Going to the supermarket for the first time for ages.

[Shiningbright9729]

Hi all, not really an aibu but posting here for traffic. I generally dislike shopping in store so much so I have got my shopping delivered every week for the last few years. I have major social anxiety and supermarkets are awful for me.

Anyway.. slots are now hard to come by and I’m not vulnerable so I’m going to have to visit the supermarket.

I’ve avoided it so far as I had 2 slots booked before lock down (I book the same slot every week generally and already had 2 booked). Oh was buying goods from the small store near his work but it was expensive. Also been using the village shop delivery service which is getting expensive so need to brave the supermarket.

What do I expect? I know it differs per shop and area. What’s the queueing like? How do you sanitise the trolley handle? How is it social distancing? Am I expected to wear gloves? I don’t have any and not to wear them as I haven’t been out apart from walks and village shop in 4 weeks.

Also DS has symptoms just over two weeks ago. He’s fine now. Only a very mild case of it was covid. I actually had a cough the week before and wonder if I had it too. We are now on day 15 since DS’s symptoms and no one else had symptoms (apart from me week before) Am I safe to go today or wait it out?

You don't have to wear gloves. The queuing system will be obvious and there will be a member of staff directing you wear to go. People maintain the distancing very well in the queue, though when you're in the shop, it's a bit harder. Larger supermarkets will sometimes have a sanitising station set up with a spray and wipes. In smaller places, I haven't seen this, so if you want to wipe it down, you'd need to take your own. But I just use hand sanitiser on my hands immediately after doing the shop, tbh.

It's all very calm and easy. You'll be fine.

It's all been quite civilised here. Queuing is organised quite well, they are only allowing a few people in at a time, and there are arrows kn the shop floor to direct traffic one way up each aisle. Most people seem mindful of not going too close to each other. There have been sprays for the trolley and hand gel set out on a table in my local Tesco.

I have found the smaller supermarkets better than the larger ones, and have taken to using the one near the student village as it's less full of the packed trolley brigade.

The one-way system is finally being enforced, so please follow it.

Personally, I put on gloves as I take a trolley, take them off inside out (NHS method) after I have loaded the boot & returned the trolley. I then wipe the bag handles, boot handle etc and the shopping when I get home. I'm sure others do more, some do less.

It's all quite civilised, in fact less stressful than the usual tearing round after work! (I WFH anyway but remember those days)

I went to Sainsbury's for the first time in a month (also usually do online) on Wednesday.

I looked online to see when was busiest and went just after 9am. There was no queue and most people were being quite good about not getting too close.

Get there for 7 or 8am opening. I'm similar to you, but vulnerable but no letter received stating this. Was desperate to get out after 4 weeks caged so did an early morning Tesco shop. Found it pretty stressful but only due to my own anxiety.

Have you looked at click-and-collect as well as just delivery slots? Might be worth exploring if possible, but you may have to look at a few stores, not just your usual supermarket.

If not an option, supermarkets tend to be less busy later on in the evening if that helps (although you obviously risk certain items being sold out if going later).

Lunch time from around 12.30 pm gets better here. Elderly and Carers go early. However too many elderly are taking no notice of social distancing here. They just push in. Beware of families with DC in tow and very sloooow shoppers who touch everything and cannot makes swift choices.

Which supermarket is it? The only reason I ask is that I would guess that you are unlikely to know exactly what order the aisles come in given you don't go often, and I would say that it's made it a less anxious experience for me by knowing by heart which things are wear, so I know exactly what I need to pick up in each aisle and not dither. Its also one way and you are not supposed to be going back between aisles because you can't find something or missed it.

I would think most supermarkets follow a blueprint for each of their stores and so maybe a poster can give you a general idea as to what sort of order you should write your shopping list in to avoid the above from happening

If you've been to Alton Towers or similar, the queuing is a doddle, take a crossword or Kindle. Inside most places have a one way system, how well it works depends on how wide the aisles are! Mid afternoon, around 3 is a good time to go, misses the early morning crowds and the after work shoppers.

I find it much better than normal.

Queues to get in can be long but seem to move fairly quickly. No expectation to wear mask or gloves but some people do. Many supermarkets offer(or sometimes insist) that you have some of their hand sanitiser when you go in. Some also have spray to clean trolley handles. One way systems are clearly marked with big arrows on the floor. Most people (at least where I've been) have tried to maintain social distancing and wait for each other to move on.

Tbh, I find it much calmer and more relaxing than doing a usual supermarket shop. I hope that once lockdown is over, shops are aware of the danger of further peaks and keep at least some of the measures in place.

shining

The thing that most confused me was the one way arrows on the floor because I’d never come across them before

So id watch for them, and what everyone else on the thread has said already

Get there early as possible 👍🏻

Yes don't worry if queue to get in looks long - it's because it's very spread out. Our Sainsburys lets in the either 5 or 10 shoppers at a time - so 20m of queue looks bad but can actually disappear inside really quickly.

You can also sign up for scan&shop (similar alternative at most big supermarkets) and avoid checkout lines.

Queueing varies from shop to shop, area to area and time to time. It varies all the time.

Last week I went to Asda and queued for half an hour. Yesterday I went and the queue was twice as long so I decided to go to Aldi (5 minutes away) and walked straight in, although there was a queue of about 4 people when I left.

All very easy, markings for queueing etc and everyone I saw being good humoured about it all. Aldi there were a lot of staff, restocking shelves and as their aisles are narrower (in that specific shop) it really meant that staying 2m apart at all times was impossible to maintain 100% and no-one seemed too bothered about it whereas Asda staff (again specific shop) were trying to maintain distance themselves and encourage customers to do so. I suspect this varies from shop to shop depending on the shop manage and their insistence on guidance following.

I find smaller shops, e.g. Co -op, much less stressful.
Hated my one trip to Sainsburys.
And fewer people = less risk.

DON'T get there early! You will not be the only one to have thought of this. If you want to go early half to an hour after opening is better.
Afternoons are quiet here.

I have found the supermarket shop surprisingly easy even though I am shopping for my family and parents.

What I do is take gloves with me and only put them on before I get a trolley. I also make a shopping list of what I need and try to put it in the order of the store layout, so no doubling back. I also use the app on my phone so although this may take a little more time initially no need to use the checkout.

Our supermarket is very organised you have security at the front of the store calling the next person in, as someone leaves. The queuing system is fairly obvious outside the store, 2 metres apart, and in our store we only take a trolley from the bay as we enter the store as these are sanitised after each customer. Also there is a member of staff walking up and down the line to help. This week they were encouraging everyone to sign up to the app to either use the hand scanner or your phone. All scanners sanitised after use.

When I get home I wash hands, wipe down all packaging and unpack. Then I wipe down my car steering wheel, car door handles boot and also front door. Then repeat the following week!

I hope this helps. Oh and I go around 10am on a weekday, after the designated vulnerable slots, and there is always a longer queue when I come out.

Don't go when it opens as that is usually the slot for elderly and other vulnerable people

If anything I would say it’s less stressful than normal supermarket shopping.

I went to Sainsburys at 9.30 on a Tuesday and could walk straight in.

I actually struggled because I've done online shopping exclusively for the past three years, only picking up odd items in real shops, so was a total knobber about working out how to actually do a full shop in there!

the packed trolley brigade.

You mean people shopping for their families, making sure they stock up so they don't have to go every other day? Shopping for extended family who are isolated?

If you can survive on a loaf and a pint of milk, well done you. Some other people need to buy more at the supermarket and don't need asses like you judging them.

Agree smaller supermarkets better. We have a Simply M&S nearby and the two times I've been which have been mid-afternoon there was once no queue and one queue of 6. It was fully stocked apart from pasta. Went to big supermarket this week and much busier with limited choice of fruit & veg.

I went today for the first time in weeks, it was very quiet and shoppers were really pretty good at distancing. Most staff brilliant but I’m sorry to say that the woman manning the self service tills wasn’t great, leaning towards shoppers, laughing and touching people . I think I’d prefer the serviced tills myself as the cashier is behind a screen to protect him or her. I took my own bag rather than a basket and unloaded it then reloaded and used contactless to pay.

Shortages: plain flour, pasta, toilet roll, hand soap.

Definitely choose a supermarket where you can do Self Scan ideally with your phone on an App so no touching of handsets, and no conveyor etc. Pack your bags as you go and nobody else has to touch anything.