Is this normal behaviour in supermarkets now?

[Makeitgoaway]

Until now we've been making do with what we had plus deliveries from small local firms but had to bite the bullet and DH did a big supermarket trip yesterday.

There's a particular nut he's very fond of which appeared to be out of stock, but he was pleased to find the last two packets at the back of the shelf, just as he realised a couple nearby were looking for the same thing, so he offered them one of the packs. Apparently they declined in horror at the idea of taking something he'd handled.

He was happy, he got his 2 packs, but how do they think they got onto the shelf without anyone touching them? Were they particularly cautious or is everyone thinking like this now?. He thought he was being polite/helpful but they obviously didn't see it that way. The new rules are one thing but how long until we all get used to the new etiquette? Or even agree on what it is?!

I'm afraid I don't wear gloves and I did put something back I had picked up earlier (a magazine because I wanted to know if they had the next issue being it was due out that day). It's unavoidable to touch something untouched by ungloved hands

People are so uninformed but it's not their fault.

The info being shared is not clear and is not 'honest'.

I picked up something yesterday and then found a preferred alternative and put the first item back. A lady asked if I was 'buying that'. I wanted to tell her to f off and mind her own business but I politely replied 'clearly not - you just watched me put it back. I changed my mind. It's allowed'.

I know from her horrified face that this is her story of the week...

Re: the comments about the DH not SD...

If he held the nuts out at arm's length and the couple reached out at arm's length that should be pretty close to 2m. It's your mouth/nose/eyes that need to be 2m away from people.

And yes, if you are in the 'accept the nuts group', as long as you don't lick your fingers or the bag after taking them they are no more dangerous than the rest of your groceries.

Your husband sounds nice. I hope he enjoys his nuts! x

just so you all know if you dont want to pick something up somebody else has handled because of covid 19 you should avoid shopping all together i work for a large supermarket chain and the products have been handled by thousands of people before it gets to us in the shops from manufacture to production to shipping then it gets to distribution then has to be repackaged, then has to be split onto cages then handled by delivery drivers then split by staff, then put on the shelves by staff then we have 100's of customers so your all being unreasonable whoever said they wouldn't accept the item, and the couple were being very unreasonable

And when you go through the tills, the cashier, who has touched literally thousands if items, picks it ip then slides it down the till, which has also been touched by thousands of items, then you put them in your trolley.

Some people simply cannot differentiate between being safe/sensible and between being ridiculous/extreme.

I wish people were this hygienic during norovirus season.

Just leave the nuts alone for 72 hours job done.

Everyone has touched everything and gloves are a false economy.

Buy what you want and give it a scrub.

i work for a large supermarket chain and the products have been handled by thousands of people before it gets to us in the shops from manufacture to production to shipping then it gets to distribution then has to be repackaged, then has to be split onto cages then handled by delivery drivers then split by staff, then put on the shelves by staff then we have 100's of customers

I've worked for large supermarkets as well and I think you're prone to exaggeration.

A product is not handled by thousands of people at all and I still don't get the reasoning that if a product was handled before it was put on the shelf, then its OK for it to be handled afterwards.

So say a warehouse person and then a shelf stacker handled a product. Neither of them have coronavirus. Then a customer handles it, just before you do, who does have coronavirus. How is this OK just because it was handled previously?

It's about reducing risk

‘You would touch something someone had touched with there bare hands, ha ha ha ha, and just how would you ever know. Absolutely ridiculous statement

I have a coulple of times picked up the wrong thing by accident at the store and then bought it anyway because I had touched it.

I wouldn't care about someone touching my nuts () a few days before, or during packaging - I would care about someone handing them to me though. Even if someone who touched it a few days ago had the virus it would have died (whatever the correct word is) by now, but not so for someone touching it immediately before me.

I bet they would have grabbed it off him if it was the last toilet roll pack a few weeks back without a second thought

I think this is a fine line, we can now much clearly see between caution and madness. We must exercise caution - of course. But let’s not forget our humanity.

That’s how we have forgotten/ dismissed the sick/ the poor and the homeless.

My daughter crashed her bicycle today, after a long ride. The fire person near her was a total stranger and she just came over and helped her up. I could see her first instinct and the. Followed up by doubt wether she should not have helped.

I was glad to see that people still have humanity and the instinct to help and be normal. We must not loose it and keep this in check.

Op I hear you. People have gone mad. I was in the queue yesterday and a lady was offering her trolley as she'd just finished her shopping.
Everyone blatantly ignored her, looking horrified so I took it. They then all happily got another trolley from the rack. I guess these were the germ free trolleys 😐

I was in the queue yesterday and a lady was offering her trolley as she'd just finished her shopping.
Everyone blatantly ignored her, looking horrified so I took it. They then all happily got another trolley from the rack. I guess these were the germ free trolleys

I agree there is no need to be rude but what do you say. What is the correct etiquette in these situations now.

"I'm really sorry but you might be spewing out virus laden particles all over the place, and so I'm afraid I have to decline your kind trolley offer but thanks again ever so much for your thoughtfulness. Have a pleasant shop "

Or is it better to just shuffle off awkwardly to the side, as if you havent noticed the offer and hope for the best

I work in a supermarket close to a large hospital. Very many customers come in wearing disposable gloves, or various types of mask, or both. Many of those customers get to the point of payment and have to take off their slippery gloves to get their card out, or to get their phone ready to pay. Many of those customers hold the glove(s) with their teeth, or hold their card with their teeth during this complex procedure. When someone actually has no idea how to use PPE correctly, there's no point bothering at all.

Being close to a hospital we have a lot of NHS customers spanning all levels of the medical profession. Absolutely none of them wears any PPE in the store and they are bemused at the public's hopeless ignorance around the use of gloves. They understand the importance of soap and water, and not touching their mouth, nose or eyes with unwashed hands.

Staff have 70% alcohol hand sanitizer at each till (I take my own anyway). The store has nitrile gloves available for staff who wish to use them, and we can break at reasonably frequent intervals to wash our hands. Washed and sanitized hands and forearms are a hell of a lot safer than gloves being worn for multiple transactions, discipline about not touching faces is essential.

For those saying - Pointless Gloves ?
Just was your hands afterwards?
That's like saying Pointless Condoms. Just wash your bits afterwards

I honestly don’t know whether there’s anything in this touching and cross contamination thing. I work at Tesco Purley and though I gotta wear gloves at work anyway, I’m not sure that this makes any difference. If I have touched anything and transmitted the Virus from one place to another who’s to say I would or wouldn’t have done it with my bare hands just the same? I feel as though we’re all thrashing about in the dark at the moment a bit as it is and we don’t know anything about what we’re dealing with yet as it is.

Varmak

You do know what a condom is for?

Absolute madness. What do they think will happen at the checkout? The cashier has touched everyone else's shopping then yours. I would have accepted them and have thought your husband was kind.

I certainly don’t think it’s back to normal in supermarkets yet in any shape or form. There’s still shelves in Tescos that regularly get wiped clean of stock regularly by customers and though they’ve got a grip on the loo roll thing by the looks of it there still seems to be several things which they still aren’t stocking enough of , like spaghetti or anti bacterial wipes. Other types of pasta seem to be available but Spaghetti particularly gets 99% wiped out . Fresh vegetables also, which is sort of good to see because I had started to think no one could be bothered with preparing fresh vegetables anymore . Looks like I’m wrong .

Varmak, your comparison doesn't work on any level. If you don't wear a condom during sex then obviously you stand the risk of getting pregnant whatever you do afterwards. If you don't wear gloves whilst shopping and don't touch your face, washing your hands properly afterwards will take away all the risk of infection from that source.