I went Shopping at 6.30AM to Test the "For Over 70s" Hour

Mike

Mike

Well-known Member
Location
London
Sainsbury's special "One Hour Between 7AM &
8AM for the Over 70s"

That was a joke, the two men in front of me were
late 20s or early 30s, I was maybe 500th in line!

The security man made a mistake and opened the
door right where I was, so I was maybe 10th to get
in and start shopping.

Everything was in short supply but I got most of what
I was looking for, I used the self scan gun, so that I
didn't have a long wait to get out, there were maybe
6 or 8 lines for the tills, each with around 30 trolleys
in them, I only waited 5 minutes to get out.

The car parks were full and people were driving around
looking for somewhere to stop.

So the idea to help the elderly in there and looks good
on paper, but without armed police it cannot be supported.

The crowds were worse than at Christmas.
This is just in front of the tills, you cannot see the lines
of people stretching to the rear of the store.
The line I was in turned where that little woman was
standing, I was in 4th place just behind that man.

Sainsbury's Queues.jpg
 

Mike said:
Sainsbury's special "One Hour Between 7AM &
8AM for the Over 70s"

That was a joke, the two men in front of me were
late 20s or early 30s, I was maybe 500th in line!

The security man made a mistake and opened the
door right where I was, so I was maybe 10th to get
in and start shopping.

Everything was in short supply but I got most of what
I was looking for, I used the self scan gun, so that I
didn't have a long wait to get out, there were maybe
6 or 8 lines for the tills, each with around 30 trolleys
in them, I only waited 5 minutes to get out.

The car parks were full and people were driving around
looking for somewhere to stop.

So the idea to help the elderly in there and looks good
on paper, but without armed police it cannot be supported.

The crowds were worse than at Christmas.
This is just in front of the tills, you cannot see the lines
of people stretching to the rear of the store.
The line I was in turned where that little woman was
standing, I was in 4th place just behind that man.

View attachment 95989
Click to expand...
Perhaps the younger folks in line were there out of ignorance or arrogance. Hopefully, they were turned away. What most concerns me is that the people don't seem to be practicing social distancing. As someone who never liked shopping under the best of circumstances, I can't imagine doing it now. I'm trying to hold out until my food stock is depleted. Really wish I owned a cow!
 
Good grief..500 people at 6.30am, in Just one store. :eek:I wonder how many all the other supermarkets in your area had long queues outside as well at that time.... ?

Just ridiculous, but the security was entirely to blame here. They should have gone along the line before opening the doors, announcing that no-one would be allowed in if they didn't meet the requirements of the first hour shopping...

I saw yesterday security outside a Savers store who were checking everyone's ID before allowing them in to the over 70's hour, and although you could see some people were frustrated, they all abided by the rule
 
hollydolly said:
Good grief..500 people at 6.30am, in Just one store. :eek:I wonder how many all the other supermarkets in your area had long queues outside as well at that time.... ?

Just ridiculous, but the security was entirely to blame here. They should have gone along the line before opening the doors, announcing that no-one would be allowed in if they didn't meet the requirements of the first hour shopping...

I saw yesterday security outside a Savers store who were checking everyone's ID before allowing them in to the over 70's hour, and although you could see some people were frustrated, they all abided by the rule
Click to expand...
They are all the same hollydolly, a friend tells me that
M&S have nothing, nor Sainsbury's in the town centre.

As for security being to blame, "what security"?
There was one man and he is only interested in shoplifting.

I spoke to the manager going in the side door, he said
that only the front door would be open, I asked if he had
people policing the store, he said that there would somebody
in each aisle, another joke/lie.

The rule is 2 of any item per person one woman took a whole
box of tinned tomatoes and then a second into her mothers
trolley, you can't do much with tinned tomatoes, but the principl
was 2 of anything, she took 2 dozen as did her mother.

You would need big tough men to police what I saw today.

Mike.
 
Mike said:
They are all the same hollydolly, a friend tells me that
M&S have nothing, nor Sainsbury's in the town centre.

As for security being to blame, "what security"?
There was one man and he is only interested in shoplifting.

I spoke to the manager going in the side door, he said
that only the front door would be open, I asked if he had
people policing the store, he said that there would somebody
in each aisle, another joke/lie.

The rule is 2 of any item per person one woman took a whole
box of tinned tomatoes and then a second into her mothers
trolley, you can't do much with tinned tomatoes, but the principl
was 2 of anything, she took 2 dozen as did her mother.

You would need big tough men to police what I saw today.

Mike.
Click to expand...
If they don't eat them quickly, the acidic tomatoes will eat through the can and the chemical reaction may make them ill! Bon appetite!
 
It sounds like the "over 70" shopping hours at stores will be a joke in many places, until they figure it out.

Locally, I heard that our nearby Walmart will open at 6:00AM on Tuesdays only for 'seniors' to shop. ... I get up early everyday, but going to Walmart at 6AM isn't going to happen!
 
Mike said:
Sainsbury's special "One Hour Between 7AM &
8AM for the Over 70s"

That was a joke, the two men in front of me were
late 20s or early 30s, I was maybe 500th in line!

The security man made a mistake and opened the
door right where I was, so I was maybe 10th to get
in and start shopping.

Everything was in short supply but I got most of what
I was looking for, I used the self scan gun, so that I
didn't have a long wait to get out, there were maybe
6 or 8 lines for the tills, each with around 30 trolleys
in them, I only waited 5 minutes to get out.

The car parks were full and people were driving around
looking for somewhere to stop.

So the idea to help the elderly in there and looks good
on paper, but without armed police it cannot be supported.

The crowds were worse than at Christmas.
This is just in front of the tills, you cannot see the lines
of people stretching to the rear of the store.
The line I was in turned where that little woman was
standing, I was in 4th place just behind that man.

View attachment 95989
Click to expand...
We have a store that advertised for seniors over 60, and those with underlying conditions, and pregnant women. I didn't go to the store because I was up at the 7 to 8 am time today. I wonder how it went there..
 
Ruthanne said:
We have a store that advertised for seniors over 60, and those with underlying conditions, and pregnant women. I didn't go to the store because I was up at the 7 to 8 am time today. I wonder how it went there..
Click to expand...
Ruthanne - I just learned that Ohio does not have a law against price gouging - supposedly because "We believe in free enterprise." Sheesh! They are supposedly going to try and get one enacted next week.
 
ASDA are starting one on Fridays.I was shocked at how busy it was at 8am yesterday.
If i had gone to do a proper shop wouldn’t have found half of what I needed,Was lucky to get my oat milk,oatibix,French Onion Soup and a small loaf.If I had arrived ten minutes later reckon i wouldn’t even have done that.
Even the food shelves in Poundland and Home Bargains had been stripped.
What is wrong with people?We are allowed to shop.If eveyone shops normally there would be no problem.
Anyway-without panic buying i reckon i have enough food for two months.
i will just pop to the local shop for a loaf and orange juice for a while.
 
Boy, reading the above makes me glad I live in a small town where things are normal. Plenty of groceries here. However, following the stories on the media it seems that the larger the population centers, the more panic seems to grip the population. Sorry if you are having a tough times & the store shelves are empty. Sounds like hoarding to me. I used to teach history & I know for a fact that during the Russian Revolution & during the Chinese Rebellion, people who were caught hoarding were shot. I'm not saying we should do this but I am simply repeating historical fact from "the good ole' days".
 
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Well, I just placed an on-line grocery order. Usually it is a same day delivery , my assigned time slot for delivery this time is Monday 3/23 between 7-8 pm !

So, I'll try a convenience store for milk........or do without.
 
@Mike Thanks for sharing your experience. They have that where I live too, but I'm uncertain about how well it would work and how organized they were to pull that off and not let in younger people. Also, I was telling my husband, an elderly person might need an hour just to get through the store and find what they need, then would a bunch of young people and kids rush in when they were still waiting at the check out? Dunno, think I would pass on that and just go during regular hours if needed.....plus the one hour for older people is too early in the morning for me.
 
rgp said:
Well, I just placed an on-line grocery order. Usually it is a same day delivery , my assigned time slot for delivery this time is Monday 3/23 between 7-8 pm !

So, I'll try a convenience store for milk........or do without.
Click to expand...
someone rang into the breakfast news show this morning, and said they'd tried to place their usual weekly delivery order and were given a date 5 weeks hence?.. Dear God how can that be? The supermarkets are telling us that they have all the stock, and that people shouldn''t panic buy that's why shelves are empty because they can't fill them fast enough ... well if that's the case why don't they have the stock for deliveries?
 
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hollydolly said:
someone rang into the breakfast news show this morning, and said they'd tried to place their usual weekly delivery order and were given a date 5 weekss hence?.. Dear God how can that be? The supermarkets are telling us that they have all the stock, and that people shouldn''t panic buy that's why shelves are empty because they can't fill them fast enough ... well if that's the case why don't they have the stock for deliveries?
Click to expand...

Part of it could be the problem is with the people who do the deliveries. They may have a shortage of people willing to get out there and make those deliveries. ???
 

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