CCL
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Post by CCL on Mar 22, 2020 8:47:04 GMT -5
Yesterday Sam's Club prior to opening had a line around 3 sides of the building. I'm guessing 200 people. I'd have to be desperate to do that. I don't know if they would even let them all in.
I really wish stores had limited purchases a lot sooner than they did. I think people are panicking due to the empty shelves, partly due to hoarders.
Some of the groceries around here are giving emloyees $2 per hour raises.
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ken a.k.a OMK
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They killed Kenny, the bastards.
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Post by ken a.k.a OMK on Mar 22, 2020 8:55:17 GMT -5
TheHaitian Thank you for what you do and giving us an inside report. Take care of yourself and your family. We need people like you to help keep us going and thinking intelligently about the current situation.
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plugginaway22
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Post by plugginaway22 on Mar 22, 2020 9:06:53 GMT -5
I like the idea of $25, but come on, that is not enough and they can surely do better. How much will that buy for a family? That is less than $1/hour rate increase.
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bookkeeper
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Post by bookkeeper on Mar 22, 2020 10:54:39 GMT -5
Here in the suburbs of Phoenix the grocery stores are starting to catch up. Fresh meat is back on the shelf. Limiting the number of staples people can buy has helped.
I see all the quick fix packaged food that a school age kid could microwave is gone.
All the expensive and fancy cheeses and deli meats are still on the shelf. The liquor distributors are not short of anything. People are buying food instead of beer. I think the stores will catch up as people spend down their emergency funds. Once you have spent your grocery money, you are done stockpiling/hoarding.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Mar 22, 2020 11:29:08 GMT -5
Today was less disturbing than yesterday, when we saw hordes of people rushing in the door, completely ignoring social distancing, right as we opened.
Milk and potatoes are coming in quantities closer to demand. The meat department looked better at opening than yesterday. We had TP (limited quantities) for at least three hours after opening.
It's becoming a bit more common to see folks buying alcohol in larger quantities than usual with less other stuff in the cart. The quantity of hard liquor stored in the back room has shrunk tremendously. This should not be as scary as it sounds, our back room has a tendency to fill up with odd distilled stuff and promoted wine. I'm not cursing the pallets of brand-extension whiskey, caramel-infused vodka, and fruit wines nearly as much as I was three months ago.
At 4 AM, I found myself listening to the BBC in my car and looking at the garden center. Dollars to donuts at some point before next winter, that outdoor space is going to be requisitioned for some other purpose. It's tiny compared to the store, but it is fenced and could be used as a curbside pickup corral, a limited-access store with extremely limited offerings, or some sort of emergency food distribution hub.
On a more positive note, the music playlist for the store has changed. It's pretty heavy on the second British invasion stuff from the early eighties and it is quite remarkable how much it has cheered me up. It constantly reminds me that I survived both the Cold War and high school, which I kinda need right now.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Mar 22, 2020 11:43:41 GMT -5
My neighbor has an autistic son who works at the grocery store I hit regularly. She said that when they assigned him to hours, they tried to assign those where the store was most quiet as to keep him most effective. He gets very easily diverted and doesn’t stay on task well. Then things changed and those hours became the busiest! However, by them needing to run his feet off, apparently it has kept him way more focused on his job. Before, if someone he knew walked into the store, he’d chat with them forever. More than once, I had to fake needing to shop fast to get him back to work.
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on Mar 22, 2020 13:26:22 GMT -5
Winco, my local grocery just started limiting the number of people in the store. We had about 10 minute wait to go in. But it was so much nicer inside than before and no lines at check out. I much preferred standing outside 6 feet apart in the open air than inside. But weather is really nice today. I was able to get everything on my list except Bisquik and sharp cheddar cheese. Fortunately did not need paper products.
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pooks
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Post by pooks on Mar 22, 2020 13:33:18 GMT -5
Anyone have an idea on when the best day/time to go to the grocery store? We need to restock things like meat and milk in the next week, but can go any day/time in the next 7 days?
I am hoping that once people are stocked, the stores won't be so crazy. I haven't been in a grocery store since 3/7 and that was a quick trip late at night.
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oped
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Post by oped on Mar 22, 2020 13:41:02 GMT -5
Anyone have an idea on when the best day/time to go to the grocery store? We need to restock things like meat and milk in the next week, but can go any day/time in the next 7 days? I am hoping that once people are stocked, the stores won't be so crazy. I haven't been in a grocery store since 3/7 and that was a quick trip late at night. See if they do pick up? I had to schedule Friday for this evening...
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Mar 22, 2020 14:38:56 GMT -5
Anyone have an idea on when the best day/time to go to the grocery store? We need to restock things like meat and milk in the next week, but can go any day/time in the next 7 days? I am hoping that once people are stocked, the stores won't be so crazy. I haven't been in a grocery store since 3/7 and that was a quick trip late at night. I was there at 7 am and the store was well stocked when I went Friday. The only thing on my list I could not get was barley, as all dried beans and grains were empty shelves.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Mar 22, 2020 17:25:41 GMT -5
If you are a senior, the stores here have senior hours.
I'm doing order online and store pick up, as I don't live where they will deliver.
If I need a couple of things, I will go during senior hours.
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Mar 22, 2020 19:12:58 GMT -5
Anyone have an idea on when the best day/time to go to the grocery store? We need to restock things like meat and milk in the next week, but can go any day/time in the next 7 days? I am hoping that once people are stocked, the stores won't be so crazy. I haven't been in a grocery store since 3/7 and that was a quick trip late at night. Get in line before they open on a weekday. Decide what you need most and head to that department first.
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mollyanna58
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Post by mollyanna58 on Mar 22, 2020 19:29:59 GMT -5
My sister placed a delivery order, which she has done for several years. She was allowed one roll of toilet paper; one roll, not one multi-pack. This is for a household of four.
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flutterby
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Post by flutterby on Mar 22, 2020 19:37:08 GMT -5
I've done grocery pick up every week for at least two years. As of last week, they've cancelled all pick up and delivery. Now I have to go in. I forgot how much I dislike grocery shopping.
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Ava
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Post by Ava on Mar 22, 2020 20:03:09 GMT -5
This all seems so surreal to me.
I feel I'm living on an alternate universe and one day I'll wake up and everything will be normal again.
Makes me regret all the petty and stupid things.
Now I realize, too late, how good we had it before this coronavirus disrupted everything.
So I went shopping for provisions. I hit three stores and found everything I needed except eggs. I'm afraid eggs are becoming the new toilet paper, at least in my area. I checked the TP aisle in all three stores, but there was none. I have an unopened 18 rolls pack at home but I will buy another pack if I find it. I'm not even ashamed to hoard TP if I find it, at this point.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Mar 22, 2020 20:45:41 GMT -5
This all seems so surreal to me. I feel I'm living on an alternate universe and one day I'll wake up and everything will be normal again. Makes me regret all the petty and stupid things. Now I realize, too late, how good we had it before this coronavirus disrupted everything. So I went shopping for provisions. I hit three stores and found everything I needed except eggs. I'm afraid eggs are becoming the new toilet paper, at least in my area. I checked the TP aisle in all three stores, but there was none. I have an unopened 18 rolls pack at home but I will buy another pack if I find it. I'm not even ashamed to hoard TP if I find it, at this point. It's all the new normal.
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Mar 22, 2020 21:58:36 GMT -5
Earlier this week one of the stores limited people inside when they opened and I waited because the day before they said they were getting eggs in. The elderly and disabled were able to go to the front of the line. Once I got in I felt bad because if anyone in line really needed anything their options were pretty limited. They did have TP and paper towels neither of which we needed so I didn't buy any but they didn't have eggs as those hadn't come in. Went to another local store today and they were limiting people in so you could shop and observe social distancing. Took us maybe 5 minutes to get in and they had a little bit of everything including eggs. They're limiting how many of certain items people can buy which I think is great. The only time we'll go to the store this next week is for produce/dairy then likely another regular trip next weekend to load up for the following week. We've been on lock down for a week and things have been orderly and while the stores still have some empty shelves it seems like they're getting more in to meet the increase in demand.
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countrygirl2
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Post by countrygirl2 on Mar 22, 2020 22:47:28 GMT -5
Think about this, the people that depend on weekly paychecks are in trouble. Many may have been off work this week. They will not be able to buy food next week. That's when its going to start getting serious. I keep telling hubs, keep the house locked if we are not home. Telling DD let the TV play, I have my computer on the table running or looking like it is. If someone looks in the window they may think we are in the bathroom or bedroom as we are home a lot. But no cars in the garage dead giveaway. I'm thinking of roller blinds in the garage.
I am working at the rent house tomorrow but I wonder about after that. We have plenty to eat but only if we can keep it. When people start getting desperate, they will start taking. Right now people are fed and still civilized, it can devolve quickly if they have no money for food. Congress is screwing around, worrying about corporations instead of people. But even if they get a couple of checks for stimulus money, its going to go quickly and will things be back to normal in a month or so. Somehow I doubt it. This is getting real and those without are going to hate people they think have something. And many of them are armed.
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imanangel
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Post by imanangel on Mar 22, 2020 22:52:29 GMT -5
All the stores in my area have pretty empty shelves. There isn't any bread, tortillas, peanut butter, TP, paper towels, cleaning supplies, baby wipes, pasta, rice, flour, and on and on. I was able to get a little bit of meat and fresh veggies. Thankfully, it is just me in my house right now, so I don't need a lot. I do have flour and rice in my pantry. I split my package of TP and paper towels with my DIL because she didn't have the money to stock up and when they got paid, it was all gone.
Our store in using one door to go in, and the other set of doors to go out. They are now limiting how many people can be in the store at a time, and how many items you can buy of each. Of course, there are some people who still try to ignore those limits. I saw one lady with 12 packs of TP in her cart at Home Depot (this was about a week or so ago), when the limit said 4.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on Mar 22, 2020 23:05:07 GMT -5
I work at a sporting goods store. We have been cleaned out of guns and ammo. It's ridiculous. People who have never owned firearms are buying them and it's scary. People are calling asking a bunch of questions that they should know the answer to if they knew anything about a gun. I want to tell them that they shouldn't own a firearm if they don't know. One guy got mad because my manager told him that under no circumstance were we going to sell him 30 firearms. We had to start limiting ammo sales to 3 boxes per person. No way are we selling 30 guns to the same person!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2020 23:50:03 GMT -5
I think it was Zib who once suggested I needed mental health assistance for saying poor people pushed to where they couldn't feed their kids would take up arms and get it from those who had it. Unfortunately, I think we might find out unless someone comes up with some long-term solutions to the current problems.
I don't live in fear of violence because of where I am living. However, if I were in many parts of CA or NY, I would very much fear crime and perhaps even riots. Most of the service industry and poorer people in HCOL areas live very, very close to the edge and a week or two without income and things start to go seriously wrong.
It isn't helping that the Dear Leader of our country goes on TV for at least an hour every day and talks about how he, his cohorts, and leaders of large corporations are all fantastic and he makes promises of "big checks to come" for people out of work.
When people need to eat and those bigly government checks don't arrive it just won't be pretty. There are already tons of complaints about being able to get a UI claim filed, let alone processed.
There are some constitutional issues, apparently, for congress to vote on bills outside of Washington. Imagine if a few more members test positive and no stimulus ever shows up? Not everyone has family or anyone who can help them.
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Mar 23, 2020 4:27:30 GMT -5
Yesterday was the slowest since this started so I think people are starting to run out of either space for food or money (for us it is space). Was able to leave after 11 hours....
Also that allow us to somewhat replenish in some departments, we still have lots of empty spaces / holes but it is getting better... we have some stuff / product on the shelves.
Still no toilet paper, no paper towels, no wipes and hand sanitizer (they sell within the first 2 hours of the store opening even with the limit of 1).
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Mar 23, 2020 4:29:51 GMT -5
I think it was Zib who once suggested I needed mental health assistance for saying poor people pushed to where they couldn't feed their kids would take up arms and get it from those who had it. Unfortunately, I think we might find out unless someone comes up with some long-term solutions to the current problems. I don't live in fear of violence because of where I am living. However, if I were in many parts of CA or NY, I would very much fear crime and perhaps even riots. Most of the service industry and poorer people in HCOL areas live very, very close to the edge and a week or two without income and things start to go seriously wrong. It isn't helping that the Dear Leader of our country goes on TV for at least an hour every day and talks about how he, his cohorts, and leaders of large corporations are all fantastic and he makes promises of "big checks to come" for people out of work. When people need to eat and those bigly government checks don't arrive it just won't be pretty. There are already tons of complaints about being able to get a UI claim filed, let alone processed. There are some constitutional issues, apparently, for congress to vote on bills outside of Washington. Imagine if a few more members test positive and no stimulus ever shows up? Not everyone has family or anyone who can help them. This is the part I am concerned about and it seems the people above me are also. Started today all our stores will have an armed guard from opening to close The store is to be alarmed at all times after the armed guard leaves If we are to unalarmed the store for any reason, it rehires at least 2 people in the front After 8:30 we are to stay up front to make sure all associates make it to their respective cars safely. Brave new world!
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Mar 23, 2020 4:32:46 GMT -5
Anyone have an idea on when the best day/time to go to the grocery store? We need to restock things like meat and milk in the next week, but can go any day/time in the next 7 days? I am hoping that once people are stocked, the stores won't be so crazy. I haven't been in a grocery store since 3/7 and that was a quick trip late at night. Within the first 2-3 hours after they open if you need paper product Also good depending the time staff comes in before store opens to replenish in produce / meat and fresh foods. Really most importantly depends on that store truck schedule. Our truck schedule have been so out of wack that if my perishable truck comes in at noon, people shopping in the afternoon get better product (and more) than those that shopped that morning.
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Mar 23, 2020 4:37:11 GMT -5
I really wish stores had limited purchases a lot sooner than they did. The problem I don’t think anyone saw it coming... heck I pass up on toilet paper and paper towels at Costco when the limit was 2 and no limit on water. Now they even have limit of 1 for a water... The problem is we have been lied to about it was nothing for so long that we ignored it and the bad news followed bad news is what made it worse. school after school closing, job closing, government closing everything, cases skyrocketing... It hit us all like a ton of brick out of nowhere and everything said: FUCK and freaked out!
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deminmaine
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Post by deminmaine on Mar 23, 2020 9:04:02 GMT -5
Thank you for your hard work TheHaitian, and to ALL who are performing such "essential" jobs right now. We are all grateful.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2020 9:57:42 GMT -5
This is the part I am concerned about and it seems the people above me are also. Started today all our stores will have an armed guard from opening to close The store is to be alarmed at all times after the armed guard leaves If we are to unalarmed the store for any reason, it rehires at least 2 people in the front After 8:30 we are to stay up front to make sure all associates make it to their respective cars safely. Brave new world! In my small town, the locally owned Grocery Outlet has a big sign on the door that if you need food and can't afford it, to ask and they will happily give you some no questions asked. I think it is not only to be a contributor to the local community, but also to help prevent theft and crime after hours.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Mar 23, 2020 10:01:32 GMT -5
Hey Carl, thanks for all you do. Wonder if you could shed some light on this? I went to Walmart to get some things and when I went down the dish soap aisle ALL the Dawn was gone. Every other dish soap brand you could ever want was there but Dawn was cleaned out and has been for weeks. What is up with that? I feel like there is this invisible line people won't cross. "It may be the apocalypse but I would rather die than use Palmolive dish soap!". The hoarding patterns are weird to me and make me think people are buying stuff for the sake of having stuff on hand than actually prepping. What are you going to do with 20 bags of flour if you didn't buy any baking powder/soda/sugar yeast to go with it? This is where it has paid to be a nerd who reads/collects cookbooks for fun. I've had a strategy every time I shop. Those cans of chick peas i bought are not only a cheap source of protein but I can use the liquid in the cans as an egg substitute. I also hope people do massive donations to food pantries after this because from what I've been seeing unless we are truly in a Walking Dead situation the majority of people leaving Walmart are not going to use all those products up in their lifetimes. Stores here have already made it very clear you aren't getting your money back should you try to return your hoard. You own what you bought. Good for them, no way should they lose money after you realize what an idiot you were.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Mar 23, 2020 10:08:26 GMT -5
I really don't get all the stock up on stuff (like dish soap). I suspect there will be alot of spoiled food (or just food noone wants to eat (canned sardines? Canned asparagus? the bags of flour/sugar purchased when no one actually bakes in the household) and other products hitting the landfill within a year.
fWIW: actual "stocking up" usually requires a plan of some sort - so you stock up on ingredients you will use in recipes you will actually make. That means having a menu plan (probably for a week at a time) AND having the recipes/ingredients to go with that plan. At this point in my life - the only people I know with menu plans are my fellow Weight Watchers. We all started out eating 'whatever/whenever we wanted' and have all graduate up to weightloss and having weekly menu plans. Everyone else seems to make up what it is they will eat on the spur of the moment AND usually involves figuring out which restaurant to eat at or dine in from...
I'm guessing all the goofy shopping going on now - is just buying stuff willy nilly with no clue as to what to do with it.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Mar 23, 2020 10:14:12 GMT -5
I bought a couple things I don't normally buy like creamed corn. I actually have a plan for it though. I make corn and sweet potato chowder. Buying a can of creamed corn gets me the texture while using less fresh dairy. That makes the milk and my stash of evaporated milk (which I do use for cooking constantly so it will be used up) last longer.
I am not against stock piling in general but people should be smart about it. Also I do not abide people taking everything that is not nailed down. There are people in situations who cannot afford or do not live in situations where they can hoard. You do not need 8 dozen eggs at a time, leave some of those for the single mother who just lost her server position and needs a cheap protein source for her kids. Use freaking Google to look up substitutes you could easily afford (ground flax seed is another one) that are plentiful on the shelves.
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