The line at the grocery store can be long. Here’s what’s being done about that
Sanitizing. Restocking. Sanitizing. Restocking.
That seems to be the pattern at South Florida grocery stores. And yet lines still snake around chains like Costco, Publix and Sedano’s — a counterproductive practice in this era of social distancing — as people scramble to hoard household essentials during the coronavirus crisis.
You don’t need to do this, the grocery chains say, as they urge customers to not arrive early and to shop as they normally would.
Some of the retailers are even devoting that first hour of business to serving seniors and those with pressing health issues first. Some, like Publix, Winn-Dixie and Walmart also adjusted their operating hours to allow workers to sanitize the stores and restock shelves to keep traffic flowing, as safely and hygienically as possible through the aisles.
And several of the chains, including Walmart and Publix, encourage customers to use the stores’ delivery services or pickup options.
“We’re asking customers not to arrive early, waiting in line for stores to open. Since deliveries are made throughout the day, arriving first thing doesn’t guarantee product availability,” said Publix spokeswoman Maria Brous.
“Our stores continue to be extremely busy. Our warehousing and distribution centers are working around the clock to receive product from our suppliers and to ship product to our stores,” she said. “Last week alone, we delivered almost 12,000 truckloads to our stores. Our teams are diligently working to get our shelves restocked and conduct preventive cleaning measures to provide a safe and clean working and shopping experience. We continue to make daily deliveries to our stores.”
Still, customers are buying and buying, stripping shelves of toilet paper, napkins, paper towels, disinfecting wipes and, of course, hand sanitizer. If anyone has seen any of it on shelves in the last week or so, raise your clean hands. At a safe distance, of course.
“We’re asking customers to shop as they normally would,” Brous said. “To assist in this ask, stores may also impose limits on items that are in high demand.”
Publix shortened its hours on both ends of the day, now opening from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Winn-Dixie and Walmart have also adjusted hours to close early to give employees time to disinfect and restock shelves.
Sedano’s and The Fresh Market have also instituted designated special shopping hours for seniors and other individuals most at risk. These people get first crack at getting through the doors at the the first hour of stores’ opening.
In Fresh Market’s case, that’s 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.
“Our stores have been busy with steady guest traffic. We have seen some guests waiting to get into our stores when they first open, but this is not necessary as we receive shipments of supplies throughout the day and are constantly restocking,” said Meghan Flynn, director of communications at The Fresh Market.
The Fresh Market won’t card customers, though, to determine if they are senior citizens.
“If someone considers themselves an older adult, or who is in a higher risk category due to underlying health conditions, then these special hours are to help make them feel more comfortable shopping in our stores,” Flynn said.
“We are not tying it to a specific age or asking for any kind of proof, but would ask that guests respect these special hours for those who fall into the higher risk categories as outlined by the CDC,” she said, citing individuals who may have serious chronic medical conditions like heart or lung disease and diabetes.
“If you can shop for your elderly parents so they can remain at home, and you do not fall in the higher risk category, we ask that you shop outside of the special shopping hour if at all possible. We will not ask any guest to leave our store, but did want to try to help the community as best as we can during this time,” Flynn said.
“We are taking all precautionary measures with our team members, and have added enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocols, including increasing the frequency of disinfecting high touch point areas such as checkout areas, food service counters, refrigerator door handles. This also includes wiping down shopping carts and baskets, in addition to providing free disinfectant wipes at our store entrances.”
In addition, food and beverage sampling, including free coffee samples, has been stopped, Flynn said.
At Sedano’s, beginning Thursday, the first hour of business — 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. — will be reserved for people 65 and older and those who are immuno-compromised said spokeswoman Angie Diaz.
“We understand that there are members of the communities we serve that are more vulnerable than others,” the store’s statement read. “We ask our customers to be patient, kind, and respect that this hour will be prioritized to serve these individuals. We will continue monitoring this situation and adjusting operations and policies as required.”
Neither Publix or Sedano’s would specifically address what the stores are doing with customers already in a line outside the door or whether they would stagger entry into the stores.
Nor would Costco, site of some of the longest lines, but the members-only chain did make several changes.
“As many of you have noticed, we’ve experienced a surge of business during this time. As a result, we’ve taken steps to control the number of members in our warehouses and asked that members and employees practice social distancing. We’ve also reduced some services,” said Costco CEO Craig Jelinek in a statement.
Jelinek did not address specific numbers of people allowed inside a Costco at any one time. Winn-Dixie also did not respond to a Miami Herald query on its strategy to reduce lines outside the doors.
“We’ve increased our protocols in sanitizing surfaces, including shopping cart handles, merchandise shelves, front-end belts and registers,” Costco’s statement said. “Limits have been implemented on certain items to help ensure more members are able to access the merchandise they want and need. Our buyers and suppliers are working to ensure in-demand merchandise as well as everyday favorites are available in our warehouses.”
This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 12:28 PM.
