Panic buying...

[Accy cyclist]

You don't get anything, you've to pay for everything you want. And some things you never knew you needed.

Oh, right!

 

[classic33]

Oh, right!

Especially those from t'over Pennines!

You've been warned.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Especially those from t'over Pennines!

You've been warned.

 

[ColinJ]

I saw the sweet shop on the Ch4 news tonight - they have now closed for the duration!

I also spotted my former home and a couple of people who looked familiar from when I lived in Hebden Bridge.

 

[slowmotion]

If you believe a whole army of bored, highly creative and under-employed journalists, New Zealanders have been stocking up on sex toys.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...iple-during-new-zealands-coronavirus-lockdown

What exactly is a "beginner sex toy"? Does it pack up and stop early?

 

[PK99]

If you believe a whole army of bored, highly creative and under-employed journalists, New Zealanders have been stocking up on sex toys.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...iple-during-new-zealands-coronavirus-lockdown

What exactly is a "beginner sex toy"? Does it pack up and stop early?

It explodes after 30 seconds

 

[Notafettler]

No need to panic buy at the shops, from Tesco this morning
Ensuring we support our most vulnerable customers is our priority. This week we have almost 1 million delivery slots, which is around 400,000 more than we had six weeks ago. We’ll increase this to 1.2 million deliveries per week in the next few weeks.
That's some increase. Driver told me hired new drivers and pickers. Plus new vehicles. Hellish quick in getting these new vehicles?

 

[classic33]

No need to panic buy at the shops, from Tesco this morning
Ensuring we support our most vulnerable customers is our priority. This week we have almost 1 million delivery slots, which is around 400,000 more than we had six weeks ago. We’ll increase this to 1.2 million deliveries per week in the next few weeks.
That's some increase. Driver told me hired new drivers and pickers. Plus new vehicles. Hellish quick in getting these new vehicles?

Biggest limit will have been driver hours, not vehicles. "New" vehicles may well be from hire companies who will have had them sat doing nothing. Shared by a number of drivers, in the same 24 hour period.

 

[mjr]

No Traffic wardens

Oh but they're so sweet!

 

[mjr]

No need to panic buy at the shops, from Tesco this morning
Ensuring we support our most vulnerable customers is our priority. This week we have almost 1 million delivery slots, which is around 400,000 more than we had six weeks ago. We’ll increase this to 1.2 million deliveries per week in the next few weeks.
That's some increase. Driver told me hired new drivers and pickers. Plus new vehicles. Hellish quick in getting these new vehicles?

And the new drivers and pickers will be on the scrap heap as soon as this is over, probably. This is like most "N-hundred jobs created by new store" stories: zero hour and toast once the honeymoon is over.

It's rare to get a collection slot here from any store. Delivery slots for non vulnerable are even rarer. And when you do, several basic items have sold out, or even worse, are substituted on the day. I'veb placed two orders with a nearby windmill recently because it's the only place I've found a reliable flour supply. The supermarkets are failing us.

 

[classic33]

And the new drivers and pickers will be on the scrap heap as soon as this is over, probably. This is like most "N-hundred jobs created by new store" stories: zero hour and toast once the honeymoon is over.

It's rare to get a collection slot here from any store. Delivery slots for non vulnerable are even rarer. And when you do, several basic items have sold out, or even worse, are substituted on the day. I'veb placed two orders with a nearby windmill recently because it's the only place I've found a reliable flour supply. The supermarkets are failing us.

Getting it delivered is no different to going to their stores. They have still got shortages there as well. The only difference being you substitute for an item that isn't in stock.

That's always been the case.

There's s chance that some of those doing the picking/delivering were on zero hour contracts elsewhere, doing similar work. The only difference being, there wasn't classed as important as somewhere selling food, so closed for the duration.

Two local supermarkets are doing 24 hours. Restocking when closed to the public, but that side of things seldom seems to get mentioned. The shelves don't restack themselves, and orders don't pick themselves.

 

[PaulSB]

No need to panic buy at the shops, from Tesco this morning
Ensuring we support our most vulnerable customers is our priority. This week we have almost 1 million delivery slots, which is around 400,000 more than we had six weeks ago. We’ll increase this to 1.2 million deliveries per week in the next few weeks.
That's some increase. Driver told me hired new drivers and pickers. Plus new vehicles. Hellish quick in getting these new vehicles?

Our household ceased being a Tesco customer a number of years ago when we moved to ALDI. There are items ALDI do not offer and these we do buy in Tesco.

Locally it's been very interesting to observe how very, very poorly Tesco have performed throughout this crisis. Our local ALDI being the complete opposite.

Since panic buying and lockdown began ALDI have been fully stocked with everything we usually buy and I've once queued for five minutes to enter the store. There were two visits when there was no toilet paper, one with no arborica rice and porridge oats - hardly a crisis.

Yesterday I walked straight in to ALDI, when I arrived at Tesco the queue was estimated at one hour. I base this on it being 50% longer than the one I stood in for 40 minutes last week. Last week, and on previous visits, shelf after shelf was empty, not a few things but huge gaps across the store. This actually fuels panic buying. Yesterday I left, took the two mile, longer route home via a larger ALDI and picked up the extras I needed. There's also a Tesco opposite this ALDI - people were queuing to get in here as well.

For us Tesco has long been in a downward spiral, particularly in most customer relations areas, and this crisis has exposed their weaknesses.

It's no surprise to me delivery slots are impossible to get and when one does a wide range of product is missing. This isn't meant to be a rant against Tesco but an observation/report on how badly the company is performing at a time of crisis.

 

[vickster]

And the new drivers and pickers will be on the scrap heap as soon as this is over, probably. This is like most "N-hundred jobs created by new store" stories: zero hour and toast once the honeymoon is over.

As said, many staff will go back to previous jobs once reopened. My SiL is doing early morning picking at Sainsburys as she’s been furloughed from her job in a West End theatre. There was an article on beeb site about others working in supermarkets as they’ve been furloughed (an actress and a recruitment consultant iirc)

 

[Electric_Andy]

when I arrived at Tesco the queue was estimated at one hour. ....shelf after shelf was empty. This actually fuels panic buying.

Is it Tesco's fault though? Ordering stock for a store that size is very complicated, especially during this period. Had they ordered 1000 more packets of flour, they might have been rationed by the suppliers, or ordered it but delayed by the delivery chain. Or simply there is not always enough room "out the back" for much higher volumes of food that are needed now. Panic buying is led by the customers. Some people will see 3 packets of eggs left on the shelf and think "I only need one, so I'll only buy one". But many people would buy all 3, just in case there's never any more eggs in.

 

[PaulSB]

Is it Tesco's fault though? Ordering stock for a store that size is very complicated, especially during this period. Had they ordered 1000 more packets of flour, they might have been rationed by the suppliers, or ordered it but delayed by the delivery chain. Or simply there is not always enough room "out the back" for much higher volumes of food that are needed now. Panic buying is led by the customers. Some people will see 3 packets of eggs left on the shelf and think "I only need one, so I'll only buy one". But many people would buy all 3, just in case there's never any more eggs in.

I certainly understand and to an extent agree with this view. I'm not though thinking only of food items but across the whole range of household goods. For example the entire range of household cleaning products was out of stock at Tesco but present at ALDI. Yes it is very difficult to manage the huge range Tesco offer, what I'm reporting is my local experience that one company is managing the situation well and another appears to be failing badly.

Panic buying is certainly lead by customers but when items which one would not expect to find missing or very low on stock it stimulates this further.