Success is getting what you want; happiness is liking what you get

Tuesday 31 March 2020

Lock Down Shopping

In line with the medical view that over 70s should not be going out to get their groceries during the lockdown, we investigated on-line shopping and delivery.  It would be well worth the charge to get it safely delivered to our door.  First, we had to register, then spent quite some time checking the website for the products we needed. Then came the frustration, with our order ready, we had to pick a “slot” (day and time) for either pick-up or delivery.  But there were no slots available, and seemingly no way of leaving the order ready on-line for the next available slot.  All this took a couple of hours, grrrr!

Robin rang through to the office and told the person on the other end of the phone about our predicament.  How could we stay home as advised and get our groceries delivered.  The answer was, “Come down now, the queue is not too long”.  So that’s what we did, donning a couple of face masks which Robin found kicking around somewhere.

The line outside the shop was orderly, all standing well apart, and the one at the front of the queue was handed a trolley and allowed in the door each time someone exited with their trolley of groceries.  After 15 minutes of waiting, it was finally our turn – although shoppers are meant to go on their own, he allowed both of us in together.  Perhaps we looked rather old and doddery?  With a list in hand, we quickly got what we wanted.  But then we had to wait in an even longer queue snaking around the store till we finally reached the checkout.  Goodness knows how the really elderly cope with all this standing and waiting.

We knew that the checkouts had changed somewhat, although this was our first experience of the changes.  We unloaded the items at the end of the counter, then stood well back behind the Perspex screen.  The items were scanned and placed into another trolley behind the operator, who then wheeled it around, for us to collect.  Payment was made by credit card, no cash allowed, and although I didn't witness it, I presume that the terminal would be wiped down between customers.  We had to pack our own groceries into bags, which we did at the car.

There was a bit of excitement while we were patiently queuing and waiting our turn at the check-out.  A younger woman had walked down between the aisles and sneaked in front, instead of walking back around the store and going to the end of the queue.  She had been told to move but just stayed at the front, finally walking up to the next available checkout and unloading her trolley.  The manager came rushing up, telling her to put her things back into her trolley and get to the end of the line, as she had already been told!  F*%# You, she said, and flounced out of the store, leaving someone else, of course, to put all her items back on the shelves.

Walking around the shop it was good to note that we never noticed a single case of anyone coughing, sneezing or spluttering, so that was good.  Still couldn't buy any flour though, although there seemed to be plenty of TP in stock.  And as a treat, a packet or two of Easter Eggs jumped into our trolley, we needed them after all that stress!

We will give on-line shopping another try in the near future, hopefully it will be more successful next time we try.

6 comments:

Bernice said...

The frustrations of getting a times slot....the next available day rolls over at midnight, I’ve stayed up to book a slot for the past three nights but by 12.01 all the slots are fully booked! I’ve written an email to them but haven’t heard back from them....I’m immune compromised at present and Roy is over 70 so we are trying our best.
Good luck, it ain’t easy.

Eileen said...

Hi Jenny, excuse my ignorance but what is TP?

Eileen said...

I did manage to secure a spot, granted it wasn't until next Monday, but even so I felt very relieved. Only to get an email today saying my order had been cancelled and hoping it was an inconvenience!

Katie said...

Oh my goodness. We're having the same problem here. No slots for delivery or pickup. I suppose we will have to drag ourselves out of bed for the 6am-7am senior shopping hour. Sigh.

Janice said...

What a rigmarole! We did our groceries this morning. The only difference we had to usual was a security guard at the front door. He was a retired fellow, so I’m not quite sure what he would have been able to do. There was no loo paper or flour, but the loo paper aisle was full of nappies. Other than the items we keep hearing about on the news, a lot of the shelves were very well packed. The only change at the checkout is that you have to pack your own bag. This is still done at the checkout. Maybe things will tighten more soon. One other thing is that on three days a week the supermarket opens at 7am to 8am for pensioners and seniors only. I hope it is a bit easier next time you need to shop.

dq said...

I enjoyed reading your shopping story. It is not that I am glad you have to shop that way, but it is history. I like reading about how different areas are doing their shopping. I live in a very small community of 500 people. We have a tiny grocery store. I have been able to shop there being the only one in the store. I am very lucky.

I also shop at a larger store in a town 10 minutes away. I call ahead and place my order, drive to the store, and someone brings out my items. This last time I gave her a bag of masks which were greatly appreciated.