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Like April, only colder, outside the Roche Bros. in West Roxbury
By adamg on Wed, 12/23/2020 - 1:33pm
People were lining up outside the Roche Bros. in West Roxbury early this afternoon, a store counter only letting people in as people left. Roche Bros. shoppers tend to be ruthlessly efficient, though, so the line moved quickly.
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Comments
If you wait in line outside
You usually don't have to wait in line inside.
And you can shop in a depopulated store, which is quicker.
Grocery shopping in February
Grocery shopping in February is going to be a real joy next year...
Check the google "popular times" charts for your store of choice
I started doing this in April/May and then started again in October. It reflects relatively recent data, so it is possible to find slack times to shop that fit your schedule.
Seems like most places that I go are particularly slow on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings (and the shops are generally fully stocked then, too), but your stores of choice may differ.
I went to Market Basket Burlington last night at 7:00 (combining some errands) and it was pretty quiet. No line outside, no line inside.
Good idea, I had noticed that
Good idea, I had noticed that feature but haven't thought much about it. I'm usually an early shopper, but how early I go often depends on what other obligations I have to do first.
The store I must have spent more time waiting outside of, and most frequently, was Home Depot. I usually go to the Quincy Adams store and they were using the garden center entrance at the far end of the building; one time the line stretched the entire length of the building. Of course, the worst was those times I'd end up waiting in that damn line multiple times in the same day, because it ended up being a bigger project than originally thought.
ugh
I consider myself lucky, I work a flexible job, and I told my manager that 12-2 on Tuesdays is grocery shopping day. I explained my health condition and my reasons, and she's OK with it (to be honest she's flexible like this regardless).
So I go in the middle of the day. Less crowded, and I am in and out.
It isn’t like this at all area groceries?
We never stopped having a line outside the Newton Trader Joe’s, and at peak times at Chestnut Hill Wegmans....
I haven't once waited in line outside
At Roche Brother's Downtown Crossing
Whole Foods Charles River Plaza
Star Market Causeway St.
I may pick my shopping times to make a outside line less likely when I shop YMMV.
No
I've never had to wait in line at the West Roxbury or Dedham Stars or the Dedham Stop & Shop. Granted, they're way larger than the West Roxbury Roche Bros. or the Chestnut Hill Wegman's.
Grocery shopping two days before Christmas
at Roche Bros in the afternoon = amateurs.
Shaw's on HP Ave was doing
Shaw's on HP Ave was doing this on the day before Thanksgiving. I have to go tomorrow and they will probably do it too.
Appointments
It would be very handy if supermarkets allowed people to make appointments.
Wouldn't work
People would make appointments and not show, make appointments and show up with their spouse or their boyfriend or their cousin or their six kids, etc.
I can work
The restaurant industry has no problem mixing reserved tables with walk-ins. If you make a dinner reservation for 2 people and arrive with 5, you're not going to be seated if they busy.
A reservation would basically allow someone to cut to the front of the line. That's what they are already doing with Instacart, etc.
False equivalency.
Restaurants managed walk-ins and reservations in Ye Olden Days, not in the present with our extremely restricted space and customer limits. I see that you really think there should be a way for You to get around things.
Huh?
It's basically the exact same thing, except even simpler for a grocery store. Restaurants have to juggle the number of tables and seats and potentially consolidate tables for large parties. A supermarket just has a certain number of customers allowed in the store at any given time. They should have a pretty decent idea of how long most people spend in the store so they issue an appropriate number of reservations with some leeway for slowpokes and to allow some walk-ins from the line to shop.
It's pretty simple to figure out the issues. No-shows mean that a few customers standing in line outside get to go in a bit earlier. Reservations explicitly state the maximum number of people allowed in on the reservation. Got more? The extras get to stand at the end of the line.
You sure restaurant reservations work so well?
I'm not sure restaurant reservations are the best example of how this would all work so flawlessly, but in any event, I don't see supermarkets managing the clicker to count the number of people in store, keeping people in line, making sure they're all masked up, and then some rando walks to the head of the line and wants you to check for their reservation, all the while people are coming out...a complete cluster. No. You want to solve this, it's first come first served and parties of one only, the sole exception being parents with young children. No Instacart exception. Having to wait your turn will make people consider whether they really have to shop.
Yes
Did you know Sweden has very few laundromats? Why? because most apartment buildings have laundry facilities. You make an appointment to do laundry.
No shows or running over is the #1 cause of any apartment dwelling issues in Sweden.
Appointments at the Supermarket would be the same.
Meaning...
...the #1 cause of conflict between shoppers?
Meaning
Appointments do not work. People don't take it seriously.
Lol fuck that
Lol fuck that
Armored truck
Note the armored truck at left, presumably picking up all the cash that these shoppers will be leaving at the store. And presumably the truck driver and crew won't need to wait in line to enter the store.