To be so utterly fed up of things being shit “because Covid”?

[Marianne1234]

“Covid measures” just so the organisation in question is seen to be doing something, even if it is pointless? Or just an excuse to reduce the service you get?

Masks in the school playground at pick up. It’s a big outdoor space. We don’t get anywhere near the building or teacher (I wouldn’t know my 7 year old’s teacher if she was in my soup). Forget your mask and you don’t get in the gate.

Hairdresser the other day - no tea/coffee. No magazines. Not even the table thing in front of you. Chair, mirror, with each hair dresser having a wheelie trolley thing.

Morrisons cafe - no menus??? No touch screen ordering at the entrance which saves a lot of time.

I’m so fed up of hearing “coz Covid” to justify cutbacks and crap service. It makes me wonder if little things like this will ever go back to normal. I’m not optimistic.

@Pinkywoo where I am they don’t. I see both the midwife and the consultant in person. I did have to really insist though!

@BrightYellowDaffodil

YANBU. In so many cases it’s just an excuse for shit and downgraded service.

How can it be? Every thread on here I only read about how productive people working from home are

@MimiDaisy11

I like some things like extra space in restaurants. I used to hate being so close to other tables you didn’t have any privacy. Same with yoga classes. I can actually spread my arms out and not touch someone else.

Would you be prepared to pay extra for those 'privileges'?

Because fewer paying customers means less income for the business.

Yeah as someone who has worked from home since March 2020 along with my colleagues, bollocks is it more productive.

Preferable yes. More productive from a parenting/housekeeping perspective yes. But I know I’m more productive in the office and that goes for most of mu colleagues too.

I was recently trying to pay off my phone plan. Waited 2 hours for someone to answer, who then informed me that as they were working from home they couldn’t take the payment and someone would call me back from the office to take the payment. Two days I waited. I’m still waiting for someone to call me back to discuss changes to my phone contract, this was around three weeks ago. But of course, working from home is so much more productive 🙄

@Marianne1234

Toilets in some shops closed “coz covid” - never mind that all the other shops have functioning toilets.

Not being able to try on clothes.

We were in B&Q last week and DS (3) said he needed a wee. I asked if there were customer toilets and the girl said they are not open at the minute. I said 'OK, well, he'll just have to go in the car park then'. CertIn groups of the population can't wait when the need to 'go'. At least it isn't too undignified for a 3yo to wee in the car park. My 86 yo Dad however would be same problem but a different story.

[quote ElliotGoss]@GirlInACountrySong my DD with bowel problems messed her knickers in a shop because they could open their toilets but CHOSE not to. She was absolutely hysterical and we were 10 minute drive from anywhere else. For what it's worth we are very clean people (apart from that day when we were covered in poo because a 3 year old wasn't allowed to use the toilet because of covid)[/quote]

Disabled facilities remain open, we have no disabled staff who require them

The Bakerloo line gives me the rage every time I need to catch it.

One carriage per train is knocked out because half of the front and rear is taped off “because Covid” to ostensibly protect the drivers in their sealed cubicle. Never mind that the driver is only ever located at one end.

Meanwhile the reduced service means the rest of us are wedged under each other’s armpits as it’s so crowded.

starting to think that the supply chain message on retail websites is designed to create a sense of urgency when it comes to making a purchase, a bit like those ‘selling fast!’ popups and ‘50 people have added this to their basket’.

Disabled facilities remain open, we have no disabled staff who require them

It depends on your local council but generally, anywhere with more than 10 covers needs to provide toilets to customers, so you may well be breaking the law.

At the start of March 2020 our local Morrisons closed it's toilets, there are no public toilets in our town at all anymore, so people stopped going to Morrisons and then town because there was no toilets.

I didn't go because I'd just got my DD out of nappies (almost 5 at the time but had delays) so I couldn't reliably go shopping with her, so then there was no delivery slots as everyone was using them locally as they couldn't go to Morrisons!

They eventually reopened in June 2020, but it was ridiculous and there was talk of staff redundancies in that shop due to it. Oddly as soon as they opened the toilets again the customers returned

I've been trying to make a joint account at Barclays with my partner for about a month. For some reason they can't verify his identity online, despite him having held an account with them for over 20 years. You are told to go into a branch, only to get there and be told you have to queue to make an appointment. After an hour you give up and go back the next day at 8:30am, for them to say they don't make appointments in advance. Whoever you speak to in the chat feature tells you to go into branch or use video banking, which cuts off whenever you get to 20th in the queue. It is an absolute joke. I just want to see a human for 20 minutes who can help!

A popular beach cafe near me removed vegetarian sausages from the breakfast menu coz of Covid. Best they could offer me was a tomato in a roll ffs.

I think where somethings have proved cheaper for shops and services then it will stay the same. On a positive note, if some of these things return then we'll appreciate them more!

On a similar subject, why can I see a midwife face to face, have a scan at the hospital, but consultant appointments have to be over the phone?

I despise anything over the phone, so I sympathise, but with the NHS I think the reasoning is they are so short staffed they don’t want to risk losing more staff to covid.

Generally though YANBU. I hate the performative bullshit of not being able to go near anything someone else might have touched, especially because half the time people are “sanitising” surfaces using disposable wipes. Worst was in Next when the cashier was using a fresh disposable wipe to clean the surface where the customers put their clothes to be scanned. Pathetic and irresponsible.

I think as we are coming out of restrictions in general - we pretty much have testing and isolation left! - then services will relax their own restrictions.

From what I understand currently most places still keep them up as a measure to stay open via protecting staff as much as they can. All the time people have to legally isolate it's a problem.

Schools are generally the worst affected public service currently but as it's primary schools and they have no restrictions (unless you count open a window!) It'll be i eye testing to see what affect this data has on what people do in future.

Dc had a 30 month review a couple of months ago over video chat

I got a 5 minute phonecall for dd's. Was completely pointless.

The morrisons cafe in Dundee still has the touch screen ordering. I used it a few weeks ago and got the impression from the signage that was their desired method so it must be due to individual management.

Mostly though I've changed my shopping habits. Places that annoy me/have rules which seems arbitrary no longer get our money. The NHS is harder but we have private care through dh's work which given how pointless our GP practice currently is...is lucky.

I totally agree OP. It’s like some jobsworths have got all excited that they can exert some power and control. The one that gets me, is when they close off every other loo like having 10 people use 5 loos is meant to be better than 10 people using 10 loos? Surely less likely to catch covid if less people have used a loo?! Arghh.

Our primary school is absolutely militant about people stepping foot on to the school grounds - aggressive signs everywhere and regular email reminders. The after school club organiser likes to run out if you start to approach the door. We have to press a doorbell on the outer school gates and wait (often takes 5-10 minutes to be seen). There's only about 30 kids in after school club and I've literally never managed to time my child's pick up at the same time as anyone else's.

Similarly they've kept the 'separate gates for separate school years' arrangement in place. If your children are in Y3 and Y6 for example, you have to do a loop around the entire outside of the school to drop them off.

@Littlewhiteballs

That's appalling! I can't even speak to someone at my local PDSA, you have to email and wait for them to get back to you. My neighbour, who struggles with reading and writing, can't access the GP or the PDSA. I have to do it for her.

I'm entitled to use the PDSA but I don't for this very reason. My elderly dog had kennel cough before Christmas and I nearly lost him, but the PDSA refused to see him ( I know that kennel cough is highly contagious, but still).
I took him to a private vet who saw him in the car park, gave him a steroid injection and tablets and he was right as rain in a couple of days. Phew!

It cost me £60 that I would've happily paid to the PDSA, but I'm never going back 😡

It is shocking! My DH injured his back over the summer. He was I'm agony. Dr wouldn't see him, just sent loads of pain relief and told him to wait 12 weeks. He has an active job! Then we spoke to a chiropractor who saw him within days and were able to help massively. Wild! The Dr was happy to leave him in extreme pain for 12 weeks!!

My son was allowed speech assessments face to face. But any therapy by the same person had to be via zoom. They actually wanted to do assessment via zoom as well only i kicked up a fuss

I had an ENT consult this week, which I have been waiting for since I was referred last April. Got a letter a couple of weeks ago telling me about the appointment but that it would be by phone.

Consultant called, listened to what I had to say, then said he was discharging me back to my GP but that if things worsened then I was welcome to access them again - via my GP. Total time on phone - including me confirming my name and address and recapping my symptoms and issues was 2 minutes 43 seconds.

@Marianne1234

The worst case of ‘cos Covid’ I have come across recently was a kids museum, that is advertised as for kids and being interactive having all the interactive bits closed or turned off or taped over!! I mean what’s the point?!?!

Science centre here is the same. £20 to get in to look at some closed interactive exhibits.

Which science centre is that? I work with a few and they’ve only had to turn off exhibits that blow air and some water exhibits.

Our hairdressers make you box up your coat and bag instead of gang up your coat & carry your bag.Why!?You are not going to catch Covid from a coat!

At least you can look at your phone in my hairdressers now, at one point they banned that too.

Bugbear 2. Potential new pupil parents allowed in to tour the school. Existing parents haven’t been allowed inti school for any parents evenings, to see childrens work, sports days et. since Christmas 2019.