Why aren't people thinking more about the risks in the supermarket??

[ACertainSupermarket]

So I work in a major supermarket, obviously being affected by the panic buying.
I saw so many family groups, elderly couples, people with health issues (i.e. on scooters). The shop was heaving.
Stood in long lines having a good old laugh and natter with each other.
All potentially catching or spreading the virus.
Who knows who might already be ill, or a carrier? They say you can be contagious before you even show the symptoms.

Why aren't people taking this seriously yet?

Can you honestly say you just got the bare essentials you needed if you were out food shopping today? Apart from dog food (and eggs which were all gone but we can eat something else) I didn't NEED anything. My children said have you stocked up, and I showed them that there is food in the cupboards, fridge and freezer to make meals for weeks just with our normal stocks. And I don't have a big kitchen.

Can you please, PLEASE encourage your family members not to shop as a pack or out of habit, and to stay home if you have any underlying frailty? Us staff HAVE to be there, and would really like to stay healthy just as much as you would!

I'm slightly relieved by the number of sensible people on here. Though I suspect people who think it DOESN't mean them and it IS their god-given right to do as they like won't come on to justify it...

that wont work, we have to go daily just to finish our weekly shop and see what available today on shelves. I need TP and will go daily till i get some, no choice, going without is NOT an option. As it is we had to hit 3 different ones yesterday cos shelves are being stripped clean.

Why not rethink what you eat? The world will not end if you don't have pasta bake. The world as we know it, though is absolutely starting to unravel, at least for a time.

Toilet paper - Start thinking about cloth wipes, even some cheap flannels, a lidded bucket by the toilet with a nappy net in. Sure it's not what you're used to but it's not an insurmountable problem that means the public must roam several shops a day?

@squeekums Gotta buy dog food every 2.5 days as he only eats fresh and 2kg dont last long, he a big dog, nor can we freeze a large amount
Have you looked at companies that deliver fresh dog food? Help keep them in business and keep us all a little bit safer?

I read a thread earlier from someone who was worried that a supermarket worker was coughing next to her. Times that by about a thousand for us on the shop floor.

Yes this. I'm so, so on edge with the irresponsiblity (and rudeness!) of customers lately combined with the total lack of help or resources from our company. I can assure you not one of us is "loving it", I work with some 60+ year old people who have underlying conditions (and in one case, an immunocompromised family member who will certainly die if they get it) and don't feel they can take time off because the sick pay is paltry and they are being pressured to keep coming to work by the higher-ups (who are certainly able to work from home!!!) as it is so insanely busy the the warehouses cannot even keep up with demand (totally unheard of in our company even at Christmas).

People are told to distance wherever possible and avoid large gatherings at all costs, what do they think a supermarket with 30-50 people milling about coughing and spluttering at any given time is? There NEEDS to be a way to limit the amount of people allowed into shops at one time and a reduction in opening hours or it is only a matter of time until one of us gets it, spreads it to the rest of us and our families and people start dying rapidly.

A man went into the fish and chip shop next door to our work the other night and cheerfully told the girl behind the counter that he had been told he needed to go home and self-isolate. Stupid selfish bastard instead went to get himself a takeaway (INSTEAD OF DELIVERY WHICH THEY OFFER) and then came into our shop to buy a drink as well. When I think about how badly we are all going to be affected and the way nobody seems to give a shiny shit about us I could literally literally cry.

I work in a supermarket and the past 3 days have been horrific, they are so mentally draining. The worst is seeing the vulnerable coming shopping and there being nothing to buy as they are being stripped bare by the shear number of people coming through the doors at 6am when we open, my heart breaks for them. I personally have had nothing but kindness towards me but it is a very different story for the checkout operators who are having to tell people they can’t have more than 3 of something. Today we had a fight outside our store before it opened and someone try to attack a older female worker for them refusing to let him buy 4 multipacks of crisps, a male colleague jumped in to stop them and ended up with a black eye, when I left we had police on the door.

I also see many many family’s, not just someone with young kids but mum, dad and 5 teenagers all shopping together... I just don’t understand how some people think

Yes, people still aren't taking this seriously. Yes, I've been shopping for fresh stuff and last minute things for my Mum, but I've really tried to be patient and keep my distance so I'm not too close to someone if I'm picking stuff up. Bumped into three people I know in supermarket this week, we've had a chat but kept our distance. I've been going on my own, no one else needs to be with me.

OP, hope customers are treating you well. I work in a pharmacy and received abuse at the weekend. I've heard customers getting angry with shop assistants in Tescos over number restrictions or the fact items aren't in stock.

The supermarkets are loving it. The shareholders and the high-ups. Ocado have seen a massive jump in profits in the last three weeks. Why on earth wouldn't they be lapping this up? The staff on the shop floor are probably very over worked, but the supermarket bosses are going to be chasing this for the next two weeks.

Noone would panic buy if they could calmly go and buy what they need every couple of days, but that's not allowed on mumsnet either!

The supermarkets bosses and people on the ground are not the same. The people on the ground, arent loving it.

Noone would panic buy if they could calmly go and buy what they need every couple of days, but that's not allowed on mumsnet either!

Who said that?

The supermarkets are loving it.
They're really not. All the managers look so haggard where I work.
And the shareholders should understand this is a temporary blip - soon people will start shopping a lot less, even though there will be more eating at home, once the gravity of the situation really hits.
Clothes shopping, gifts, etc will take a massive slump and that is big business for the supermarkets. Though I suppose drinking at home will increase!
I am now dreading Monday when all the children off school are dragged in. PLEASE don't do this!!!

Totally agree op and it’s fucking me right off.

Loads of oldies wandering around Tesco yesterday, in pairs and family groups, having a good old chat.

FFS Doris and Mavis the country is on its knees, our kids are at home the least you could fucking do is stay at home

Just seen this after posting re how nervous I felt in a supermarket earlier today. I couldn't agree more, and I really feel for shop staff atm.

Thought I'd give you an update from today.
Better stock - they are focusing on less choice of each item e.g. 6 choices of pasta rather than the unnecessarily large range of different shapes and packet size we are used too.
Toilet roll still selling out early! I imagine that's now the people who had genuinely run out, rather than the panickers.
No handwash - any detergent substance will do, you know - shower gel etc. is equally efficient.
Cheese, meat, milk - still running low quickly, as for toilet roll I imagine (some people must have MAHOOSIVE freezers, unless it's going to be left in their fridges to rot!)
The online orders are better today too - if your order has been cancelled, it will be because drivers may have had to self-isolate, either for themselves or a member of their family. Most stores do not have a lot of reserve drivers, it's always a hard position to recruit for.
Less busy than a normal Saturday. Either folks are getting the message now or most people don't need very much!
BUT still a fair amount of numpties that think it's still OK to wander round as a family group, or bring their teenagers with them.
I am also quite obviously and deliberately backing away from customers who come up to ask me a question from about 6 inches away!
Thank you SO much to the majority of customers who are lovely as always, and for being considerate of the wider community by shopping less often and solo!