Supermarkets and Covid-19

[Bletchleyite]

Probably of the worst trends in recent times has been the selling of products (mainly salad items) in a 'modified atmoshpere', - which is often a euphamism inert gases such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen. The theory is that reducing or removing oxygen slows down the deterioration of organic material within the bags. There are concerns that extending the (sales) life of some foods by this method can actually increase the risk of pathogenic organisms forming. Given that the retailer's real intent is to manipulate the customer's natural methods of judging the quality of food by its appearance, this can create serious problems of food contamination. Normally, organic producers shun the use of such marketing practices so in many instances, those products are much safer, but of course for many, (and not just those who cannot afford to do otherwise), price is everything!

I've never had any kind of health issue as a result of consuming these products, so feel free to continue paying more unnecessarily, whereas I won't

 

[AM9]

I've never had any kind of health issue as a result of consuming these products, so feel free to continue paying more unnecessarily, whereas I won't

Never say never*. By some posters account, only rich people can afford to shop in Waitrose so I suppose that's why it doesn't bother me.
* at least not in the context of the future.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Never say never

There are reasons to buy organic (ideally locally-produced if you're going to do it), but suggestions that non-organic food is somehow unsafe are about as laughable as the 5G conspiracy nonsense.

Supermarkets simply would not be selling unsafe food widely. People would notice.

 

[Hadders]

Probably of the worst trends in recent times has been the selling of products (mainly salad items) in a 'modified atmoshpere', - which is often a euphamism inert gases such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen. The theory is that reducing or removing oxygen slows down the deterioration of organic material within the bags. There are concerns that extending the (sales) life of some foods by this method can actually increase the risk of pathogenic organisms forming. Given that the retailer's real intent is to manipulate the customer's natural methods of judging the quality of food by its appearance, this can create serious problems of food contamination. Normally, organic producers shun the use of such marketing practices so in many instances, those products are much safer, but of course for many, (and not just those who cannot afford to do otherwise), price is everything!

So your not a fan of pre packaged salad?

My view is that it’s horses for courses. Pre packed salad allows smaller household to purchase salad without having to buy excessive quantities (eg a whole lettuce) which would end up as waste.

As for food poisoning I don’t see mass food poisoning as a result of people eating ore packed salad. Of course it could happen but it could also happen with any type of food of correct hygiene methods aren’t followed.

I’ve nothing against organic food but without intensive farming we would have insufficient food.

 

[Tom B]

I would contact them about this and mention "trading standards" when you do. There are hefty fines to be had if prices at the till don't match that which is displayed on the shelf. My local convenience store often has mismatches and missing shelf-edge tickets - you only find out the price at the till, and they don't give out itemised till receipts either. I had an embarrassing moment a few weeks ago when I didn't have enough money to cover the stuff in my basket when I'd carefully added everything up as I went along.

It is not quite so absolute - if I pick up a tin of beans that has a shelf ticket of 50p, and get to the till and it comes up as 70p, I can still decide to not buy the beans, the contract isn't formed until you pay the cashier. The opposite would be if you went to a restaurant (remember those?) and ordered steak and chips for £12.00 off the menu, and the bill came and it was £25.00.

Odd such cases wouldn't be of concern to TS, but if a shop was known for putting the wrong prices on, or was doing it maliciously, or didn't have any real process in place to check etc, they would probably take a closer interest.

I think there may be a legal get-out for 'obviously incorrect' things - such as the flights to Australia which were accidentally put on sale at £1.50 or whatever a few years ago. Where a reasonable impartial observer would take one look and realise right away it's an error.

Nevertheless, most reputable shops will, when alerted to this, refund you the difference following a quick check. Indeed, this often extends to where (say) a whole pack of Heinz has been put in the shelves with the cheaper economy sticker on.

 

[111-111-1]

So your not a fan of pre packaged salad?

My view is that it’s horses for courses. Pre packed salad allows smaller household to purchase salad without having to buy excessive quantities (eg a whole lettuce) which would end up as waste.

As for food poisoning I don’t see mass food poisoning as a result of people eating ore packed salad. Of course it could happen but it could also happen with any type of food of correct hygiene methods aren’t followed.

I’ve nothing against organic food but without intensive farming we would have insufficient food.

I accept the waste argument with stuff like lettuce which a hole one will go off before use in a small household. I very rarely but lettuce because of this. Being able to buy loose veg has the avantage that appropriate amount can be buyed for needs so les waste.

The problem with pre packed salad and food poisoning is from a program on tv other than expence.

torn surfaces and slice surfaces give mor surface for bacteria to grow, (mince meet etc has similar problem)

The bit of water in the salad bags and tubs is a grate breeding ground for bacteria.

Organic is only better generally for insect and the like rather than us eating it

 

[david1212]

It is not quite so absolute - if I pick up a tin of beans that has a shelf ticket of 50p, and get to the till and it comes up as 70p, I can still decide to not buy the beans, the contract isn't formed until you pay the cashier.

True but in reality I'm sure with even a small quantity of items most people do not look at the price on the screen as each item is scanned and you do not get the opportunity to look through the printout before paying. Only after paying can you check the receipt and again do you do that before leaving the store unless significantly more than expected e.g. check say meat or alcohol not scanned twice or a significantly different price.

If I have bought something individually marked down or from a range reduced e.g. Christmas items after 27th December or clothing 25% off then I try to watch the screen or at least check the receipt immediately.

Generally I recall a shop has no obligation to sell an item at the marked price or even at all but must advise the price before taking payment.

 

[Mag_seven]

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).

I think now time for the supermarkets to stop these OAP Hours or Key Worker Hours as they have past their usefulness. They were originally brought in during the panic buying phase but that is now over and the shelves are mostly full now. By abolishing them it means that everybody can now stagger their trips to aid social distancing.

 

[111-111-1]

I think now time for the supermarkets to stop these OAP Hours or Key Worker Hours as they have past their usefulness. They were originally brought in during the panic buying phase but that is now over and the shelves are mostly full now. By abolishing them it means that everybody can now stagger their trips to aid social distancing.

Key workers times I can agree with, providing the privilege of jumping the queue facility it kept in place. My only issue is that some who are on a day off rather than between shifts may abuse it or as happened this week with a NHS worker who with 3 people waiting for trolley handles to be cleaned then straight in jumped the queue. (my wait even with the jumper was less than 2 minutes)

The OAP hours need to be kept whilst there are, agreed less than before, long queues outside supermarkets although they should be extended to disabled persons too.

 

[bramling]

Key workers times I can agree with, providing the privilege of jumping the queue facility it kept in place. My only issue is that some who are on a day off rather than between shifts may abuse it or as happened this week with a NHS worker who with 3 people waiting for trolley handles to be cleaned then straight in jumped the queue. (my wait even with the jumper was less than 2 minutes)

The OAP hours need to be kept whilst there are, agreed less than before, long queues outside supermarkets although they should be extended to disabled persons too.

Ultimately priority access for key workers is important for as long as we have large numbers of people off work. It’s not viable for key workers to finish a long shift and then to have to spend ages queuing to get basic supplies. Likewise they don’t always have the option to go at less busy times.

It’s all well and good clapping for key workers, but gestures like priority access in supermarkets done with good grace means so much more in practice.

 

[Busaholic]

Ultimately priority access for key workers is important for as long as we have large numbers of people off work. It’s not viable for key workers to finish a long shift and then to have to spend ages queuing to get basic supplies. Likewise they don’t always have the option to go at less busy times.

It’s all well and good clapping for key workers, but gestures like priority access in supermarkets done with good grace means so much more in practice.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[111-111-1]

Ultimately priority access for key workers is important for as long as we have large numbers of people off work. It’s not viable for key workers to finish a long shift and then to have to spend ages queuing to get basic supplies. Likewise they don’t always have the option to go at less busy times.

It’s all well and good clapping for key workers, but gestures like priority access in supermarkets done with good grace means so much more in practice.

If you read what I wrote I did not say key workers should not recieve priority only that the special times were not needed. My concern is the few who take the P##s using keyworker status to their advantage. I could use my status to jump queues but have not been in the position that I was that short of time. TBH the times the Keyworker hours are at my local do not work for my shifts and I guess many others.

 

[Tom B]

The priority hour criteria vary between supermarkets; tescos, for instance, allow NHS, emergency services and social care workers only. I have found that those more likely to come out with "BUT I'M A KEY WORKER!!!1" are less key than those who won't say anything.

 

[yorkie]

Supermarket giant with stores in York sets up express lane for queuing shoppers

A SUPERMARKET with two stores in York and one in Malton has introduced an express lane for queuing customers.

www.yorkpress.co.uk

From today (May 13), Morrisons, which has stores in Foss Islands Road and Acomb as well as Malton, will be introducing Speedy Shopping for customers doing smaller ‘basket shops’ so they can get in store and complete their shop quicker.

David Potts, Chief Executive of Morrisons, said: “It’s fair that customers doing smaller shopping trips should queue for less time too.

"Speedy Shopping will ensure that Morrisons stores will be more convenient for customers wanting a small basket of items."

An interesting development. That said, it's probably not enough to make me go to Morrisons instead of my local Co-Op for most items (before this started it was the other way round, and I'd rarely go to the Co-Op and usually shop at Morrisons!). I tend to go to larger shops as late in the evening as possible to avoid the queues.

 

[sheff1]

Supermarket giant with stores in York sets up express lane for queuing shoppers

A SUPERMARKET with two stores in York and one in Malton has introduced an express lane for queuing customers.

www.yorkpress.co.uk

An interesting development.

Ah, that explains that - at Morrisons this morning there was chaos inside (no queue outside) due to there being two queues to reach the checkouts and no one, least of all the staff, seeming to know what was going on. At one point someone was coming the wrong way up the aisle, against the queue, trying to find out where to go. If things don't improve quickly, I can seen the system being canned - at our local store, at least.

 

[Busaholic]

Ah, that explains that - at Morrisons this morning there was chaos inside (no queue outside) due to there being two queues to reach the checkouts and no one, least of all the staff, seeming to know what was going on. At one point someone was coming the wrong way up the aisle, against the queue, trying to find out where to go. If things don't improve quickly, I can seen the system being canned - at our local store, at least.

I've had to give up on Morrison's as they've handled it so ineptly locally. The self-service tills, all four of them when they're all operative, which is rare, are hardly being used: they've banned trolleys there, which never happened before, and virtually everyone has a full trolley and has to join a queue for which the end appears to be the entry to a maze. I've only a few items most times, enough to put into a basket if only I could carry one. I tried the option of putting a basket into my trolley and filling that alone to show I wasn't abusing the system by going to self-service, but the unsmiling guardian wasn't going to allow my trolley through, even though (a) there was no-one else there and (b) there's always been room for trolleys, so I had to struggle to remove the basket and put it into the hand that wasn't being used for my walking stick. The early days of each checkout being open are long gone again, despite all Morrison's claims of taking on thousands of extra staff, and the staff are, with some exceptions, the surliest and most unhelpful of any larger store in my area, but that's always been the case in my experience. Shame, they're cheaper than Sainsbury's, but they've lost my custom.

 

[Adsy125]

I don’t understand why you would want to encourage customers to do smaller shops anyway, all it will do is encourage people to go shopping more often, which is surely completely missing the point. If you have people coming in less frequently, say weekly, which would only be an issue for a very small minority, they are putting themselves, and more importantly the staff and other customers at much greater risk.

 

[underbank]

Supermarkets simply would not be selling unsafe food widely. People would notice.

But a lot of the supermarket fruit and veg is pretty tasteless. I went right off salads etc for a few years and thought it was age/illness messing with my sense of taste. Went on holiday to the med and had a salad and it literally brought my mouth to life. When back home we started buying local produce from farmers markets & farm shops and more organic stuff from supermarkets and couldn't believe the difference in taste. All this long transport/storage in artificial environments has ruined the taste.

 

[Hadders]

But a lot of the supermarket fruit and veg is pretty tasteless. I went right off salads etc for a few years and thought it was age/illness messing with my sense of taste. Went on holiday to the med and had a salad and it literally brought my mouth to life. When back home we started buying local produce from farmers markets & farm shops and more organic stuff from supermarkets and couldn't believe the difference in taste. All this long transport/storage in artificial environments has ruined the taste.

I've absolutely nothing against organic food or farmers markets but if we didn't mass produce food we wouldn't have enough food to feed the country.

 

[underbank]

I've had to give up on Morrison's as they've handled it so ineptly locally. The self-service tills, all four of them when they're all operative, which is rare, are hardly being used: they've banned trolleys there, which never happened before, and virtually everyone has a full trolley and has to join a queue for which the end appears to be the entry to a maze. I've only a few items most times, enough to put into a basket if only I could carry one. I tried the option of putting a basket into my trolley and filling that alone to show I wasn't abusing the system by going to self-service, but the unsmiling guardian wasn't going to allow my trolley through, even though (a) there was no-one else there and (b) there's always been room for trolleys, so I had to struggle to remove the basket and put it into the hand that wasn't being used for my walking stick. The early days of each checkout being open are long gone again, despite all Morrison's claims of taking on thousands of extra staff, and the staff are, with some exceptions, the surliest and most unhelpful of any larger store in my area, but that's always been the case in my experience. Shame, they're cheaper than Sainsbury's, but they've lost my custom.

Same here. We used to go weekly to Morrisons but had already started to be fed up with them before Covid, especially their joke of a "bakery" which prided itself on selling fruit scones containing no fruit, burnt hot cross buns, stale "fresh" bread etc. Their "management" of customers in the first couple of weeks of covid was pathetic - they hadn't a clue. We vowed to avoid going in. Booked a click n collect the following week - their website was hopeless, not only functionality but also you couldn't order basics like milk which were all marked as out of stock. Even things you could order ended up unavailable but you dont know that until time to collect, which was another fiasco as the "I'm here" button on the email didn't work, so I had to go in to tell them I was there as there were no staff at the collection point. Then a lot of the fresh stuff had ridiculously short use by dates. Never again. I now do click and collect at Tesco who have a website that works, very few missing items, usually good use-by durations and staff waiting at the collection point. Tesco are a pleasure throughout the process whereas Morrisons are useless at every step.

 

[scotrail158713]

I've absolutely nothing against organic food or farmers markets but if we didn't mass produce food we wouldn't have enough food to feed the country.

That’s ok though. We’re allowed to buy food from wherever we want to. If anything, the last couple of months have proved that some people buying from local shops is helpful, as supermarkets struggle to keep up with demand if we all buy all our food directly from them.

 

[AM9]

I've absolutely nothing against organic food or farmers markets but if we didn't mass produce food we wouldn't have enough food to feed the country.

That's not necessarily true as we currently throw away a lot of food that could have been eaten, stated to be about 4.5m tonnes per year. Slightly off the main topic of this thread but ponder this document in respect of the way we shop including changes during the last two months because of COVID-19:
https://wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Food_ surplus_and_waste_in_the_UK_key_facts_Jan_2020.pdf
Maybe this should be the subject of another thread.

 

[ValleyLines142]

Same here. We used to go weekly to Morrisons but had already started to be fed up with them before Covid, especially their joke of a "bakery" which prided itself on selling fruit scones containing no fruit, burnt hot cross buns, stale "fresh" bread etc. Their "management" of customers in the first couple of weeks of covid was pathetic - they hadn't a clue. We vowed to avoid going in. Booked a click n collect the following week - their website was hopeless, not only functionality but also you couldn't order basics like milk which were all marked as out of stock. Even things you could order ended up unavailable but you dont know that until time to collect, which was another fiasco as the "I'm here" button on the email didn't work, so I had to go in to tell them I was there as there were no staff at the collection point. Then a lot of the fresh stuff had ridiculously short use by dates. Never again. I now do click and collect at Tesco who have a website that works, very few missing items, usually good use-by durations and staff waiting at the collection point. Tesco are a pleasure throughout the process whereas Morrisons are useless at every step.

Agreed. I went to my local Tesco Extra on Sunday and it was the best shopping experience I've had during lockdown. First of all there was no queue to get in, it was just a straight flow and it wasn't massively busy inside either.

My parents swear by Morrisons as being the best for them but for me Tesco will always beat it. I find the produce that I want is cheap, it has decent shelf life and I know where to find everything.

 

[underbank]

I've absolutely nothing against organic food or farmers markets but if we didn't mass produce food we wouldn't have enough food to feed the country.

I didn't say I wanted everyone to stop buying mass produced stuff imported half way around the globe did I? I'm just grateful that people have the choice again. We went through quite a bleak patch of time when the supermarkets dominated the market and strangled the smaller shops/outlets. Over recent years that's been reversed with more and more farmshops, farmers markets opening up giving people the choice. Now, even moreso with lots of small shops, convenience stores etc increasing their product range in areas where the supermarkets have struggled. As the hospitality/leisure sector has effectively closed down for the time being, there's huge amounts of locally produced food now available for domestic customers to buy which used to go through the wholesale chain straight to the hotels, restaurants, cafes, etc - in our town, a firm that used to be a wholesale only greengrocer has moved into home delivery and say they're actually likely to continue even when lockdown is lifted as it's so popular.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Funny how people have different experiences. My local Morrisons is fantastic; never had a problem, staff happy to help etc. More cheery than the staff in the local Aldi who are miserable as sin.

Regarding the food waste, I'm sure people would think twice about throwing away food if what they wanted was hard to get. Perhaps some of these are those who panic-bought at the start of lockdown

 

[route101]

My local morrisons has been haphazard. They have blocked off some of the aisles next to checkouts and put a line between the self checkouts and normal tills . I just have a basket so you have to go all the way to the back of store and back down to the self scans.The stalwart staff can be bit surly but you cant blame them.
Aldi has been less stressfull for me .

 

[Bletchleyite]

My local morrisons has been haphazard. They have blocked off some of the aisles next to checkouts and put a line between the self checkouts and normal tills . I just have a basket so you have to go all the way to the back of store and back down to the self scans.The stalwart staff can be bit surly but you cant blame them.
Aldi has been less stressfull for me .

A few local Co-ops have a rather silly layout that involved two-way aisles and is worse than doing nothing. My nearest one fortunately has one logical route round it so this doesn't really apply.

The other thing I've noticed is that staff are all over the place getting in customers' way (and vice versa) - I thought the idea of closing early was that shelf stacking could be avoided during the day?

 

[greyman42]

I was in Morrisons in York a couple of hours ago and the new system was working fine. I agree with a previous poster about Aldi. It is an awful shopping experience.

 

[superjohn]

I visited Morrison’s in Beccles this afternoon and saw the new queuing arrangements in place. There weren’t enough customers present to see if it made a difference but I think it’s a good idea. Combined with the self service tills being basket only it allows customers with small shops to fly through and increases the throughput of customers to the benefit of everyone. Customers with a couple of items having to stand in a queue full of full trolleys just clogs up the store and prevents more people coming in. I know it isn’t very British to have a queue jumping arrangement but it works. 99.7p petrol was a bonus as well!

The worst experience I have had was at Waitrose in Saxmundham. There was a lengthy queue around the car park and it was moving slowly, when I finally got in it was obvious why. Every customer seemed to be taking the opportunity to inspect the contents of every single shelf in great detail. I am not a browser, I know what I want and that’s what I buy. As such I found this very frustrating. Eventually I approached the self service tills, only to be told that they were now only for ‘Scan as you go’ shoppers. Thankfully the lady on the adjacent tobacco counter took pity on me and scanned my handful of purchases there. If she hadn’t I don’t think I could have faced the queue of trolleys waiting for the regular tills!

Tesco seem to be making the best of a difficult situation. Every one I have visited has had a relatively short and fast moving queue and the self service tills have been available (usually every other one in use) and queue free for those in the know. Ideal for my shopping needs.

 

[david1212]

After my experience today I guess shoppers are getting wise to what were the quieter times. Last week around the same time more queuing at Aldi too but I put that down to Friday being bank holiday. The last twice i have been to my local Tesco superstore around 4pm no queue and just a few. Not today, I didn't count but thinking now at least 40 maybe more. It took 30 minutes to get in. By then the queue was slightly longer. All F&F clothing is 50% off but only a few browsing so unless many more earlier not making a big difference. In the queue perhaps 20% couples and the rest on their own. One couple I presume were mother and daughter from same household as else totally disregarding distancing while both had trolleys so logically mother doing household shopping and daughter grandparents or similar. Inside I saw just one mother with three children.
Most items available and a couple of Tesco only ones finally back.

A few wearing proper masks but I saw nobody with a homemade mask, scarf, buff etc.

The queuing route has been changed to down the side of the store rather than in the car park. I don't know why not there originally unless concerned about enforcing 2m spacing were the queue doubled back. It is undercover but only if no wind so rain coming straight down, if windy the direction would determine if the outer area would be dry or wet.