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?

@HelenaHyena into the Community. I can barely speak about this it has made so angry. It was on the news last week - I cannot remember the Psychiatrists name now but he was terrified about the decisions he had already had to make.

does that mean it’s ok to get a dozen of my pals round for a piss up later then?

Well, no. Because that's currently against government guidelines.

But ordering crafts, candles, books, clothes or gym equipment is perfectly legal and is being positively encouraged by the government. Sitting around moping and doing absolutely sod all for weeks on end is not the answer.

into the Community.

This is crazy!? Gobsmacked.

I will be ordering some board games, stuff like Snakes and Ladders for 4 year old.

Not unreasonable to wonder this, but the Government are actively encouraging businesses to keep trading online where possible. I don't fancy myself as an armchair politician, so will continue to support small businesses online, just as I normally do. After our non essential bricks and mortar store got closed last week, we're grateful to the people who are still buying from us online as it's ensuring we won't have to lay staff off down the line.

@MaudesMum which compsny is that please

@adaline

Because certain irresponsible companies are requiring their low paid zero hours staff to work in close proximity to one another, sharing items like tape cutters etc, with no access to ppe or hand washing facilities, that’s why not.

People need to get creative about how they cheer themselves up and find ways to do it without endangering others. And needless mindless consumerism is endangering others

Just because you’re a martyr doesn’t mean everyone else has to be. Unless the businesses have been closed they are actually allowed to open and trade as long as they follow hygiene and social distancing rules. I haven’t ordered anything like home furnishings or candles etc but it’s my son’s birthday next week and I’ve ordered a couple of presents for him from amazon. As for your comment about the death toll the modelling figures will take account of people that still need to go to work.

So it’s not ok for me to post a letter to a friend but it’s ok for the 4 pizza/chicken leaflets I got today?

It’s a very complicated thing.

No post = postmen being laid off.

No deliveries = no pay for the couriers

No spending = the economy tanks further

Not switching to online = small businesses go under

@bravelittledragon, @stickerqueen are allotments not classed as essential?

I didn't know that not that I have one - only in my dreams

Please don't stop buying "unnecessary" things online.

I am a small business, I make and sell "unnecessary" things.
It pays my bills, helps put my DD through Univeristy, helps care for an elderly and another family member unable to work because of illness.
Many of my suppliers are small family businesses too.
I know they are grateful to have me still ordering from then- it means they are abe to keep afloat too.
I am spending my earnings back into the economy, I continue to pay tax.
I am very grateful that people are still ordering my products.

Because certain irresponsible companies are requiring their low paid zero hours staff to work in close proximity to one another, sharing items like tape cutters etc, with no access to ppe or hand washing facilities, that’s why not.

I'm not shopping with Amazon, all my orders are either coming via supermarket deliveries (so no different to ordering food that's coming anyway) or local companies.

You can go on all you like but you won't make me feel guilty for ensuring my mental health stays robust through this.

If you have a problem with online deliveries take it up with the government. At the moment people ordering online aren't doing anything wrong. Stop trying to shame them into doing what you want them to do.

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

This

I have to go to my allotment to feed my hens so they don't starve and to collect the eggs, I also have veg to plant and care for, I see this as exercise, I don't have to get close to anyone, I am fenced off and everyone is keeping their distance, I'm producing some of my own food, I have been told that I shouldn't go and I'm putting others in danger, I'm lucky, I can get out so I don't see how ordering things from Amazon is detrimental to others, what next, are we supposed to stop the postman from coming.

Ah righty then i think i’ll open my hair salon back up again and get back to doing hair, people love getting their hair cut, it’s great for their mental health and businesses shouldn’t go under or people be out of work

I'm glad the first few replies to this thread are sensible: I opened it expecting the MN "your selfish ordering will kill everybody" frothers to have got there first.

Here is why many of us will continue to order items that the holier-than-thou mob think are "unnecessary":

1. The economy will suffer badly: it needs people to shop.
2. We need to entertain ourselves, much as the misery police would wish otherwise.
3. The alternative is buying things from actual shops - much greater risk.
4. If the imposed measures are draconian for the sake of it, and clearly not about reducing risk, people will ignore them all the more.

@pobparker For me, books are essential items. Feel free to DM me and send me the link for your online shop

I ordered some clothes online (from a local company) recently and I'm definitely ordering food from local restaurants because I know some of the owners and they're desperate for trade.

I had been wondering about the same thing and actually chatted to our Hermes delivery person (at a very safe distance obviously). She said that she's keeping safe and is really happy to be still working and still earning.

@MadameButterface you're spectacularly missing the point, I suspect on purpose to try and prove some kind of point.

Your shop has been forced to close by the government. Others can trade online. My business is also closed due to the lockdown but that doesn't mean I can't continue to support others

I won't be made to feel guilty for doing something that's not only perfectly legal, but is also vital for the economy.

You can entertain/cheer/busy yourself without ordering a load of plastic landfill fodder that some poor bastard has to risk life and limb packing for £8.21 an hour you know.

Interestingly today on my daily exercise walk, I saw the Amazon guy delivering parcels to a very affluent street in SW London. He delivered something to almost every single house on the street...

I live extremely rurally and am very grateful to live near a garden centre that produces plug plants. It has started to deliver fruit and veg and I'll be ordering that along with veg plugs and grobags. They are doing everything contactless, providing free delivery to the vulnerable and trying to sort out bread, milk and juice for them too. They are also providing plug plants for my school and local allotments for free.

I have always used them, want them to survive, and will continue to do but their wonderful stance here makes me love them. When this is over I hope every person round here buys plants from them and not the big shops.

Because as you will know hairdressers have been closed. From the government guidance

Because certain irresponsible companies are requiring their low paid zero hours staff to work in close proximity to one another, sharing items like tape cutters etc, with no access to ppe or hand washing facilities, that’s why not.

No- if this happening then that is the company who is at fault, not the consumer! How can consumers be expected to know which companies are behaving responsibly? It's not fair to remove business from ethical companies in order to punish those that are not. Surely the workers also have to take responsibility for their own safety and demand employers provide safe working conditions.