Who’s to blame for panic buying?

[HeechulOppa]

Just wondering that really. Media or the people (or the twats in power)? Personally I think it’s the media (and the government for engineering the situations sometimes). I honestly can’t find it in myself to blame people - let’s face it, no matter how much you may believe in not panic buying, no matter how much you might believe in not contributing to the problem, it’s very very hard to stand back while everyone else buys things that are running out so quickly. So what do you do? If you don’t buy the item you know in your heart it will run out and, as these items are generally high importance (fuel, loo roll) you will probably be stuffed. If you do buy then you’re contributing to the problem. And whilst it’s also largely made worse by people buying more than they need, that level of thinking is usually entirely justifiable when you consider the hassle you go through and, quite frankly, the fear that supplies will take a while to return to normal so ‘best get some more to tide you over’.

Obviously slightly different with people who buy enough to keep them stocked for months.

It’s a pickle. And I don’t drive so don’t have a vested interest in fuel shortages for myself, but completely understand why people might panic there.

People filling up because they are getting low, or because they need to get to work is one thing, filling up Jerry cans as well is downright greedy!

Under these circumstances I agree with rationing, or perhaps a spending limit of £30.

@HeechulOppa

Some very good responses here, thank you.

For those who feel it’s genuinely the fault of the panic buyers (and I am not saying there should be no personal responsibility and I absolutely believe there will be some who are taking more than they need) can you not believe that the majority of people are buying out of genuine need or need in the near future. I don’t drive, as I said, and I take two buses to work. It takes me 2 hours each way (a whole other story!) In my area we currently have a severe bus driver shortage - a lot of drivers recently quit. Buses are running on a quarter of their time table. I am also rural. So people can’t rely on buses to provide alternative transport. So you hear of these panic buys etc and you can decide to either stay out of it and know there’s a good chance you’re going to end up in trouble, or you buy and become part of the problem. And in saying that I am absolutely not blaming people for this - if I drove I would absolutely buy fuel if I needed it, or make sure I had enough to last me. And the fact is I know I would be part of the problem. But what else can you do? Put yourself in possible trouble by relying on others calming down and becoming level headed, and things returning to normal? But let’s face it, no one will believe the public will collectively decide to calm down (I appreciate that this also includes myself/ you etc and therefore we become part of it - but most other people will also be facing the same quandary so the faceless panic-buying public suddenly become more understandable.)

We need the government to step in. Put up limits. Something

If people were buying according to genuine, regular need, we'd be seeing these scenes every week, wouldn't we? But we don't, which strongly suggests this madness is due to additional, unneeded trips outside of normal filling up routines. It's not rocket science is it?

If people were buying according to genuine, regular need, we'd be seeing these scenes every week, wouldn't we? But we don't, which strongly suggests this madness is due to additional, unneeded trips outside of normal filling up routines. It's not rocket science is it?

It's not as simple as that though is it! In normal times you could start a trip knowing that you could stop anytime to fill up. You could think I've got enough to get half way and then stop somewhere but with things currently unless you have enough petrol to get there and back you can't take a chance. Likewise if you've got to be at work at 8am you could normally stop on the way in to fill up but the way things are you have to try and fill up the day/night before. It really doesn't take much in the way of people changing habits to cause this knock on effect.

ozanj
And your source for this is...?

We only take people on a PAYE basis these days as the responsibility for tax/NI now sits with the employer should there be a dispute under IR35
More people than not that come to us to work want to be SE as they get more each week in their pay packet

100% thé média.
It’s a chicken or egg question.
For something to make the national news/have a statement out it must be of importance.
If people see headlines about panic buying - the inference is that people elsewhere have been panic buying.

Therefor if they wait they could run into an empty tank. So the rational thing to do is to buy more yourself.

We lived through the Suez crisis with rationing. Essential workers got more.

Living deep rural for decades at this season I have basic supplies in for three months as a matter of course.

Years since toilet paper though....

@mrshoho

If people were buying according to genuine, regular need, we'd be seeing these scenes every week, wouldn't we? But we don't, which strongly suggests this madness is due to additional, unneeded trips outside of normal filling up routines. It's not rocket science is it?

It's not as simple as that though is it! In normal times you could start a trip knowing that you could stop anytime to fill up. You could think I've got enough to get half way and then stop somewhere but with things currently unless you have enough petrol to get there and back you can't take a chance. Likewise if you've got to be at work at 8am you could normally stop on the way in to fill up but the way things are you have to try and fill up the day/night before. It really doesn't take much in the way of people changing habits to cause this knock on effect.

1% of national petrol stations had to temporarily close due to a haulage issue.

Mainly BP I think.

So no, if you'd carried on as normal, you'd have been fine. Because 99% of petrol stations were unaffected and it would have been similar to situations where one station is refuelling do you drive on to another.

If people had kept their heads, then only 1% of stations would have been temporarily shut. As it stand now, 50% of the stations in my town are closed due to panic buying. That would not have otherwise been the case.

Yes it's a lack of drivers not fuel. However I work at a supermarket with a petrol station attached and we've had fuel deliveries every day without a problem.
Can I put our a plea though. If you are waiting first thing please don't hurl abuse at the home shopping drivers who get to fill up first. I saw it this morning and some people were being really vile.
On another note it's fine to fill up when you need to but if you have over 3/4 a tank ask yourself if really need to fill up.

@maddening

Def media, even the Language trying to say not to panic is poorly chosen, for example in the bbc news a person talking on the subject who was apparently telling people not to panic could not have said the word panic more times if she tried.

Rather than saying "people need to relax and calm down following the scare stories in the press, the supply chain is fine, the stories relate to isolated issues which are being managed appropriately, if everyone buys normally then we anticipate no disruption.

We had " people should not PANIC, because people PANIC there are queues, blah blah blah PANIC, blah blah blah you should not PANIC, blah blah PANIC" etc

Language can really make a difference to what people hear.

Exactly this. They are professionals and damn well know the impact of word choices. And the BBC - tons of ‘human interest’ articles . And 90% of each article consists of quotes from the most emotionally overblown person they could find. Or the least lucky.

If I could scrap the entire news portion of the org today I would.

I've got enough to last till Thursday just going to and from work. I'm not going to attempt to fill up until Wednesday evening and will hope that the madness has died down by then surely. 🤞

Well, I was thinking about that. And I think that it's very hard to believe the clowns who are running the current circus, have a clue what they're doing, or the will to actually change things for the better for the average person, rather than them and their mates, who are fairly insulated from the current challenges and worries being faced by the average person.

So, first they try ignoring the issue. The media makes it difficult for them to do so, challenging them on it. We watch with interest/hope/concern/despair. Finally they acknowledge there is an issue, but don't worry about it, it's all under control. By this stage we're pretty bloody worried. Now they say, ' yes, there is an issue, it's very serious, quite right, and we're not sure how we're going to fix it, but DON'T PANIC!!!!! At this point, all we hear is ''panic'. And so we do. . .because they have a reliable track record of taking a bad situation and making it immeasurably worse, while somehow managing to profit their own bastarding selves and their cronies off the back of it. . .

@mbosnz

Well, I was thinking about that. And I think that it's very hard to believe the clowns who are running the current circus, have a clue what they're doing, or the will to actually change things for the better for the average person, rather than them and their mates, who are fairly insulated from the current challenges and worries being faced by the average person.

So, first they try ignoring the issue. The media makes it difficult for them to do so, challenging them on it. We watch with interest/hope/concern/despair. Finally they acknowledge there is an issue, but don't worry about it, it's all under control. By this stage we're pretty bloody worried. Now they say, ' yes, there is an issue, it's very serious, quite right, and we're not sure how we're going to fix it, but DON'T PANIC!!!!! At this point, all we hear is ''panic'. And so we do. . .because they have a reliable track record of taking a bad situation and making it immeasurably worse, while somehow managing to profit their own bastarding selves and their cronies off the back of it. . .

Eh?

If road hauliers paid a better rate then people would go into the industry
That's it really, so simple to sort

But yeah government etc

And then wages go up! Which great! But costs go up. . .oh. Which do you want to bet goes up fastest?

Posting about it on here doesn't help either.

To drive fuel tankers you need an ADR certification
There are as many ADR drivers now as there was last week barring holidays and sickness
There was no problem last week only since the media started stirring things up has the shortage occurred

I was planning to go away tomorrow. In two cars as we have people visiting. Also a drive to the airport early next week. So do I go and waste precious time in a queue or change plans? I can already see the eye-rolling at this immense luxury from people only too eager to accept rationing (see some posts above) as something to be expected in brexit Britain.

Not going to panic buy but I have cleared a corner of the attic for a ‘pantry’. Only got 1 x pack of 18 loo roll in there yet 😂, but have just bought 4 x tomato tins too, to slow build a pantry.

Hope that’s not panic buying.

Ever heard the phrase "divide and rule"?

All the supermarket petrol stations here have huge queues. 10 min the other way, village petrol station, business as usual.

People are idiots and are definitely creating a problem where none need exist.

@LadyWithLapdog

I was planning to go away tomorrow. In two cars as we have people visiting. Also a drive to the airport early next week. So do I go and waste precious time in a queue or change plans? I can already see the eye-rolling at this immense luxury from people only too eager to accept rationing (see some posts above) as something to be expected in brexit Britain.

Which you would rightly have been able to do, had those who have no real need to (no trips planned, no work to go to immediately, already 3/4 full tank etc) had gone about their normal routines. Instead, there are people filling up when they wouldn't normally, and people filling up Jerry cans unnecessarily, (pictures all over our local FB groups) which has put extra strain on supply.

Normally, people can take trips and fill up and go about their business quite happily. It's the EXCESS of people doing it 'just in case' that are the issue. Of course you should enjoy your trip. But if you weren't needing your car and you didn't need fuel for the next week then no, you shouldn't be joining the thronging masses to stockpile fuel (is that legal? I don't think it is - for environmental health and safety reasons?).

These queues aren't normal. They are caused by the 'just in case' brigade along with a few cheeky fuckers who think their need is more important than anyone else's.

So proud of my little town today. I did my usual Saturday shop today and there were no shortages in either supermarket and no queues at the petrol stations.
My poor DD on the other hand was met with totally stripped shelves in inner city Birmingham.

The media.

The problem is lack of confidence. People don't have confidence that the government or the petrol companies will sort it out. They also don't have confidence that if they run out of petrol anyone will bail them out. We already know that the country is very vulnerable to a run on petrol. There ought to be an automatic system of limits whenever a petrol station gets below a certain level, and there ought to be arrangements for making sure petrol gets to stations that have run out. I think it's really poor to blame "panic buyers" who are just doing the responsible thing to make sure they can get to work/ medical appointments/ caring responsibilities next week.

Every feature about this that I've seen in the news has stated the facts - no shortage of fuel, supply issue impacting a small number of petrol stations, do not panic buy just buy as usual.

It is, after all, their job to report on things happening around the country.

Not really their fault that a big % of the population are too stupid to interpret the facts or too selfish to care.

Obviously no one likes to think that they themselves are part of the problem so they're blaming the media, like they shouldn't have reported on it and we need to be treated like children.

That's a very good point @HotPenguin - a lack of confidence is the root of it all (including people not following Covid rules etc too as if the trust was there, people wouldn't panic as they'd believe it would come good with appropriate leadership / management of the crisis, whatever crisis it might be).