The ethics of unnecessary deliveries

[nomdefuckit]

AIBU to wonder about this?

We're doing a 12 week lock down as DH in the shielding group. Nobody gets in or out, including toddler

I would love to order more stuff to keep him entertained, garden stuff, DIY stuff etc

I haven't because I thought it was wrong for a number of reasons

1: infection risk - every delivery has that potential
2: employees of delivery companies should not be pressured to work more than necessary for their own health
3: more drivers going out and about is more opportunities for the virus to spread
4: there is limited capacity in the system for deliveries. It should be left for essentials

Yet I have seen on here and elsewhere (fb mainly) people talking openly about the nice candles, home furnishings, make up etc that they have ordered

Anybody else a bit shocked by this?

Spending keeps the economy going. People still have birthdays, possibly a baby on the way to buy for and also Easter on the horizon. Sometimes people just enjoy buying nice things to cheer themselves up. All deliveries are contactless now so you have no contact with the courier whatsoever.

YABU.

I have mixed feelings, deliveries are all contactless, but I am more concerned about warehouse workers as possibly they are at greater risk?
Anyway I agree it can feel a bit selfish, however I have ordered medicine from Amazon and a birthday present for my daughter from argos and some compost delivered direct from my local garden centre , so I am grateful that its still possible to order online though I notice amazon now have a long wait for non essentials and next are no longer delivering so I think it is becoming more difficult

But the modelling figures take account of people going to work @MadameButterface. The aim of the measures we have isn’t to prevent individuals getting Cv. It’s to slow down and reduce the spread. The government said when they advised people not to go to and then closed pubs, restaurants etc it was because people gathered there and that contributed to the spread of the virus. Same as they allowed takeaways to remain open because people don’t gather in those places.

The government have said they want businesses to continue and that people can continue to go to work. They also haven’t said that people can only buy essential items. People have made up their own interpretation of the guidance the government have issued and are berating people for not complying with their version of it, all a bit tedious.

Here they are doing as requested (except Waitrose who don't understand social distancing, company policy apparently) and putting the items on the doorstep, knocking on the door and leaving, we then open the parcel outside, put the rubbish straight in the wheelie bin and wash our hands

To be honest I'm probably buying more 'treats' than I ever have before. But tbf that's mostly been in supermarkets and as I'm still working 12hr shifts as a keyworker I'm enjoying splurging on myself to make life a bit more comfy. If I was working 12hrs and then facing returning home to a meal that resembled a bush tucker trial I'd crack on still, but it probably wouldn't make me feel much better. On the other hand my new bedding, naice bath bubbles, and candles somewhat help my stress levels 😊

we get furloughed

It will be fine

But what happens once the furlough period ends, if you can't get your job back because the economy's gone to shit and your employer's had to lay people off permanently?

I'm not trying to be goady, and I've stopped buying non-essential things myself for now because I'm not sure about all this either, but I genuinely don't know what is the right thing to do here. Both options seem like the wrong one

Also nobody knows what will happen after 12 weeks... Its a government guideline not a fact. So it's very doubtful everything will be just peachy after that point and all back to normal.

I was wondering about this. I have ordered a few things that some people might think are non-essential but others may disagree.

I have ordered some whiteboards, pens and rubbers for my kids for homeschooling.

Although I ordered them together, there were supply issues and they came in 3 separate parcels on 3 different days.

I also ordered a free Sim for my 10-year-old to use my old phone to contact her friends. Three of her best friends had been in isolation before the schools closed and she hadn’t seen some of them for nearly a month. She was massively depressed.

The first SIM was faulty. So was the second, and the third. Eventually I bit the bullet and bought her a phone (she’s Yr 6, so would have had one anyway by the autumn term). It had to be delivered because the shops for the network are shut. It has changed her life, she’s back in touch with her friends and I got my kid back. And before anyone judges, my phone is a work one and her dad is a keyworker out all day so she couldn’t just use ours.

I also had to order a case and screen protectors online because she’s clumsy and it’s not iPhone so cases aren’t as easy to get in supermarkets.

I don’t think any of those are unnecessary, but I understand if others do. But it’s whatever gets you through, I guess.

But let's be honest... Whilst many folk are championing the cause for non essential delivery drivers to stop at home and stay safe... I've yet to see many polls for bin men, sewerage worker's, Internet maintenance, boiler engineers, shelf stackers to 'stay home and stay safe' 🙄 So basically you can stop at home unless you're actually doing a job that may piss folk off if you decline to do it?.... Suddenly you're all 'essential to the country' if someone risks losing their WiFi and netflix.

@ListeningQuietly

Visiting allotments to look after plants and livestock are specifically allowed activities ....

Who say what?! Where did you get this from? That's great if it's true

• If ordering non essentials was a problem right now then we would have been told not to do it and those companies selling and delivering them closed down.

People making u their own coronavirus rules and berating others got not following them are just causing people more angst than necessary.

If or when the government tells us not to order things for the good of the cause then that is when people need to stop.*

This.

Read the government pages.

Livestock care and allotments are there.

@LoveLongLife the allotment society www.nsalg.org.uk/news/covid19-information/

and the govt info on livestock
www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-people-with-animals

basically tending the allotment / seeing to the animals counts as your exercise.

Didn’t NEXT stop online operations because workers were not happy with the warehouses etc? I’m sure I’ve seen other workers online unhappy with warehouse conditions when sorting online orders, a lot of them probably aren’t safe.

I'm self employed, and I've fallen through all the cracks of government support - I can't get a penny. Delivering my products is now the only way I have to trade and earn a living.

People buying "non essential" goods from me is the only way I can pay for essential things like food and rent!

By all means avoid buying from Amazon if you wish, but please do support little independent businesses. Jeff Bezos doesn't need another yacht, but many sole traders are really struggling to get by right now.

we get furloughed

It will be fine

-----

Two breeds of post-corona people are going to emerge from the detritus. Those who plan for life 'on the other side', and those who retreat into an ideologically pure isolation, berating the former.

The planners are the ones who might just save us from utter destruction.

Oh and a third kind - the super rich. They're going to be even richer.

I work in a warehouse and we have never been as busy which is shit as we have only 2 people working as they furloughed the rest of the staff. It’s fucking shit. I’m exhausted.

Ferfook
What date were your colleagues furloughed from - make sure your boss brings them back in as soon as the three week minimum is up

• I'm self employed, and I've fallen through all the cracks of government support - I can't get a penny. Delivering my products is now the only way I have to trade and earn a living.

People buying "non essential" goods from me is the only way I can pay for essential things like food and rent!*

This. There are lots of people in this situation.

And the government has said they encourage online/order businesses that can continue to trade safely to continue to trade (whether they’re selling essential items or not).

Read the guidance and don’t make up rules. It causes even more damage.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/courier-pleads-shoppers-stop-ordering-18021869

It is paying the wages of nurses. It is keeping more people alive. That is what buying things does.