Supermarket safety - get what you pay for?

[Pumpertrumper]

Just wondering if it’s my city is unique.

I’ve visited a few supermarkets over the course of covid, for one reason or another. There is a huge link between how ‘up market’ the supermarket is and how well organised/safe it was.

I very rarely shopped Waitrose pre covid but they are ace! Several staff on the door, all trolleys being wiped down religiously. Giant tenting and organised queuing system outside. Kept pretty quiet inside and everyone very careful.
M&S similar - little bit busier though.
Sainsbury’s- ok, good queuing system but bit too busy in some aisles. Good precautions at the tills.

Asda/Morrison’s - Total chaos! Asda doesn’t even have a queuing system and Morrison’s is obviously just for show. Both totally rammed, staff not caring. Shoppers elbow knocking distance of each other. No caution!

I can’t comment on Aldi/Lidl as haven’t been since covid (they are further away).

I know it makes sense an element of ‘you get what you pay for’ but I can’t help thinking it’s a bit crap that those who can afford to do their weekly shop at Waitrose get to be safer. I find myself going there more and accepting the extra £20-30 on our weekly shop as paying to feel safe.

Hoping it’s just my local city and not nationwide.

Wide aisles. Not wise although it feels wise.

I went into my local m&s yesterday at about 5pm, because I was passing and thought it would be quiet. It was horrible, I almost abandoned my shopping and walked out. It was like a busy day in a normal year, aisles packed, no social distancing in place, people aimlessly milling around in big groups. I think it depends on local store management rather than on how 'up-market' the company is.

OP Are You In Glasgow?

Oops posted too soon but that looks like my area

I have found this OP, although our Sainsburies is OK. The Lidl's are all shocking in our town.

Oddly, we've been finding Iceland to be really good!

Morrisons started off better than the other supermarkets here but is now crap. They gave up about August and have never got organised again as numbers have risen. There was one point for two weeks where most of their staff were off... I wonder why. (You would have thought they might have put some measures in place then for their staff's safety.)

Sainsburys is OK-ish.

I have mostly only been to a local Tesco Express and a big Morrison’s. the Morrison’s has been fine, with good queuing. Both places have had provision to wipe your own basket/trolley handle.

Can’t comment on Waitrose, I live in the land that Waitrose forgot!

Our Aldi is fine. Our Lidl is dire.

Waitrose is smaller than either of those and it is fine. It was fabulous on Christmas eve- hardly anyone was there.

Definitely varies from branch to branch.
Waitrose uniformly good, I can think of three branches that I've been in in the last couple of months, large and small.
M&S, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsburys, Lidl, Aldi, co-op - have been in more than one branch of each, all a bit variable.
It's not just down to the staff and organisation - it's the behaviour of the customers too, Sussex was generally better than London, and the time of day.
If anyone is wondering why I shop so often - close to home lots of tesco express/mini waitrose, so more likely to do small shops and/or not find what I want, with occasional 'big supermarket' expeditions.

We also have a Morrisons but I can never find anything in there as there seems to rhyme or reason to anything so i avoid.

(Mind you there is no rhyme or reason to our Aldi either but I love Aldi)

My local Booths is excellent.

My corner shop is dreadful. 90% of people don’t wear masks, they show up with hacking coughs etc, no social distancing, and it’s a post office too so absolute carnage.

Asda, Morrisons etc absolutely dreadful, full of huge families there for day out...6 or 8 sunflower lanyards between them. No social distancing. No sanitisation.
Even the click and collect trays at Asda don’t get sanitised between customers so there are lots of people handling them and no supplies to disinfect.

Tesco middle of the road. As in Sainsbury’s.

M&S Simply Food WAS good and like Booths they sanitise and hand each trolley/basket personally. But inside is getting more crammed with more ignorant people not distancing.

Local coops were alright, traffic light system, adequate supplies for cleaning trolleys etc.
Less footfall.

I’m paying more now. I used to go to Aldi and Lidl. I only shop in person at Booths late at night or order a small delivered shop from the Coop. Might chance M&S late at night too.

Our Waitrose is the only supermarket to limit numbers and therefore always has a queue. But hardly anyone is doing a big weekly shop unlike the other supermarkets and it’s just people popping in for bits all the time.
I’d rather shop amongst people that weren’t out and about all the time I think.

our local m&s is shocking! far too many shoppers allowed in at once

In my experience, the cashiers are shouting across tills in all stores. Yesterday it was one wearing a visor, but sometimes they aren't wearing a mask.
Our Iceland is a free for all. A low number of customers and staff wearing masks. No limit to numbers in the store. If 3 out of 6 tills are open, they often keep them together, next to self checkout, so that queues are bundled together, with no space to socially-distance.
M&S let too many people in. Aisles are congested and it's a thin, narrow store anyway, with low ceilings and poor ventilation. Rarely any staff on the tills, so we're all bundled in a 'Covid corner' at self-checkout. I went before Christmas and won't go back during this pandemic.

Our medium size Sainsbury's has been the best. A small Tesco was excellent in the first lockdown, but I haven't been there lately. It was like a Mad Max film outside, back in March when there were food shortages.

It's by store and by what day it is.

Our nearest Tesco one day? Run like a military parade. Very strict on following the rules. Another day? Crowded and crazy.

M&S in my nearest town? Total shambles. M&S in my sister's town? Strict SD and sanitising.

It's not a posh poor divide. It's down to who's running it that day. Or if the customers are complying and us public being the lemmings that we are and doing what other shoppers are doing til it all breaks down into chaos.

Our Morrison’s are brilliant with their safety measures. Can’t comment on Asda, don’t set foot in there (though not in a snobbish way, I’ve just always received terrible customer service there so refuse to shop in any Asda anymore!) Our Tesco is appalling for their safety measures but our local aldi is brilliant. We don’t have a Waitrose, Lidl or m&s close by so can’t comment on those

Similar here to you @Pumpertrumper, Asda is absolutely dire and I avoid it like the plague since Covid began. However, the only one here that contradicts your theory is Aldi, who have had brilliant systems in place here locally.

No, but nice attempt to pretend the lower classes don’t get/care about Covid safety and therefore are at fault for the spread.

Agree about Waitrose. Tesco and Sainsbury’s are a free for all but my local Lidl is quieter and less crowded than Waitrose.

My nearest store is a medium sized Tesco which is always very well organised. Nearby is a very large Morrisons which I rarely go into as when I have done it's been complete chaos - overcrowded and no attempt by staff to manage people.

I prefer my local co-op.

@TanglinOrchards - had a chat with a neighbour Christmas Eve when I arrived home from supermarket shopping - she was muttering about the queues - at 7am. I'd arrived at around 11.30, no queues, nothing really out of stock.
7am shopping doesn't happen for me!

Our Waitrose is like that, well organised. Sainsbury were good. Morrison’s and Asda were chaotic. Aldi have been brilliant too. So not all about the cost of goods.

This is true in my local area too. Also, I’ve seen many more families shopping together without masks in Asda, like it’s a fun day out. This just doesn’t happen on Waitrose. I can’t understand why families and couples shop together-there is no need-I’m not talking about one parent with children, I’m mean mum, dad, granny and children etc.

We have 2 Aldi's one is great at distancing, traffic light system and one way, the other is rubbish.
Lidl is complete chaos
M&S is doing great by us, less people indoors trolleys cleaned as people leave.
Asda is doing better, they have some private secutity men dotted about, stopping people going the wrong way, and stopping some isles getting too full, works well.
Tesco is a bit hit an miss here, some days they are working well, other it's chaos.
Morrisons is counting people in and out, but once in, it's a bit chaotic.

Around here, only Booths and Sainsbury limit the number of people in store.

At Booths, they only have a certain amount of trolleys out and you have to take a trolley to get in. It is sanitised and ready for you to take one.

Sainsbury count people in and out. Last time I asked, it was limited to 100 people in store.

I won't go in Asda, I have yet to see one that doesn't look grubby. My dh goes there for dry goods and says it is an absolute free for all and you have to hunt the hand sanitizer, the majority of people do not use hand gel on the way in. There isn't a trolley cleaning station either.

Tesco is limiting numbers and still has cleaning stations and hand sanitizer available.