To blame supermarkets for empty shelves late on?

[hotcrunchybiscuit]

We've been in this situation long enough to know that some people cannot get to the store until late. Why are they still arriving at supermarkets and finding empty shelves?

We are being told it is due to panic buying so if that is the case, can they not hold back and stagger the times the food goes on the shelves instead of relying on people playing fair, which obviously isn't happening?

They already have special hours for certain people so you hold food back for this special hour, no?

There is no issue that they will be left with food not sold in this current climate is there?

I have reported my own thread. I do not want to cause offence and feel I have and, as said, I apololgise.

Hotcrunchybiscuit.

Apology accepted. But yes, judgy and critising is exactly how you came across. But there isn’t any other way supermarkets can deal with this. Staff are getting increasingly threatened by shoppers and now thieves in real life.
What do you suggest they do?
Nothing other than asking people to be socially responsible is going to fix the problem right now. Supply lines take time - something the idiots are not allowing. Supermarkets don’t own time machines.

So instead of asking why don’t you suggest a solution. ..... thought not, because it’s not that simple or easy.

Maybe government forced rationing is the only way - but then you’d Want someone to stop the inevitable looting etc. - because people are ignorant, selfish and greedy. Find a solution to those people and the rest of will cope with restocking the sodding shelves. ...

I agree with the poster who suggested removing all trollies (or locking them in place) and allowing only 1 basket per person. Even if entire families rocked up and had a basket each it would slow up the frenzy considerably.

I don’t think you’ve caused offence, OP, I think people are just trying to point out where people are misinterpreting what they’re seeing in shops, and explaining the reality.

Not everyone can carry a heavy basket but at least get rid of the large trolleys and just have the shallow ones out.

No offence taken OP. I just wanted to make very clear the conditions we’re working under right now.

I feel desperately sad that people can’t get what they need but everyone’s doing all that they can. Please be patient with us.

People should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves dishing out abuse to a person who's doing their best

I have a family member working in a large supermarket at present. Staff are given large pallets of stock to take out throughout the day but people descend on them and raid the pallet before they can get it on the actual shelf. The stock is gone in minutes. Don't blame the supermarkets, they're doing their best in a difficult situation, blame the shoppers.

I work in a supermarket but it's a convenience size. To be fair our regular customers are being polite and understanding but there is more and more what I assume are people coming from farther afield and buying as much as they are allowed. It's just selfish. We have told our older customers to ring us and if we can get stock we will save it and deliver to them. Because of our size allowing customers to have 3 of everything doesn't leave us with much and our warehouse is a container. I had a lady pounce on me for breadcakes and asked how many so I said 3 but you can't freeze them as they come to us already frozen. Very aggressively she said "so what will happen if I do" ,I just shrugged my shoulder. Then I saw her with 3 massive blocks of cheese and I said to a colleague "what gets me about all this is the selfishness" she complained about me to my manager who fobbed her off and never said a word to me. It is getting very stressful to hold back what we're all thinking.

hotcrunchybiscuit

Panic buying is the reason for this. not supermarkets or anything else.

At the moment I would love to see limited buys enforced not just by the supermarkets but by the police and army if required.

Extreme? yes, but if people can't behave themselves then they need to sorted by those in authority.

Us supermarket staff are working flat out to get food out onto the shop floor for customers. As soon as the delivery comes in it's being put out on the shop floor. Deliveries are delayed because the staff at the distribution centres and the delivery drivers cant keep up with demand. We are getting complained at left, right and centre that we dont have enough food for sale. We dont have the food to sell. We dont have the food to buy for ourselves. Within an hour of putting toilet roll out on the shelves it's gone and that's with restrictions on the amount people can buy. I have had to tell vulnerable elderly customers that we have no milk etc that they need because it's all been sold and I feel horrendous about it. And to top it all we are out there working in exactly one of the places where the virus is likely to spread and at risk of catching it ourselves and we dont have any choice if we want to keep earning money.

Don't be sorry, you were just asking the question. Clearly you meant no harm and wanted to understand. From what I can see you don't appear to have upset people.

The panic and bulk buying is completely to blame here, I work in a supermarket and it is awful at the minute.
I do not want to go to work because I'm scared and anxious and the people just keep coming to buy more and more.. we could never have foreseen this and we are trying our hardest to do everything we can to get food on the shelves but customers are literally taking it from us before it reaches them!!
It seems nothing we do is good enough for some people, if people would actually listen to the guidelines in place and only come out for essentials this wouldn't be happening.. instead we have whole family's and groups of people in bulk buying stuff that the probably won't even eat or use!!

Apologies for the rant but I'm bloody tired of it! I have 2 young DC who I am not taking anywhere and then to see people bringing their children to do the shopping is infuriating me!!

We are told to restrict products and we have people being extremely vile to us about it. We are all working long hours for minimum wage while exposing ourselves to the possibility of becoming ill while having morons swearing and threatening us. I understand people are stressed and worried but come on ffs it's not the supermarkets or the retail workers fault. People began panic buying because of the lack of faith in the government advice. As more people did that other people began to panic they would be left with no food. We are hearing that this could go on for months or even years so people think shit I need more food. The laughable bit is I can't get much food for my family as I'm working crazy hours so the mad people can buy enough food to stay at home for months!

@MaidenMotherCrone grow the fuck up.

I think things are easing already. My local supermarket had been stripped bare last few days but was fine when I went at about 2pm today. No pasta but plenty of everything else. It was really quiet.

Government at the moment with their laws cannot people to stop socializing. They’ve had to close bars etc down.

I can see the outrage in a few days time. Proper restrictions and lock downs. Then the twats will be moaning they cannot go out. They are skint and fed up looking at all the stock they have.

And hoping someone hurried up and stops bumping up prices. £8.99 for something that last week cos 79p is outrageous.

Local Facebook groups. These twats have already been told where to fuck off to. Local community are swapping or donating what they have with each other.

A solution. Call them out. Everytime they post on local groups tell them they are whatever. Whilst those around them are saying nothing and buying from them, why should they stop?

Fuck what the rest of the country is doing. Look at your local community and how you can help to improve things. Sitting moaning isn’t going to help, neither is sitting by waiting further instructions

At one of the press conferences Boris said he encouraged supermarkets to club together locally to each open different hours to allow restocking and so people working shifts would always have one shop open. Has this happened anywhere?

The west is on its knees in every aspect but hey ho China is getting back to normal.

I don’t think the Chinese people are anywhere near normal considering all the markets that buy their goods are being tanked by this virus.

I think they should have restricted the number of items people could have much much earlier. The Tesco lady told me yesterday that people are still allowed 5 hand sanitizers so about 40 come in and 6 people get them. Crazy

@MaidenMotherCrone look out, it’s acronym Annie. Shame you are talking absolute divisive bollocks.
This post needs taking down. It’s ridiculous.