To think that since covid happened some businesses have 'got lazy and stayed lazy'

[Ilovechocolate87]

DH and i used to have an expression a couple of years back 'because covid' which we used when we thought a company was just using the virus as an excuse for not doing something properly or making unnecessary cutbacks.

But even now it seems that this is STILL continuing, but for no legitimate reason!

Some examples include;
-Our local bank shutting at 3pm...every day of the week.Crap for 9-5 working people like DH!

• No fireworks display at center parcs, which is a shame as it was really good and atmospheric over the lake.
• Soft play at our local sealife centre sitting there unused and wasted...such a shame as there is nothing wrong with it.
• Fitting rooms have been scrapped at sainsburys and asda (maybe elsewhere too?) so there is nowhere to try on clothes, resulting in either having to order online and have the expense and bother of posting it back if its not right (which it often isn't) or travelling to return it, neither of which are very good for the environment either, with all that plastic packaging and fuel!)

Has anyone else noticed that it just seems like SOME businesses/companies 'can't be bothered' anymore and are just doing the minimum possible? And the most frustrating thing is that as usual, they make the cutbacks, but the prices keep on going up!!

Yeah. I went to the hairdresser the other day and they have never reinstated the magazines or hot drinks. I’ll be going elsewhere now.

It's still impossible to get face to face appointments at my GP surgery - that might simply be due to shortages of GPs though. We are in the worst area for it apparently! But it started with Covid and has just continued.

Absolutely! Businesses have seen the savings they can make, and are seeing how much they can get away with (in general). One of my bugbears, and I realise there are many worse than this, was Dominoes pizza no longer doing the gluten free options. We recently ordered for the first time in years and I noticed that finally, they are doing gluten free but they are by 'Schwar' so I presume basically frozen pizzas but at £15 a go.
Another example is hotels using the 'extra cleaning' excuse to make you check in later and not change your bedding.

Yep
Our local bank is the only left now for miles around, three branches locally closed since Covid.
It opens at 10 am and shuts at 2
Completely staffed by two staff who are frequently overwhelmed so the queue is outside the door.
They were sadly saying yesterday that there might be some more staff by March !

Misses point of thread but:

1. How often does your DH actually need to attend the bank in person? I think I last went 5 years ago.

2. As you reference his work, not yours, presumably you could go on his behalf?

Yep the NHS - sorry absolutely not sorry and not here to argue or debate it.

Yes totally. Customer service gone down hill too. I don’t think some staff were able to get down off their Covid high horses once restrictions were lifted: I think there are a few who miss being able to boss customers about masks and queues/social distancing. Agree about early closing and late opening. Our local boots never went back to their earlier opening time. I called a local authority number to get some information I needed recently and they still had their “,reduced service cos Covid” voice message on the answer phone!

Yes GPs - ours has stopped having the long answer phone messages about covid and now pretends they do in person appointments but, in reality, they have a massive GP waiting room which is always empty save maybe one person, then upstairs, a tiny jam-packed nurse practitioners where they can claim people are 'seen' for blood tests, smear tests, etc, etc.

How thick do they think we are? It’s money!

Agree. No changing rooms is just an excuse. Blaming staff shortages on covid when ringing Bank or HMRC - that excuse is wearing a bit thin now!

I work with several universities who run clinical trials for patients with cancer. I, as the patients nurse, have to speak to the university’s of a matter of urgency, so that my patients can get life saving chemo. Except I can’t get anyone on the phone and have to wait for an email response as they are all “working from home.” It’s frustrating and puts my patients at risk.

Totally agree op. Too many places to mention.
Having to prebook everything annoys me as well.
Eurostar have left 2 Stations (Ebbsfleet and Ashford) totally redundant -that might need down to Brexit too but v annoying.

Have friends and family working in the NHS whose teams are at 40% what they need to be. They're killing themselves trying to cover. Lazy is not an appropriate phrase

Our local city isn't having an official Xmas tree light turn (due to covid?) on though there's an Xmas market and other things planned. Dc sat an exam recently where they were asked to bring hand sanitiser and tissues (though wasn't checked- pointless).

Yes! No magazines now in mine,no idea why. Hot drinks they still have.

Courier companies who think it’s still ok to abandon parcels on the doorstep and drive off before knowing if anyone will even open the door…

Some of our local cafés moved to takeaway cups for those drinking in and have never gone back to proper ones. It's not the same!

The Odeon still makes you order any food and drink on a screen to collect, even if it's a bag of sweets or a Fruit Shoot. So instead of having 2 or 3 tills plus a couple of people doing the coffees/popcorn, it's 6 screens and 1 person sorting out all the orders.

Ah yes, "contactless delivery" i.e. throwing it at the door and emailing to tell you about it.

I wasn't in any way trying to say NHS staff are lazy...I was referring more to other private sectors to be honest, but I must say I do agree with others that the NHS service has many issues since Covid with restricting appts etc.

Mostly I can, but not everything he might need to go for, and whenever he tries to use the outside paying in machine it's always out of bloody envelopes!

I was thinking exactly the same the same thing other day. Shit service everywhere at the moment. Lots have worked out how they can cut corners and they aren't going back.

I'm looking at you Bupa Global - i pay 900 a month and you don't want to answer the phone unless it's for treatment within the next 24 hours? Every call is answered by a message saying 'the quickest way to get in touch is via our website' - utter piffle! They are encouraging emails or webchat. Webchat is ridiculous because it takes 45 mins' typing to resolve something that could have been sorted with ten minutes' actual speaking. Or you can leave a message and they get back to you hours later - OK if they understood the problem and it isn't urgent. Emails are a joke - they used to promise an answer within 24 hours and now it's more than a week. All because Covid!

Ridiculous about the Xmas lights! Which reminds me of another travesty of our local carnival (which had been running for many years) STILL didn't happen this year 'because of covid' which was such a shame as it has always been a special part of the town.

To be honest I think needing to pay in anything physical is quite rare now. Most people I know who are working age and can't go during the week would transfer cash on their phones. My parents and in-laws (60s and 70s) do. I reckon the last time I paid in cash was 10 years ago!

Ohh yes I forget to mention the whole pre-booking thing, but that is a total pain! Especially when it's something you can't change the booking date for then illness or something means you can't go.So unfair when you lose all the money and get nothing for it, and they're pocketing it!