Customer service goes out the window when you're clearly an idiot!

[RiskyRetail]

This is more of a rant than AIBU, feel free to join me...

So I work in a supermarket convenience store. I was on the early shift yesterday and surprise surprise, people are still ignoring social distancing and essential travel... Just a few examples of people being idiots include...

• Old people coming in to buy a newspaper
• People coming to buy lottery tickets

Neither are food or medicine. What do people not understand about essential travel?

• People coming to the till with a single item... Go to the self checkout FFS 😡
• People not understanding the 2m distance. You don't need to be peeking over my shoulder whilst I'm dealing with the self scan.
• People realising there's a queue to get into the shop and then grunting forget it. If you can 'forget it', it is clearly not essential so why the fuck are you out and about?

I was very snappy with a few customers yesterday but I'm beyond caring. I'm not going to stand with a smile while your idiotic behaviour puts me and people I care about at risk!

National lottery hasn't closed down online yet, so I suppose people still want in. In this case, if there's no supply, there's nothing the buyers can do.

People will still go to the shops to buy stuff...as long as the shops sell them. If the govt. wants people to only buy what they class as essentials, then shops need to only stock those items.

Otherwise, it's a waste of time to argue about someone else's essentials.

The trouble with planning to do a big shop is a) there's every chance you won't be able to replace the basics e.g. Bread, eggs. Milk and b) people will eye up your trolley full and come on mumsnet to bash 'panic buyers'. Hard to know what to do for the best. Luckily we have enough for now, but I'm find it amusing that everyone who is criticising others for being put is also out themselves, but of course their journey is essential and they are assuming others' aren't.

I know of 4 bank branches where staff enforcing limited entry to allow people to maintain distance were physically assaulted yesterday. It's probably even worse in food shops/pharmacies.

I work in and bank- we’ve had the same. Massive crowd round the door before we opened all wanting to do non essential stuff.

To be honest I’m so annoyed I even have to go to work to help these people that my patience is wearing thin and I haven’t been very polite. I’m usually very customer focused but I just can’t bear the stupidity of people putting themselves and us at risk.

I feel you, OP. They're absolute morons.

I have to go shopping next Tuesday, it's when my husband gets paid. I don't know what to do for the best. For about 3 weeks now, I haven't been able to get stuff delivered. I haven't been able to get what I want in the shops, because I haven't been a selfish idiot and panic bought everything in sight. Now, however, I look in my cupboards and they're almost bare. I look at the few toilet rolls I have left and know that we need to buy some. I also know that I want to do a big shop. A shop that will enable me not to have to go out again for at least a fortnight.

The problem is I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. If I have a trolley full of things, I'm likely to accused of panic buying, but if I don't buy enough, I'll have to come out and buy more stuff.
I don't particularly want to put anybody's life at risk, much as I don't want my own life being put at risk.

It's so difficult to know what to do for the best.

Not all elderly people don't take it seriously. I'm 70 and have recently completed a course of chemotherapy. My wife and I live on a canal boat and have been self-isolating for weeks already.

We usually cruise continuously but have now been told essential boat movements only. This means we can move the boat to get water, fuel (for heating/electricity), and to have the toilet tank emptied. Apart from that we have to stay where we are - and the nearest boatyard has run out of fuel...

But we need food. No chance of getting a delivery, so my wife has decided to go to the supermarket. We are both very worried. She will have to walk for 20 minutes (along a country lane, so hopefully won't meet anyone) to the nearest village. Then a rural bus (hopefully not too full) to the town. At least the bus stops outside the supermarket. But will she be able to get any food anyway? The elderly can go early but that isn't realistic with rural bus services.

Please don't think I'm complaining. There are plenty of people in a far worse situation than we are. But we are taking it very seriously indeed and are absolutely not going out without good reason.

I think if someone comes in buying absolute non essentials - eg just a newspaper, the sale should be refused

Close the lotto.

If people want to play lotto then the health lotto online would be the place to go right now.

Yanbu though re people being entitled and not thinking about the number of times your being exposed. I know people still think they need a trolley load daily including 26 loo rolls.

But I'm also glad that my suggestion last week about keeping stuff back in stockroom for vital nhs staff has been started by some supermarkets.

I just think needing chocolate is understandable, a bit of chocolate keeps me going, but buying it as eggs is an expensive way to do it. Buy bars they work out cheaper. I can't go out at the moment but if I was shopping for milk, fruit and veg and added a bar of chocolate I don't think it will be the end of civilisation as we know it.

I have a Tesco shop coming on Sunday and I have chocolate, ice-cream and crisps in my order. None of those are essentials, but I'm also buying toilet roll, bread, milk, pasta and other necessities.

If someone is going out to buy milk, there's no harm in them also buying chocolate or snacks.

Leneord are there no local groups who will deliver? I would if I was local.

Both my parents have cancer and having chemo.
Both me and my sister are keyworker (education and nhs)
Both LP to sons.

Brother lives an hour away.

I'm lucky enough to already have a reoccurring slot through my online order so as a family we get that weekly to distribute. (And before anyone shoots me I've also got a disabled child) My sister gets nhs time.

Therefore as a group of 3 homes we are doing minimal shops and leaving outside each other's houses. I'm not gonna lie. If I see something like a nice box of chocolates whilst shopping I will happily buy for my family as a treat to make them smile.

We cannot see each other right now or even at least for 3 months and my mums cancer treatment is palliative.

Sorry OP, but you're in a supermarket job. People shopping may be buying essentials. The fact that they might want a paper as well isn't your business.

Yes, remind people of the rules if they need reminding and do whatever you have to do to remain safe but do your job. Or stay at home.

The level of self-indulgent whining on this site is unbelievable. My work has been horrendous this week, yelling and screaming (not me), but that's fear and panic talking and I recognise it, it's not personal.

I was shocked and humbled at a Salford nurse posting at the horrific situation and lack of equipment available and it really puts things in perspective.

I won't use 'be kind' as I loathe that, but being a bit tolerant and understanding wouldn't hurt - and it would probably help you too.

This isn't going to go on forever but for now, nothing is as it was.

for example aren't essential.....to non-smokers. God help me I'm not a smoker but currently under house arrest for 12 weeks, DH is disabled and can be cranky at the best of times which is understandable as he lives in constant pain, if he can't get a smoke I don't think I can cope.

I don’t think there’s a problem with buying chocolate as part of a larger shop, I suppose the issue is with people only coming in to just buy chocolate as that obviously isn’t an essential trip - you’ve left your house whilst the government guidance is to stay and home, just to buy chocolate - a non essential item (chocolate isn’t necessary for your survival, you wouldn’t otherwise starve).

Guidance is to shop as infrequently as possible so you shouldn’t be going to the shops frequently with a small amount of purchases, rather just the once with enough items to last you.

sorry, missed cigarettes at the beginning of that post.

I think people are beginning to misunderstand this 'panic buying' term.
Unless your shop hasn't implemented it yet, you can no longer panic-buy (buying loads of the same item). Many shops (if not most) have now auto-restricted the amount you can buy of a specific item (not more than 1or 2 or 3 for each product) therefore more to go around.

You can go around the shops buying 1 or 2 of each item in the shop if you need it, it won't be 'panic-buying' because you're not stocking up on the same item. Those who judge you for having a full trolley are either blind (can't see you have different items) or ignorant (don't understand having different items is okay).

The big shop/small shop thing is confusing. As I said I am stuck in the house but listening to TV I've heard don't shop too often, once a week maximum and then heard lock up the trolleys people can only buy what they can fit in a basket. Well I can remember when my kids were at home and I certainly couldn't fit a weeks shopping in a basket. Everything seems confusing.

I bought my chocolate online over the weekend with LoveCocoa by James Cadbury.

For every bar purchased they matched it with a bar for an NHS worker.

They don't use palm oil either and the wrappers are compostable.

I also forgot to say, that they are now doing free delivery for an over £15 spend.

Buying the lottery or newspaper maybe their exercise of the day they have walked to the shop to get a newspaper.

@shitwithsugaron 100% agree with this!!

Some people might be out for what you deem as essentials but as is the way right now, might actually find that the shop has no stock. I wouldn’t waste my trip and would most probably buy things you don’t class as essential - these would also be in my basket if the shop was fully stocked. Heaven forbid in these times somebody buys a bar of chocolate to cheer them up.

I think Daniel Sandford was asked about people buying wine on the news and his view was it's fine to buy non-essentials during a necessary shop but don't make a special trip for it.