Sounds to me like you can though, you just cannot stand authority and are intent on being as awkward as possible. Don't worry though, you aren't alone.
-
Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
Supermarkets and Covid-19
- Thread starter Greybeard33
- Start date
- Status
Sounds to me like you can though, you just cannot stand authority and are intent on being as awkward as possible. Don't worry though, you aren't alone.
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
nlogax
Established Member
But most of the time it is possible, especially in a situation like this one. What's the problem with shopping alone?
Islineclear3_1
Established Member
I am fine with authority when there is good reason and where it is fair and proportionate
There is nothing awkward about it. If a couple is able to go out for exercise together, then they can go shopping together.
Anyway, it is often quicker, if we get what we need separately and reconvene from time to time to dump everything in the trolley
Then, at the checkout, one places the shopping on the conveyor belt whilst the other packs at the other end. Much quicker than doing it alone
Last edited:
The shopping is the worst part of the whole affair. I am not good at shopping at the best of times.
Yesterday I set out (to a Waitrose) to do a large shop for a friend who is shielding and a smaller shop for myself.
Getting in - fine. Once inside I came as close as I ever have to having a panic attack or a breakdown.
Trying to work out what exactly to buy for someone else despite a very specific shopping list with people in front of and behind you looking put out that you're taking a minute.
Being forced into a one way system that unexpectedly takes you away from the aisles you wanted and realising that you can't get back to where you diverged in the first place. Shelving units blocking the end of aisles to funnel you around.
Missing a small but crucial item hidden in a range of non related items and realising only when it's not where you thought it would be that you have to go round again to get back to it (I had to pass through a checkout without paying).
Finding out the bread that you want isn't there because the shelving it's on has been pinched with the product still in place to provide a cordoned off area for NHS staff.
People lurching around corners without warning or darting in front of you to grab things.
The checkouts were fine, plenty of them and well organised.
The whole thing took 50 minutes and I left drenched in sweat and almost shaking. I cannot cope with being herded, my mind is not organised enough to manage having to know exactly where everything I want in the store is in advance.
I was quite happy with queuing last time I went and there was no one way system.
Yesterday I set out (to a Waitrose) to do a large shop for a friend who is shielding and a smaller shop for myself.
Getting in - fine. Once inside I came as close as I ever have to having a panic attack or a breakdown.
Trying to work out what exactly to buy for someone else despite a very specific shopping list with people in front of and behind you looking put out that you're taking a minute.
Being forced into a one way system that unexpectedly takes you away from the aisles you wanted and realising that you can't get back to where you diverged in the first place. Shelving units blocking the end of aisles to funnel you around.
Missing a small but crucial item hidden in a range of non related items and realising only when it's not where you thought it would be that you have to go round again to get back to it (I had to pass through a checkout without paying).
Finding out the bread that you want isn't there because the shelving it's on has been pinched with the product still in place to provide a cordoned off area for NHS staff.
People lurching around corners without warning or darting in front of you to grab things.
The checkouts were fine, plenty of them and well organised.
The whole thing took 50 minutes and I left drenched in sweat and almost shaking. I cannot cope with being herded, my mind is not organised enough to manage having to know exactly where everything I want in the store is in advance.
I was quite happy with queuing last time I went and there was no one way system.
I don’t buy any of the products you’ve listed (either at all or in those formats) but yes I have noticed rises on a number of products.
Further to that I am spending a lot more money on smaller “top up” shops. Normally I would do such shops at the larger supermarkets but I’m not visiting them due to queues or a change in my working arrangements, except for our main shop. For instance what I call good quality bread at Tesco or Asda’s; normally pay 59p (up from 55p earlier this year) but in most of the smaller shops this isn’t stocked so I’m spending over £1.00 on Warburtons (which is worse) or Hovis (which is equal).
@LowLevel sorry to hear that 
My shopping habits have changed as I don't like long queues, but that's just a personal preference.
It is possible to get online deliveries now; I have found that with Tesco the longer term slots are only open for vulnerable people initially, to give them first choice, but closer to the time, any slots not taken by such people become available so I was able to get a delivery with about 4 days notice.
Also my local larger supermarket is back to being open until 9pm so I tend to go late when it's virtually empty. I would definitely recommend this! There is a particularly troublesome individual who used to hang around outside and is no longer able to, so it's a better experience than normal!
If I do want to go shopping during the daytime my local shop rarely has queues, and when they do they are quite short. The only downside of those queues is that those of us with good hearing can hear the high pitch noise to deter teenagers gathering, which I can put up with when briefly entering the shop but becomes annoying after a few minutes. I only had to queue once there though.
My shopping habits have changed as I don't like long queues, but that's just a personal preference.
It is possible to get online deliveries now; I have found that with Tesco the longer term slots are only open for vulnerable people initially, to give them first choice, but closer to the time, any slots not taken by such people become available so I was able to get a delivery with about 4 days notice.
Also my local larger supermarket is back to being open until 9pm so I tend to go late when it's virtually empty. I would definitely recommend this! There is a particularly troublesome individual who used to hang around outside and is no longer able to, so it's a better experience than normal!
If I do want to go shopping during the daytime my local shop rarely has queues, and when they do they are quite short. The only downside of those queues is that those of us with good hearing can hear the high pitch noise to deter teenagers gathering, which I can put up with when briefly entering the shop but becomes annoying after a few minutes. I only had to queue once there though.
Last edited:
Me and the wife still go shopping together we are both key workers doing shifts so shopping time is limited
We go in the evening when it is generally quite but when we get in store we split up i get all the fresh goods + meat and the thing i know she will not be able to reach the wife get the rest, we also use scan and go one each so no queuing at the tills.
I don't drive so cannot do a large shop on my own and Clare is small and cannot reach stuff on high shelves and does not want to ask people for help
We go in the evening when it is generally quite but when we get in store we split up i get all the fresh goods + meat and the thing i know she will not be able to reach the wife get the rest, we also use scan and go one each so no queuing at the tills.
I don't drive so cannot do a large shop on my own and Clare is small and cannot reach stuff on high shelves and does not want to ask people for help
DynamicSpirit
Established Member
Also, two people instead of one means a higher risk of spreading the virus. If someone else in the shop has it, then they could transmit it to either person in the couple - so a higher chance of it spreading to the couple's household. And if the couple both unknowingly have the virus, then either one of them might pass it onto other people in the shop.
Obviously that has to be balanced by the lower amount of time in the shop if the couple can genuinely shop faster because they are together.
DynamicSpirit
Established Member
I'm actually somewhat puzzled by this. My experience at supermarket checkouts is almost always that I place stuff on the conveyor belt while the checkout person is serving the previous customer. By the time he/she is ready do serve me, my stuff is already on the conveyor belt, and I'm ready to start packing as soon as my stuff is being scanned. Usually the only exception is if the till is quiet and there is noone ahead of me in the queue, in which case the assistant will normally wait until all my stuff is on the conveyor.
I don't doubt your experience, but based on my experience, it seems surprising that an extra person could make much different to speed through the checkout and packing (I don't doubt it would make some difference, just doesn't seem like to be a huge amount).
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Most supermarkets are requesting one adult from each household to shop. The other member can sit in the car if needs be. A list and suitable substitutes can be discussed beforehand.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
It's probably more that groups will stand together discussing stuff, whereas one person with a list will shop as quickly as possible and get out.
Couples, as someone else said upthread, also have terrible spatial awareness, as they only concentrate on each other. So they're much more likely to stand blocking the aisle than an individual.
Perfect time use phones as walkie talkies... "Just picked up the frozen peas, now flying in to the desert aisle, do you copy, over?"
nlogax
Established Member
Anecdotal evidence from shopping during lockdown supports this. Well, mine does
I was in a local Aldi last night, only a dozen or so people in there including a husband and wife couple who couldn't decided what they wanted - cue loud disagreements between the pair of them. Simultaneously they ignored the floor markings..as they approached the rest of us took backwards paces or swerved out of the way to keep our respective distances.
Meanwhile I managed to get everything I wanted, chuck it into four bags I bought with me and get in and out in under fifteen minutes, even with the spatial awareness tango. It's perfectly feasible for most people to not be welded to their other halves for a simple shopping trip. It's not meant to be a social event or 'quality time' - if you're on lockdown with someone and you spend all your time together then maybe try shopping by yourself. You may even enjoy the experience..
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
My parents said at a cousin's wedding that the secret of a good marriage was not spending every waking hour with each other. Difficult at the moment, but I do know they are going for walks on their own and not shopping together at the moment, and sometimes watch different TV programmes in different rooms.
nlogax
Established Member
Completely agree. It's difficult to maintain personal space at this present time in our lives and I think there's only so many molecules of joy that be gleaned from spending half an hour together milling around a supermarket. It's healthy to take these opportunities of proper alone time where we may otherwise feel 'hemmed in' at home.
Islineclear3_1
Established Member
No. I/my wife are not allowed forward to put stuff on the conveyer until the person in front has packed, paid and walked away
Islineclear3_1
Established Member
That would just annoy me no end.
I want to shop in relatively peace; not to be surrounded by people constantly on their phones saying they've got this and that and "copy, over"
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
As you might have noticed, it's about the greater good at the moment, not about personal preferences, I'm afraid.
Islineclear3_1
Established Member
We don't. During normal life, we pass like ships in the night during our work and only really get to spend quality time with each other at the weekend
And as I've said upthread, it's quicker (for us) to have one load up the shopping (at the till) at one end whilst the other packs it at the other end. Much quicker than if you're doing it alone
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
If you're buying more than a conveyor worth yes, but if the speed of checkout bothers you just go to Aldi, it's not possible to do it quicker.
Islineclear3_1
Established Member
It's not about personal preferences. I have an auditory processing disorder which makes it difficult for me to hear and concentrate when there's lots of background noise
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Then maybe your wife should do the shopping. Or perhaps invest in some earplugs or noise-filtering headphones.
Islineclear3_1
Established Member
That's where I do most of my shopping...
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Then you'll know that you don't pack at the checkout, so what you say does not apply. The system is that you put it on the conveyor, then move your trolley to the other side of the checkout, then throw it all in the trolley, then take it away to the packing shelf to pack at your leisure.
I must admit I prefer this, as I can pack bags in a more systematic way - one for the fridge, one for the freezer, one for the cupboard etc. Saves time on getting home.
Islineclear3_1
Established Member
Islineclear3_1
Established Member
Which means I have to stand close to other people all doing the same thing....
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Never found that. I usually have my trolley next to me which spaces me well away from the next person.
I couldn't disagree more about the impact on others of those couples entering the store. I did a medium-size top-up in this morning's 'wrinkly hour' at our local Waitrose, (bread and some fruit rarely lasts more than 4 days without going mouldy). There was a couple in the queue in front of me (M + F) of similar age to me. There was a contract security person manning the door and he just let them both walk in together despite there being notices to the contrary. Shortly after, the female decided that she wanted some flowers (obviously essential but that's another issue). She walked back past several following shoppers and spent about two minutes handling half the bunches and deciding what she wanted. She then tried to push back the her co-shopper who was just standing there waiting for her. Shortly after that there was another pause to debate their next item to purchase, blocking the entire end of aisle. I managed to move past them asap. Then there was another couple, he dawdling along slowly down the middle of the aisle, her darting backwards and forwards past anybody in her way. These couples wouldn't have got in together had the normal security person, or one of the loaned JL staff been on the door.
I mentioned it to one of the staff who said that they would report it to the floor supervisor. I cannot think of a "multitude of reasons" why shopper would need to shop in store mob-handed.
Islineclear3_1
Established Member
Thats because you don't live in South London...
Qwerty133
Established Member
Aldi has extra long conveyor belts and there is more than enough room for one (and in many cases 2) customer(s) to be unloading their shopping while someone else is reloading theirs, even if they are all 2 metres apart. However I have to say that I miss my university Aldi where the staff would happily push peoples shopping back into their trolleys if they weren't dealing with it quick enough and customers using baskets were also required to repack into the basket rather and sort their bags at the packing shelf. Unfortunately the Aldi I now shop in isn't close to as efficient and quite frankly some of the staff need to redeployed away from the checkouts at the current time as their lack of checkout speed is causing queues to pay half way down the shop.
- Status