Please dont Panic Buy at Coop

Fri 20 Mar 2020, 18:14

I work in the co op and we do have an hour in the day it’s 9.30am to 10.30am mon to fri. 
we are trying very hard to keep up with demand. From 21st sat we will be open 7am till 8pm mon to Saturday and Sunday 8am till 8pm so we can stock up the best we can for the morning. Thankyou for all the kind words on here for all of the staff at the co op. 

Fri 20 Mar 2020, 16:57

Steve, whilst you are right to say that many supermarkets have put in place an early-bird hour, reserved for vulnerable customers to do their shopping, it's a policy that seems to me to be quite misguided.

Elderly customers who pick up the virus are more likely to develop symptoms (e.g. coughs), and are thus also more likely to leave traces of the virus on hard surfaces where the virus can linger for many hours.

I think Charlbury Coop gets a thorough clean in the afternoon. I don't think they have the staff to do an additional clean after an early opening for vulnerable customers. As somebody who is already self-isolating (and elderly), I would go out of my way to avoid these "privileged" hours for people like me. 

I would much rather any early-bird hours were reserved for key workers who can't get home until late in the evening.

Fri 20 Mar 2020, 14:41 (last edited on Fri 20 Mar 2020, 19:41)

Rather depends on what is meant by essentials, Steven.  I did laugh when Waitrose introduced Essential artichoke hearts!

But on a more serious note, thank goodness for the wonderful facilities that we have in the town, and the people who keep them going. We will all be needing them more than ever over the next few months, as many more peope will be eating all their meals at home and will need to shop locally. They all deserve our gratitude and support

Fri 20 Mar 2020, 14:08

I suspect that with a lot of people self-isolating or working from home and unwilling to to drive to the supermarkets in the surrounding towns, there's quite a lot more demand, so the shortages aren't just people going out with dozens of loaves of bread; the Co-op is rationing those sort of items. The simple increase in local demand will have an affect too.

There are reports that supermarkets are rationalising produce lines and concentrating more on essentials. It might be that will be reflected in the product lines on the shelves at the Co-op once they adapt.

One thing that the Co-op might consider doing for those who are in the more vulnerable groups is to do what some other chains are doing and that's to have an hour a day reserved for those who fit into the category. Perhaps they could reserve some of the key staple product lines for those groups.

Fri 20 Mar 2020, 13:59

I couldn't agree more. I was really hopeful that the people of our wonderful town would be different to the rest but having just been in the Co-Op and chatted to the staff, it appears some aren't. Right now, that shop is a lifeline to many at risk categories, care workers, parents of young children etc. Please just buy what you need, be friendly and leave - it's not hard for god's sake!!

Fri 20 Mar 2020, 13:50

Please remember too to be friendly and kind to the staff. It is not their fault if the Co-op (or indeed any shop) has run out of what you wanted. Everyone is on edge at the moment and that’s understandable – don’t take your stress out on others.

Fri 20 Mar 2020, 13:01

People of Charlbury there is no need to panic buy and buy more then you need, 

Just think about the People how cant get to the Shops till Later Ie The  Medical Staff how are working over time, the Teachers and the office workers and think about the Old Lady and low income familys when they come to find that there is no food.

A big shout out to the Hard working staff at the COOP,