thing), it could easily be done.
Adjustments could be made potentially for the food stamps issue as well. Considering the registers already can decipher whats not food and only charge eligible items to the ebt card while leaving the rest to be picked up by a debit card, id be willing to bet the state could somehow enable e-transactions. Or even if not, there could be an option like with pizza of pay when I get there, and someone could bring a card reader out for you or run your card in real fast like restaurants with curbside have been doing.
I could see people who dont have cars perhaps utilizing instacart for just grocery delivery, obviously things would have to be modified but those apps modify things all the time.
I cant tell you how many people Ive seen in stores wearing masks with them down under their noses. That continue to text on their phones in their gloves then put it against their face to take a call. People picking up items then putting them back down again or even the time I watched a mom pull a product from her baby who was sucking on it and stick it back on the shelf. The general public is pretty idiotic even when they think theyre trying to be safe. Why should we do anything to endanger others right now, when other means exist? I guess just so we have a place to go to get out of our house? Really not a good trade there....

How many stores have an already established system for taking and fulfilling online orders? Most of the grocery stores around me don't have their own and instead go through a third party like instacart or shipt. It IS an infrastructure issue.

uwa ej posted...

Absolutely. No one needs a patio set or a TV or anything else that's frivolous right now. We need to all stay inside and only order the minimum of the essentials that we need.

No one needs it, but there's zero reason to bar people from grabbing it as long as they're getting essentials too.

People been buying NINTENDO SWITCH so much during this stay-at-home pandemic that they're on backorder until fall.

THAT AIN'T ESSTENTIAL IS IT?

_Rinku_ posted...

there's zero reason to bar people from grabbing it as long as they're getting essentials too.

this definitely.... though i just pick up psn cards while i do my monthly grocery shopping
you get 100$ worth of credit for 90$.

i just hope they have thin sliced chicken available tomorrow. they seem to flip/flop over individual plastic packaging over chicken pieces (prefer without plastic).
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_Rinku_ posted...

How many stores have an already established system for taking and fulfilling online orders? Most of the grocery stores around me don't have their own and instead go through a third party like instacart or shipt. It IS an infrastructure issue.

No one needs it, but there's zero reason to bar people from grabbing it as long as they're getting essentials too.

honestly I cant name a single boxname near me that doesnt. Walmart, target, Krogers, publix (my publix delivers, I guess not all do but)....

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Im a store manager, and 100% curbside pickup just isnt realistic for us. We are getting about 1400 transactions a day, and our staff, is down to about 35 people total with all of the people out sick. There is no way we could ever keep up with the demand of shopping for that many people, plus doing everything else that we need to do.

And no we cant just hire more people, stores just like any other business work on a budget, and and if we arent hitting our sales numbers, which we wont, because its not possible, we get less hours to spend on payroll not more.

dolomedes posted...

order what you want online, store staff shops for ya, curbside pick-up or delivery

i'm a grocery stocker. the past month+ has been fucking hell.

What about people who are technologically challenged and dont know how to use the internet or go online?

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uwa ej posted...

People need to accept change and stop living in the past. Experts have said social distancing may need to continue through 2022. It depends on what happens but this is not going away anytime soon. People may need to live on rice, pasta, whatever is available at a given time

My dude, 2022 would be a dream. This shit will haunt us for the rest of our lives. You need to be prepared to live for the rest of our fucking lives like this. So dont be setting a fucking date on this shit, this is how it is forever now.

It will never go back, this is the new norm.

shockthemonkey posted...

We lost our jobs so grocery workers should lose their lives is a bad take

"People should starve to death" is a bad take too.

RustyFerret posted...

"People should starve to death" is a bad take too.

That is almost certainly not his take.
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Bleuets posted...

My dude, 2022 would be a dream. This shit will haunt us for the rest of our lives. You need to be prepared to live for the rest of our fucking lives like this. So dont be setting a fucking date on this shit, this is how it is forever now.

It will never go back, this is the new norm.

LOL no it's not, shut the fuck up with that fear mongering
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Daffadilio posted...

honestly I cant name a single boxname near me that doesnt. Walmart, target, Krogers, publix (my publix delivers, I guess not all do but)....

I was responding to the "what does this have to do with instacart" bit. Most of those stores do not have their own delivery services; they go through instacart or shipt. Look at it the next time you order and it probably says something like "Powered by Instacart." So, all of the issues with instacart and similar services would just be amplified.

No one said that those stores don't do delivery at all. You would be surprised how many services "provided" by a store are actually done through a third-party. It's like how a lot of items on Amazon are just "fulfilled" by Amazon, but really come from a third-party seller.

experts were telling people that masks were useless. fuck them. they should have closed the borders 2 months ago

giraldo posted...

experts were telling people that masks were useless. fuck them. they should have closed the borders 2 months ago

That was pretty much just so people wouldn't hoard PPE that was needed by healthcare workers.

Until the "experts" can arrange for groceries to be delivered to my home, they can sod off.

There's no reason for anyone to go inside a grocery store when there's curbside pickup and delivery.

Which not everyone can make use of. For instance, stores in my area aren't delivering, and from what I have seen there isn't any curbside either.

Philip027 posted...

Until the "experts" can arrange for groceries to be delivered to my home, they can sod off.

Which not everyone can make use of. For instance, stores in my area aren't delivering, and from what I have seen there isn't any curbside either.

There are online marketplaces for you to use.

What about people who dont know how to shop online?

shockthemonkey posted...

Youre right, but youll have to find someone with that take if you want to complain about it.

It overlooks people in areas with terrible internet service, minorities and the elderly that have no real access to computers.

How are they supposed to get food?

As long as these stores are still doing their sales/sale pricing, there's NO delivery charge(s) and I won't get delivered stuff like bananas and other items that may perish sooner than later that are beyond over ripe already. Because for stuff like that I'd rather go pick my own so I can pick the ones that have yet to ripen so I at least have some time to use them.

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