Boots opticians - covid overkill

[WeeM]

Went to make an appointment today as happened to be passing. They are still making people stand outside and have a barrier over the doorway. There was no one else in the store but the woman came over, took our details on a scrap bit of paper, went to the computer to check dates and then came back over to offer us a time. Is it just me or is this just total overkill now? I don’t think I’ve noticed anywhere else that is still doing this sort of thing. And not to mention customers details are floating about on bits of paper... I get they may want to limit numbers in the store still but the place was empty! I can’t wait to go back for the appointment to queue up outside

I am one of the vulnerable people. I think this sort of bollocks is very OTT and has to stop.

I went to Specsavers last November. All in all, it wasn't bad. No queuing outdoors, though I did have to put frames l had tried on in a plastic tub so that they could be wiped down with sanitiser before going back out. It doesn't strike me as very efficient and I couldn't help wondering what if the best frame for me was in the box rather than out on display.

Normality needs to return.

I dropped my car off at the dealership for a repair last week, they greeted me at the door, asked me to drop my keys into this little plastic bag, then handed the bag over to someone else behind the counter who took the key out and binned the bag (I know this sounds unbelievable but it's true). I actually wanted to go into the showroom and look at the new cars but the key thing annoyed me so much I didn't.

I'm CEV and I think stuff like this is bollocks, as well as being shit for the environment. There's a bigger picture, not just the risk to my personal health, but the environmental implications and the world we are leaving for our DCs. All that plastic packaging (LFTs are bad) and our pavements/hedges round here are festooned with disposable blue masks. They accessorise nicely with the abandoned shopping trolleys

And I don't say the "risk to my health" thing lightly, I had covid pre Omicron and was very unwell. Still, we need a sense of proportion and a lot of companies seem to be doing needlessly complicated shit for very little benefit.

@JackieCollinshasnoauthority

Hope you're ok after being mildly inconvenienced. It must have been so hard but stay strong - we're all behind you.

I like this

Spec savers are the same. With a Ds who wears glasses we are semi regular visitors there and it has never been an issue at all. If we need to go in we go in otherwise we wait outside while whatever is done

Also, if we are talking about protecting the vulnerable, my lungs are fucked so it's riskier to me waiting in the cold air.

But saying things like this is bonkers, this kind of Vulnerability Top Trumps is getting ridiculous. People need to get on with their lives.

I made a complaint to Boots head office about my local opticians last winter as their Covid 'security' was so over the top I was convinced it was going to lead to genuine negative outcomes for patients. The manager of the shop seemed outraged and rang me mostly to have a go for complaining. It was awful and I've decided to vote with my feet in the future.

It's a load of crap. It's been two years and patience is wearing thin for most people.

Those who are vulnerable can sanitise, wear a mask, keep their distance and if they prefer they can ask staff to help them to arrange an appointment for a time that the store is usually quiet.

Keeping people standing outside especially in this cold weather just isn't necessary anymore and I imagine the longer these businesses keep it up more people will start looking for services elsewhere.

I stopped using specsavers last month when they had 5 people in the outdoor queue waiting to be signed in and sanitised. They weren't allowing any of us in until the customers inside had stopped dithering about with boxes of god knows how many frames (that then needed to be cleaned and put back on the rack) placed their order and left the store. This meant being late for the appointments we all had.

I told them to cancel my appointment and take my details off their records and I found an independent optician who was being sensible and reasonable.

Specsavers are the same and it is utterly ridiculous.

I know lots of people don't want to let go and don't want to move on but unless they intend to carry on with these stupid theatrical procedures forever then they need to just give it a bloody rest.

I always try to remember that it's solely for political gain that we're being convinced the pandemic is over

Amazes me people are still trotting this line out.

Is it for political gain in alllll the other countries that have decided the "pandemic is over"?

Because you'll have breathed all over them and tried them on maybe? The next person to try them on my be CEV

Have lots of people caught covid (or any other virus) from a pair of glasses?

I noticed Specsavers do the same when we passed a couple of weeks ago. It's fine by me, nothing but a minor inconvenience. I'm vulnerable and OH is ECV (cancer), so we're very careful about where we go out, and have been putting off non essential visits, like to opticians, but especially OH needs new glasses as the chemo treatment has caused quite a lot of visual deterioration. When we noticed Specsavers, it spurred us on to make appointments as we knew we'd feel safer if the place wasn't going to be ram-packed with people. Impressive inside too when we went for our eye test appointments - staff wearing masks and using hand gel etc.

The OP needs to remember that there are a lot of vulnerable people, and places where the vulnerable are more likely to use, and where there aren't alternatives, need to continue to make provision to keep them safe.

It's not like shops, where the vulnerable can "choose" whether to go in or not, and can easily buy virtually anything on line. Personal service businesses, especially essential ones such as opticians, dentists, etc., need to continue taking precautions.

@SexyLittleNosferatu

I always try to remember that it's solely for political gain that we're being convinced the pandemic is over

Amazes me people are still trotting this line out.

Is it for political gain in alllll the other countries that have decided the "pandemic is over"?

It's not ALL other countries though, is it. Lots, even in Europe, still have precautions/restrictions. In some European countries, face masks are still required.

Spec savers is the same, it's like throwback to May 2020 in there.

It's ridiculous. We know how covid is spread. It's not through trying on glasses.

Our vets still make us stand outside

It's not ALL other countries though

Norway, Denmark, Sweden, ROI, Iceland, Switzerland, just off the top of my head.

Where's their political gain?

In some European countries, face masks are still required

Which is again nothing more than theatre. Which countries that have enforced masks have done particularly well in terms of cases? None.

People are just so reluctant to let go of this false notion of "staying safe" and the expectation that random companies are employing these performative measures to "keep us safe". It's utter nonsense.

@Thebig3

I'm CEV and even i think this is over the top!

We cannot live our lives like this forever. Before covid there were many vulnerable people who would become very ill or even die from many illnesses but we didn't act like this. Flu kills 1000's every year but we don't act like this over the winter months.

Indeed flu did kill thousands in the winter months. That's why a lot of elderly/vulnerable people tried to avoid busy/indoor/cramped places in the Winter months.

My OH was first diagnosed with cancer in 2017, long before covid. The chemo causes suppressed immunity, so the consultant said to avoid busy/cramped/indoor spaces, especially in the winter months.

I think the difference now is that pre covid, the vulnerable made their own decisions/precautions about what they did and where they went. They knew they were vulnerable. My OH certainly wasn't keen on going to the dentist or hospital and having to wait in tiny waiting areas full of people so would stand and wait at the end of the corridor or round a corner instead to keep a distance. Nowadays, some businesses/organisations perhaps take things a little further by enforcing "distance" by proxy rather than providing an environment where people can choose their own level of risk.

OH was pleasantly surprised last week at the local hospital out patients clinic. The waiting room was getting a bit crowded and he was starting to feel a little uneasy as there was no ventilation and a few patients weren't wearing masks. The receptionist came out of her cubicle and announced that seeing as it was getting busy, if anyone wanted to wait elsewhere in a quieter area, there was another waiting room down the corridor if anyone preferred that - a handful of patients went to wait there instead. Very impressive really and helps reduce anxiety and risk for little effort.

Specsavers is the same, they said the advice is from their governing body type org.

I had a man come to service my boiler yesterday and he was wearing plastic gloves which I thought was a bit odd. I thought people stopped doing that in June 2020. Mask wearing I get although I feel like a bit of a nob wearing one at the moment so I don’t always. OP I agree, a lot of businesses with their Covid rules are acting like we are just creeping out of the first lockdown and it is tiresome at best

@SexyLittleNosferatu

I always try to remember that it's solely for political gain that we're being convinced the pandemic is over

Amazes me people are still trotting this line out.

Is it for political gain in alllll the other countries that have decided the "pandemic is over"?

No, you're right. BoJo definitely has our best interests at heart, and this sudden turnaround had nothing to do with the story after story of he and his lot breaking lockdown rules.

Also, I have a flying pig for sale. I'll PM you about it.

@TheKeatingFive

Spec savers is the same, it's like throwback to May 2020 in there.

It's ridiculous. We know how covid is spread. It's not through trying on glasses.

The fewer people going into any enclosed space, the lower the risk of spread of infection. Yes, perhaps, not having anyone in at a time is over the top, but limited the number of people going in is definitely going to reduce the risk of infection spreading. Especially if it stops people going in who really don't need to, i.e. those making appointments which can be done across the door, or even better, could be done by phone or online, which is probably what they're trying to encourage.

My local Specsavers have stopped the glasses sanitising thing. All they’re doing now is asking you to wear a mask. They’ve even put the chairs back to normal in the waiting area. It’s a relief!

My vets still aren’t letting people inside they take the animals off you in the car park.

@TwoCoffeesPlease

I had a man come to service my boiler yesterday and he was wearing plastic gloves which I thought was a bit odd. I thought people stopped doing that in June 2020. Mask wearing I get although I feel like a bit of a nob wearing one at the moment so I don’t always. OP I agree, a lot of businesses with their Covid rules are acting like we are just creeping out of the first lockdown and it is tiresome at best

What harm does it do to you though?

The engineer may prefer to wear gloves for his own protection against infection. The engineer may prefer to wear gloves to keep his hands clean from grease etc (lots of mechanics etc wear gloves normally regardless of covid). The company may have a policy of glove wearing to protect potentially vulnerable customers.

I just can't see why you'd be bothered about it. Does it harm you in any way?

It's like those who sneer/remark about people wearing masks - just why does it bother you what others do?

Our local post office is, and has been throughout, absolutely ridiculous about covid restrictions;

Only one customer in at a time. Others must queue outside two metres apart. The post office is massive and has huge screens up but even in the rain everyone has to queue outside. The staff are complete faffers too and take ages to serve someone!

Masks have to be worn, despite the screens, and the owner has said masks will have to be worn 'forever' in there now!

He also started trying to get people to take off coats and hats and leave them outside the door on a stand but people kicked off!

As I said, I only made the appointment in person as I happened to be passing. I would normally do it online but as I was making them for more than one person, it’s easier to do that in person rather than online to get them all together. The shop definitely wasn’t short staffed as I could see the same staff that have always worked there.

I understand that there are people who are vulnerable but I’m not sure keeping people outside in a non socially distant queue is much better. And the shop was literally empty, so I don’t know why they can’t let people in and limit the numbers. They are presumably offering fewer appointments already to incorporate this. It just seems to me that some rules are starting to lose a common sense approach.

And yes it was a mild inconvenience and I was having a vent…