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Costco has done a really good job of handling this tough situation. Beyond this, I've noticed a few other things: * Stock most items overnight so that if you a
by Exmoor 7y ago
Costco has done a really good job of handling this tough situation. Beyond this, I've noticed a few other things:
* Stock most items overnight so that if you absolutely need something you can prioritize getting there before they open and likely getting it rather than having to come back over and over (or go to multiple other stores), which limits exposure.
* Set aside additional hours before the general opening for seniors.
* Limit high-demand items. This does have some perverse ramifications for a few items. For instance, we wanted about 4 dozen eggs to get us through a few weeks. Unfortunately the smaller packs were limited to 1 so we ended up having to buy 5 dozen.
* Flood the market with in-demand items to create confidence. I think this is a Seattle thing, but last week I started seeing social mediate posts showing literal aisles composed of nothing but toilet paper. Many people (myself included to some extent) are just just buying because they don't want to get caught without TP when they run out, but if they feel that it's likely it will be in stock they won't rush out to buy some immediately.
- zamalek 7y agoThey also limit the number of people in aisles, sanitize carts, and are generally trying to do things right.
- 01100011 7y agoNot in the bay area(San Jose, Coleman Ave). I was there a few days ago. Not as busy as a pre-covid Costco of course, but the aisles were still busy and only a couple of the shoppers seemed to have any awareness of personal space. When I went to Lucky market today, they at least had blue tape near the checkout to indicate proper spacing(although the guy behind me was oblivious). Costco needs to step it up. At this point, given how poorly I've seen people respect social distancing, I'm beginning to question its cost to benefit ratio. We are not as disciplined as many other countries.
- 0xbadf00d 7y agoI’m trying to understand the alternative - let contagion continue unchecked and overwhelm medical services?
- crooked-v 7y agoThe alternative is letting 7% of the population die, like Italy's peak. But, hey, more dollars, right?
- smabie 7y ago7% of Italy did not die.
- hinkley 7y agoIf everyone in Italy gets Coronavirus, what do you expect the death rate to be? And remember, 7% of confirmed cases there have already died, and that’s over 1 in 3 of all deaths reported so far.
- leereeves 7y agoAccording to the WaPo, it's likely that far more people are infected in Italy than we know about, and therefore the true mortality rate is much lower. Apparently the government is only testing people with "severe symptoms": > The actual Italian death rate, they say, is probably far lower than what the government numbers suggest. The unofficial estimates assume the actual number of people infected with the virus — people who have not yet been tested — is massive. In other words, several hundred thousand people in Italy may be carrying the virus. > “It’s a huge iceberg,” said Fabrizio Pregliasco, a virologist at the University of Milan. “We are only looking at those who are sick.” > Though Italian leaders touted widespread testing at the beginning of the outbreak, the government has applied tight guidelines for who can be given swabs. Health officials have been testing those who have severe symptoms and are in need of obvious medical care. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/why-is-coronavirus-so-bad-in-italy/2020/03/23/90d306d0-6c85-11ea-a156-0048b62cdb51_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/why-is-coronavir...
- TACIXAT 7y agoI was at that Costco earlier this week. They were cleaning carts and had a line along the carts to throttle entry. I was there pretty early though, so it was not very busy.
- 01100011 7y agoI should go earlier. I went around 7pm IIRC. My biggest problem was the people inside. I kept trying to stay out of people's way but it was impossible. People kept walking at me without giving me a chance to move. Other people were travelling down the middle of the aisle, effectively blocking anyone from going by. I think Costco needs to make aisles one-way for now, and tape off sections to give people a hint at the recommended spacing.
- gumby 7y agoI've been at home for four weeks (as of last Sunday) due to wonky immune system. I made my first trip (not counting walks with dog) to grocery store yesterday and while I was careful about spacing while shopping, when I got to the register I went on autopilot and I was an oblivious guy. I only realized it when I got forward to use my my payment card. I wish someone had said something.
- mygo 7y agoI guess it depends on the Costco. Since before this thing was declared a pandemic my Costco was already handing out wipes at the entrance for people to wipe down their carts with and had a table with hand sanitizer for us to use. The first few days I saw them religiously wiping down the tables at the food court (someone was there full time), and then by the next week they had shut down the food court completely. Today I went there and they still give you hand wipes, but in addition to that they have spaced out their checkout lanes and added plastic see-through barriers between the cashier and customers (like what you’d see at a gas station in a high-crime area). I have pictures of everything I’ve reported here.
- ken 7y agoNearly all grocery stores (at least in Seattle) have a seniors-only hour right now, usually first thing in the morning. QFC, Fred Meyer, Safeway, Albertson's, Whole Foods, PCC, Costco, Metropolitan Market, Uwajimaya.
- Izkata 7y agoMy Jewel in Chicago does now as well, saw the sign this afternoon (pretty sure it wasn't there last week), from 7am to 9am.
- dannyw 7y agoYes! By flooding the market to create an over abundance of TP, you reduce our innate anxieties to panic buy. These actions can do a lot to alleviate panic not only at Costco, but other retailers too.
- knudt 7y agoThey limit the amount of TP you can purchase to 1 case per cart..
- loco5niner 7y agoWell, they do now...
- khazhoux 7y agoI especially liked the CNN headline last week: "People are panic-buying TP and stores are running out." Gee, I wonder what effect that will have?
- manicdee 7y agoFlooding the market also messes up the profiteers, who are now trying to return TP that they can’t sell for $10 a roll.
- chromaton 7y agoOur Costco (Atlanta) this past weekend had the entire back aisle filled with bottled water. Last weekend it was Kirkland Paper Towels.
- seanmcdirmid 7y agoWe are a couple of weeks from having to buy TP, but the fact that it is missing from our local grocery stores (I live in Bellevue) has been making me paranoid. I should try the early morning thing and see if I can get something before its too late.
- SyneRyder 7y agoAnecdata from Australia here - my main supermarket has only once had toilet paper in the last two weeks, and the one time I saw it there were security guards to ensure the elderly were able to get them as priority. It's meant to be coming back online according to TV, but I've not actually seen it at my local supermarkets. However: a smaller independent market has almost always had some toilet paper, and according to our newspapers that's because their chain introduced a rule of checking ID at purchase to confirm you live in the same suburb, if they didn't already recognise you as a regular customer. I assume you've tried all options, but wanted to mention that if you've not considered smaller local indie retailers. Good luck!
- seanmcdirmid 7y agoThe USA doesn’t really have indies in a lot of locations...maybe the Chinese grocery stores but I know I’m not getting TP there. Here it is just Safeway, QFC, Walmart, and Target, each is stocking TP in the morning before it is completely sold out after an hour.
- kace91 7y agoThere's no "too late" (coming from someone who's in Madrid, Spain, which in terms of the pandemic might as well be the future). The reality is that one or two weeks from now at most most idiots will have toilet paper for months and you'll be able to buy normally again. Goods considered non essential, however, might be scarce since those shops will close as the workers are told to stay home. For example, I'm doing a lot of studying and I'm out of sheets of paper. Office supplies stores are closed, and buying that on Amazon feels like overkill and a little socially irresponsible, so I have to make do without them. Check your house for random silly stuff you might miss if you're stuck at home. When I go to the supermarkets the missing things are snack foods, beer, ice cream, etc. People have a lot of time to kill and those items arent replenished as much since they're considered non essential.
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- _bxg1 7y agoHEB (Texas) is doing a lot of these things too, it's great
- Rapzid 7y agoI would have never thought it was possible to like HEB more. I think I was at a 10, and now I'm at an 11. They seem to be working lock-step with public health officials. Went there today and they had a LOT of people on hand to manage the entry and checkout lines, and to enforce social distancing.
- smcameron 7y agoOh my god, I miss HEB (moved away from Texas in 2015).
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- BubRoss 7y agoCostco: the only adults in the room
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- juiyout 7y agoThe points outlined above could be easily fulfilled if Costco had online shopping, don’t you think?
- wideasleep1 7y agoThey do, but delivery is priced-in, and it becomes a time versus money trade off.
- kjaftaedi 7y agoIf you're concerned about an extra dozen eggs you shouldn't be shopping wholesale. Eggs don't go bad or spoil after a certain date. They dry up over time, but not in a few weeks. I can't imagine anyone being in a situation where they need 4 dozen eggs for a few weeks, but none after that.
- brianwawok 7y agoAre you talking about American membrane stripped eggs? Our eggs do not last as long as European style membrane eggs.