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First senior time at Stop & Shop creates just the conditions seniors were told to avoid
By adamg on Thu, 03/19/2020 - 9:15am
Mary Ellen shows us the line of seniors waiting to get into the Dedham Stop & Shop at 6 a.m.
She reports that once the door were open, things inside were fine - until people started getting into line to pay.
Mike Ball of Hyde Park reports from the Hyde Park Stop & Shop:
I went to Stop & Shop's first geezer hour...a mistake. Every other grayhead in Hyde Park did too. As always, our group is slow and inefficient.
I'm betting later today or tomorrow will have some restocking. This morning at 6:20, all meats frozen and fresh were pretty much gone, as was bread.(Plus/minus, no wipes by the door; fortunately I brought a small pack with a few to wipe down the cart handle and checkout machines.)
There was a real sense of self-centered behavior, as one might expect on the edge of the abyss. I might swing to Shaw's later to see whether I can flesh out the shopping list.
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Comments
Pick Up Order
Stores are going to have to very quickly either move to a delivery service model or curbside pick up.
Its the only way. I fear if this drags on and we don't quelle this, 'free will' will become a thing of the past in the near future
supermarkets already have delivery problems
Roche Brothers has suspended taking delivery orders. Stop and Shop's delivery times are booked until next Weds, and they don't book times beyond that Weds. So hopefully, they both can get more deliveries out. I'm guessing they don't have enough trucks or drivers for the orders.
Star Market has elder hours Tues and Thurs morning. Roche has started very morning for an hour. That will probably lighten up Stop and Shop's crowds during elder hours.
Shaw's InstaCart
is not even taking orders at most stores.
A massive corporation designed explicitly to provide groceries has a fully operational apparatus in place to reduce customer interaction
AND THEY WONT EVEN USE IT
...because it's probably overloaded with requests...
and they don't have the manpower available...
Walmart has been advertising
Walmart has been advertising this for months now. They had a great Superbowl Ad about it.
You are right this would make so much sense. No need to keep on restocking shelves perfectly.
You order online, jump in the que at the store to pick it up and they bring it out to you. One line of cars, one line of people. If you do not have a computer at home the stores can offer Ipads that are sanitized between uses.
I should make this its own post for dicussion but
I've made alot of comments on social media lately about our supermarkets in our area and how they are managing with all of this.
I can't speak for Shaw's or Star Market (none near me)
But Stop & Shop just keeps having follies. They are running out of stuff and it's due to their supply chain and how they manage product in their warehouses. S&S pretty much only stocks at night, with high sales, this has backfired repeatedly on them. They do this to 'save money' but in reality its biting them in the ass.
Market Basket on the other hand continuously stocks all the time, through out the day. They get trucks all day long. You might go in the morning and not see one item, but go back a few hours later after a truck arrived, and it might be there. Market Basket puts stock out immediately.
Stop & Shop just doesn't.
But Market Basket doesn't have grocery delivery, such as Peapod. And while you can use Instacart, between fees, marked up items, and random selection.. I'd just rather use Peapod so I know I will get what I really want. (good luck getting a delivery soon from either one.. so booked up)
The other good thing to note is both their business model and how they acquire goods. S&S uses credit terms.Its a risk for the vendor, and often they don't make money if the product doesn't sell.
Verses Market Basket.. the cash cow. Market Basket pays cash for everything, up front. So they call a vendor and say "I want this much product, but I only want to pay xxx for it". Since the vendor can get cash up front, no credit needed, and all the product leaves their warehouse upon purchase, they listen and providing it's within reasonable pricing, it goes. Market Basket's purchase managers are some of the most respected, and well sought out deals in the grocery industry because of their business model
Logistics and procurement of goods between the two really plays out. Again, it goes back to stock levels, and how fast can you restock. Vendors are going to pick up the phone for Market Basket because its a cash sale over S&S where credit will have to be given.
Its a toss up for now. I fear if we go into more lock down, I'm not sure how Market Basket plans on doing business if they limit people inside. The line would be insane. The management at MB needs to move fast and move to online ordering with delivery or curbside pick up. Or team up with Instacart to fix pricing and inventory/selection issues. Like yesterday. This is where their resistance to the web really will backfire on them.
As someone who likes to learn/read about supermarkets and their functions, this has been interesting to watch to say the least. It also shows how vulnerable we are when getting food becomes an issue.
Source for Most of this:
We Are Market Basket by Dan Korschun
Senior Hours at Market Basket
Over 60 and people with disabilities get first crack at the store.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 5:30 to 7:00
I don't worry much about MB - they have the flexibility to pivot to handle the situation, as they have plenty of staff.
Credit is no good for an ocean salesman
Cash for the merchandise, cash for the button hooks
Cash for the cotton goods, cash for the hard goods
Cash for the fancy goods
Cash for the noggins and the piggins and the firkins
Cash for the hogshead, cask and demijohn.
Cash for the crackers and the pickles and the flypaper.
Meanwhile, things are looking
Meanwhile, things are looking pretty good at Trader Joe's, except for TP, frozen goods, pasta, and coffee (seems like lots of 'take-out' people are hitting the easy-to-cook items). Plenty of Indian meals and dumplings left though.
Also, this is what happens
Also, this is what happens when people hoard stuff, and it's funny there are no supply chain issues.. yet. IF that happens, THEN things will get out of hand.
Why are they not standing 6'
Why are they not standing 6' apart?!
Nobody is at work yet
That means nobody to police the line like they do at Costco.
I don't think they anticipated the crush.
Because it's almost
Because it's almost impossible for a line of people to self-organize at a wide spacing.
Kind of like how you can't have a snaking line without the ropes. Even if people want to follow the system, it's too chaotic without a physical guide.
Anybody could have told you this would happen
Anybody could have told you this would happen. People keep making counterintuitive decisions like the T cutting back service instead of increasing it. (Despite promises to restore service, the Blue Line is still moving sluggishly). And now this.
they
are not standing 6 ft apart because they are Americans who have been propagandized for decades such that sound medical advice ("stand 6 feet apart") doesn't stand, as it should, in the foreground against a backdrop of neoliberal lies--rather it is to them not distinguishable from said background.
South Korea tests 10,000 people a day for coronavirus. China, a communist country, has had more and better access to information about the spread of coronavirus than we have here in the USA.
It is all over now, baby. Nothing left to do but do our best for each other where possible, but don't waste your time trying to give American people information, as they have *mostly* no use for it.
carts are natural distancing devices!
I saw a great pic online of a really long store line but the line was "long" because they made every person queued up have a shopping cart in front of themselves. It naturally separated people out at least during the line/waiting part.
Carts? You mean carriages,
Carts? You mean carriages, right?
A shopping cart and shopping
A shopping cart and shopping carriage are terms used for the same object.
Buggy
Buggy is another...
This is nuts
I've been grocery shopping 4 times this month: twice at Costco and twice at Stop & Shop (Dedham and Roslindale). Never had more than 4 people in line. Usually I go in the early afternoon. The stores are pretty crowded and a little chaotic. Yes, I've seen empty meat coolers and bread shelves, but always managed to find what I wanted or something close to it. Maybe it's because I already had enough toilet paper. My advice is to watch the news and do something opposite.
The opposite of grocery shopping