One Way Carts
I’ve said it here before, I’m not a big fan of shopping even in good times, much less with a pandemic in progress…but I am a big fan of eating, and that led me to the grocery store yesterday afternoon to stock up for the next couple of weeks.
It’s still unsettling to walk into a store and see customers and staff members alike sporting masks…but that’s our new normal for the time being.
I also applaud this store and others for trying to cut down on the interaction we may have with one another. For example, the one-way aisles approach, to lessen the chance of meeting someone face to face…with all of us breathing in one direction, that might cut down on transfer of germs.
I say “lessen the chance” because despite the bright blue tape arrows on the floor, one-way signs on the shelves and the floor…some folks just don’t get the hint. I should have known it was going to be this way because as I made my way to the store, a customer was driving his car the wrong way down one of the parking lanes.
It’s one thing to be a customer and get crossed up on which way to go. But really, the staff should do better. More and more folks are shopping on line and having the store staff members pull items from the shelf for pick up or delivery. That’s fine, as are the one-way aisles…but really, the worse offenders yesterday were staff members, all wearing matching red store shirts, most with store-issued black cloth face masks. They were looking down at the shopping list they were given with little regard for the one-way arrows. One staff member was literally standing on the arrow as he apologized for going the wrong way.
Again, it’s a very picky point. But when it happens seven times in a half hour…yes, I counted…it seemed worthy of mention. On the bright side, the shelves were all well stocked, so in the end that’s the better takeaway from that shopping trip.
