I've been mostly staying at home this past few days.,
"Social Distancing" as it were, with a vengeance.
(I'm lucky that I don't need to leave the house for anything important, so I haven't been....)
Anyway, I needed some fresh milk, vegetables and some chips and some cheese and a few other incidentals, so I ventured out to the store.
Wow.
What a difference a week makes.
Firstly, the store wasn't crowded. The shelves were not fully stocked, but, for the most part, there was some of everything....although folks that work at the store that I am friendly with told me that they had been told that things were simply not in stock at the warehouse, so expect shortages soon.....
The folks that were at the store were friendly, but were practicing "Social Distancing" People were almost afraid to invade that magical 6 foot envelope. they talked, they just kept their distance,
For the folks that were unable to determine what 8 foot means, there were helpful signs placed more or less the correct distance apart to show people how far away they should stand from each other....lots of well made very well designed (lots of the nuances I learned about in my advertising design classes long, long ago) signs like that. (More on that later).
Unlike before , people were tolerant and polite. everyone appears to be trying out the new rules. No one is sure exactly what they should do, but at least they are being polite about it.
There is now clear plexiglass (lexan) panels in front of the folks behind the counter, separating the customers from the cashiers...but the folks bagging the groceries have no such protection. Nice idea, but FAIL.
The Starbucks in the outlot of the grocery store had a line of cars wrapped all the way around it. IN fact, one and a half times around it. People , despite the current situation must really need that Carmel Latte Macchiato to survive. (or whatever the hell overpriced and expensive sounding drink they buy at a Starbucks). I would estimate that the wait time in the Drive-Up line exceeded 35 minutes.
For the most part, traffic was about a quarter to a third of "normal" on a Saturday.
A part of me....the part that thinks that Reynolds-Wrap is a fine material for a beanie....cannot help but wonder where those very well made and finely nuanced vinyl signs that were stuck all over the floor came from. Seriously, there were over a hundred and fifty of them in just the one store I went into...and it wasn't a huge grocery store. (a normal sized midwest grocery store, probably originally built on the 80's, may have been a Jewel-Osco or Kroger at one time long ago.....I realize that printers can move quickly, but it was almost odd the stickers....as if someone had them ready....and this whole "Social Distancing" thing is a just an experiment in conditioning of the populace...(much like I sometimes wonder about the TSA). I seriously doubt the effectiveness of the magical 6 foot spacing...either people are sneezing and coughing and putting droplets of mucus out into the air, or they aren't...and if they are, then we are breathing that, and 6 foot is not enough to keep us safe.
Anyway, that is the report from Northwest Indiana for Saturday, March 28, 2020.
"Social Distancing" as it were, with a vengeance.
(I'm lucky that I don't need to leave the house for anything important, so I haven't been....)
Anyway, I needed some fresh milk, vegetables and some chips and some cheese and a few other incidentals, so I ventured out to the store.
Wow.
What a difference a week makes.
Firstly, the store wasn't crowded. The shelves were not fully stocked, but, for the most part, there was some of everything....although folks that work at the store that I am friendly with told me that they had been told that things were simply not in stock at the warehouse, so expect shortages soon.....
The folks that were at the store were friendly, but were practicing "Social Distancing" People were almost afraid to invade that magical 6 foot envelope. they talked, they just kept their distance,
For the folks that were unable to determine what 8 foot means, there were helpful signs placed more or less the correct distance apart to show people how far away they should stand from each other....lots of well made very well designed (lots of the nuances I learned about in my advertising design classes long, long ago) signs like that. (More on that later).
Unlike before , people were tolerant and polite. everyone appears to be trying out the new rules. No one is sure exactly what they should do, but at least they are being polite about it.
There is now clear plexiglass (lexan) panels in front of the folks behind the counter, separating the customers from the cashiers...but the folks bagging the groceries have no such protection. Nice idea, but FAIL.
The Starbucks in the outlot of the grocery store had a line of cars wrapped all the way around it. IN fact, one and a half times around it. People , despite the current situation must really need that Carmel Latte Macchiato to survive. (or whatever the hell overpriced and expensive sounding drink they buy at a Starbucks). I would estimate that the wait time in the Drive-Up line exceeded 35 minutes.
For the most part, traffic was about a quarter to a third of "normal" on a Saturday.
A part of me....the part that thinks that Reynolds-Wrap is a fine material for a beanie....cannot help but wonder where those very well made and finely nuanced vinyl signs that were stuck all over the floor came from. Seriously, there were over a hundred and fifty of them in just the one store I went into...and it wasn't a huge grocery store. (a normal sized midwest grocery store, probably originally built on the 80's, may have been a Jewel-Osco or Kroger at one time long ago.....I realize that printers can move quickly, but it was almost odd the stickers....as if someone had them ready....and this whole "Social Distancing" thing is a just an experiment in conditioning of the populace...(much like I sometimes wonder about the TSA). I seriously doubt the effectiveness of the magical 6 foot spacing...either people are sneezing and coughing and putting droplets of mucus out into the air, or they aren't...and if they are, then we are breathing that, and 6 foot is not enough to keep us safe.
Anyway, that is the report from Northwest Indiana for Saturday, March 28, 2020.
Interesting... Down here we're mostly seeing handmade signs.
ReplyDeleteMaking it illegal for people to gather peaceably is either martial law, or unconstitutional. ...Since we;re not under martial law...
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how quickly and willingly people will give up their rights "for the public good..." ...Scary, actually...
CC:
ReplyDeleteI know you are just spamming my comments. You HAVE BEEN a part of my blogroll for the past three years, yet you still just pop up and make a non relevant post in my comments like the above.
Do it again and I will pull you *FROM* the blogroll.
Your behavior is irritating and will not be tolerated.
'traffic was about a quarter to a third of "normal"'
ReplyDeletePerhaps this is why gov't agencies are willing to relax truck driving guidelines.
Pete