To ask you not to contact supermarkets?

[WildOrchids67]

Unless absolutely necessary.

The supermarkets are busy. They know there are hardly any delivery slots and that some items aren't in stock. Contacting them just to complain about these issues is causing the staff extra work, when they're already busy dealing with queries about orders.

Don't tweet them or contact them on Facebook about stuff that's already been posted, e.g. Iceland having a dedicated hour for elderly shoppers. Again, extra work when they've already been contacted about it.

Please just think about the staff dealing with all of this, cut them some slack and only contact them if absolutely necessary. It'll make their lives a lot easier.

YANBU. There’s not a great deal us minimum wage unskilled workers can do about volume of stock or delivery slots. We’re doing our damn best.

The public’s behaviour has been frankly disgusting. I’ve had colleagues threatened, screamed at, spat at and scratched so hard it broke the skin.

I can only imagine how those who work in health and care are managing .

not that is dreadful, I popped into Sainsbury's today on the way home from work and the checkout assistant was telling me that even the ex-army manager was a bit scared when everyone descended on him as he pushed out the trolley of loo roll.

I really feel for retail workers now, and I dread to think how we would be behaving if this were something worse.

@not that's terrible. It's not like that where I live. People are helping each other. An elderly lady with not great English was asking for masks & the shop assistant wasn't understanding so several customers pointed to the masks next to the till & said the lady needs 3masks. Others were helping the shorter peeps reach the toilet roll or tins that are too high up etc. No rudeness to anyone.

the person people are yelling at has no power to magic up extra delivery slots or out of stock items.

Neither does their manager.

Neither does the chief exec.

Everyone is doing everything they can to get stock out. Dealing with ridiculous complaints just takes people away from that.

Exactly Totes. This is my point. Taking up time with unhelpful moaning is keeping the staff away from dealing with real issues, that could be dealt with more quickly if they didn't have to respond to comments.

I have also witnessed the exact opposite of this kind of behaviour in Tesco.
Someone had just picked up the last x2 packs of 4 loo rolls, then looked over his shoulder to another chap who was obv looking for loo roll. He said ‘Aah well I suppose it’s a bit selfish to take both...here take one’
He took it and they started chatting about the state of things.
It ain’t all bad.

My local Tesco has signs up at every till pleading with customers to be respectful towards them and not abuse them. They shouldn’t have to put signs up to remind people not to be abusive dicks. The cashier who put my stuff through today said she’s had enough, they’ve all had enough and they snap right back. Don’t blame them at all.

Captain that’s nice.

can i ask though are all shops now limiting items-i tink its only fair way now as noone is listening to stay calm

Well said. Hear hear.

Retail workers and grocery warehouse workers and drivers etc aren't obviously nhs etc but I count them as important as other frontline staff.

Without you guys putting yourselves at risk keeping us supplied for normally shitty wages as best you can we would starve so thank you.

After leaving retail last year I have the utmost respect for you all.

No such restraint here, @CaptainButtock. Tesco restocked with loo roll this morning and limited people to 4 items. Naturally, some selfish bellends were taking four 24-roll packs, so the shelves were empty again in minutes.

I’ve always believed that when push comes to shove, the vast majority of people are pretty kind and decent. This thing has changed my perspective, that’s for sure. To all of you working in the supermarkets, thanks for everything you’re doing, and sorry you’re having to deal with this whole sorry twatfest.

My local Tesco has signs up at every till pleading with customers to be respectful towards them and not abuse them

It's disgraceful that people need telling.

I had to smile just now in Tesco. There were two women talking and one had about 12 Easter eggs in her trolley and I heard her say "Well I thought I had better get these in because they will be panic buying these next"

I think this sort of situation brings out the best and worst in people.
We will certainly become acutely aware of what the important jobs are in our society and those that should be valued over ‘frothy’ jobs.

"I'm stocking up, everyone else is panic buying".

Went to Sainsburys last night and there was no rice, pasta, beans, eggs, toilet roll.
My mum asked me to try and get her some flour for making bread managed to get one at £2 but couldn't get the yeast for it.
I was stood chatting to an old man who was 74 he was looking for soda bread flour and buttermilk to make soda farls. None left in the whole town he had looked everywhere on foot, sad when it's come to this
I feel for the staff too the lady on the tills said it had been crazy during the day and she was exhausted.

I was stood chatting to an old man who was 74 he was looking for soda bread flour and buttermilk to make soda farls. None left in the whole town he had looked everywhere on foot,
You can use ordinary flour for soda bread; and if you can't get buttermilk you can turn ordinary milk sour with lemon juice.

You’re not wrong, but do you honestly think anyone dumb enough to ring supermarkets to complain about stock levels in this current climate would change their behaviour by reading this?
Had to laugh at the post elsewhere asking why stores weren’t restocking their shelves - how do these people function in daily life?

If people don't behave then the police or the army will have to make them. It is sickening that retail workers have to suffer that sort of treatment and be endangered when simply working.

I think its mad that they are subject to abuse about lack of stock ironically by the people probably responsible for the lack of stock due to their own panic buying.

May be each till should have a pack of toilet rolls just to chuck at the daft twonk's for A. causing the shortages and B. moaning about said shortages.

I hope retail staff give as good as they get, if it were me id probably be on several assault charges by now.

I was slated on one post for showing a lack of empathy but retail staff having to cope with this nonsense and the abuse that follows, NHS staff and anyone else really in the thick of it my heart really goes out to them. Cancelled holidays, lack of bog rolls, hand soap etc just fade in to insignificance.

I suppose what I'm asking is for people to consider if it's really necessary to contact the supermarkets. They're already so busy dealing with grocery deliveries and stock issues, that having to deal with general comments and how they should prioritise certain people is delaying them from doing that. They know the slots are full. They know shelves are empty. There's nothing they can do about those things straight away and complaining to them about issues they already know about isn't helping. If people accept that the supermarkets are doing their best and only contact them if they really need to, that'll make their lives easier.

People should just take a moment to read the recent FB posts/tweets any company has already posted. I was looking at Ocado updates earlier on Twitter and saw dozens and dozens of people tweeting them the same questions (why isn't the app working) when they had already posted info about it that was very easy to find. Genuine customer questions are getting lost when people are just tweeting their complaints and asking the same things over and over.

And remember the people dealing with social media accounts and customer service emails are real people too and this will be a super stressful time for them as well.