Panic buying

[boxbrownie]

2 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

 

Given a general shortage of delivery slots and a general over-supply of customers, in an environment of heightened concern and absence of information, calling anyone able to secure a slot “selfish” is surely a trifle..... misanthropic? 

No......we all have our own opinions.

[rockershovel]

Just now, boxbrownie said:

Yes we are still awaiting our slots.........although 110,000 people sounds like a VERY small amount considering the amount of people restricted to SI due to health reasons.

 

I greatly doubt that any such list exists, or that any mechanism exists for compiling it. How would it be achieved, and updated, given that our first self-isolator has already returned to work? 

[boxbrownie]

1 minute ago, rockershovel said:

 

I greatly doubt that any such list exists, or that any mechanism exists for compiling it. How would it be achieved, and updated, given that our first self-isolator has already returned to work? 

Er it does exist, we filled in the necessary online form through GOV.UK a few weeks ago........

[Rivercider]

7 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

Yes we are still awaiting our slots.........although 110,000 people sounds like a VERY small amount considering the amount of people restricted to SI due to health reasons.

It does seem a small amount.

I wonder if all the other major supermarkets each received an 'allocation' based on a figure they thought they could service?

 

cheers

[boxbrownie]

2 minutes ago, Rivercider said:

It does seem a small amount.

I wonder if all the other major supermarkets each received an 'allocation' based on a figure they thought they could service?

 

cheers

No idea, I assume they can work out through the various supermarket deliveries who can cover what area (for example we have no coverage by Ocado) but funnily enough my wife just got off the phone from the Doctor who asked her if we have had the letter from the Gov about priority delivers, we haven’t as yet, which surprised the Doc as Mrs BB’s situation is very poor, let along my Mother who lives with us being 92 and undergoing cancer treatment at the moment..........if we cannot get a slot soon (and we tried again last night, no chance at all then as ASDA are only doing a week in advance all booked, and Waitrose were fully booked until July!)

 

It is what it is.

[John Isherwood]

10 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

Er it does exist, we filled in the necessary online form through GOV.UK a few weeks ago........

 

My wife has just been informed, electronically, that she has been prioritised for Sainsburys delivery slots.

 

At our local branch (Bodmin) :

 

Week 1 : 8th - 14th April has no available slots - though they're trying to create more.

 

Weeks 2 & 3 : 15th - 21st and 22nd - 28th have not had their slots released yet.

 

According to Sainsburys chief, the government priority list for England was only released at the end of last week, and the lists for the rest of the UK are yet to be released.

 

John Isherwood.

[spikey]

1 hour ago, Bishop of Welchester said:

Detachable cuffs.

 

Indeed.  And lo, it appeareth that not only are shirt armbands still available, but who would have thought that a chap can still buy himself shirt stays?  And sock suspenders ...

 

https://johnhenric.com/uk/accessories/shirt-stays/black-shirt-stays?gclid=CjwKCAjw7LX0BRBiEiwA__gNwwqsXN_nSAGqdKbCOXruF_mUtGTo6GveAAtZJJ5FXJ-rpjcW8oWM2BoCV5sQAvD_BwE

 

https://johnhenric.com/uk/new-arrivals/black-sock-garters?gclid=CjwKCAjw7LX0BRBiEiwA__gNw6OWtTrENDW8xVQX9Yd7QmG0GOfHzccQjnU5_5U21efJTrPqLctk9RoCEDkQAvD_BwE

 

ETA - Re the gubberment's priority list, I spoke last night to an acquaintance who is disabled in the sense that he is unable to walk without his Zimmer (though able to drive) and has high blood pressure.  He tells me that he's alright for the time being, and looking forward to getting his food parcel and his priority home delivery.  Meanwhile, his son and his girlfriend who share his abode are doing the shopping for all three of them as usual ...

 

Edited April 8, 2020 by spikey

[boxbrownie]

16 minutes ago, cctransuk said:

 

My wife has just been informed, electronically, that she has been prioritised for Sainsburys delivery slots.

 

At our local branch (Bodmin) :

 

Week 1 : 8th - 14th April has no available slots - though they're trying to create more.

 

Weeks 2 & 3 : 15th - 21st and 22nd - 28th have not had their slots released yet.

 

According to Sainsburys chief, the government priority list for England was only released at the end of last week, and the lists for the rest of the UK are yet to be released.

 

John Isherwood.

Unsurprisingly it all seems a bit disjointed.......to be expected I think, hopefully it’ll get better.

[Rivercider]

2 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

Unsurprisingly it all seems a bit disjointed.......to be expected I think, hopefully it’ll get better.

Yes, I fear we will have several months of this to various degrees of severity.

In the store where I work there have been new arrangements nearly every time I have booked on over the last three weeks. Fortunately most people are patient and understanding, and the store is running fairly smoothly,

 

cheers

[melmerby]

57 minutes ago, Rivercider said:

How much a supermarket can increase deliveries will mostly depend on the number of vans available, since it is easier to increase the number of pickers. .

 

cheers

I wonder how many refrigerated vans & their drivers are currently idle due to not delivering to restaurants etc?

[Phil Parker]

10 minutes ago, melmerby said:

I wonder how many refrigerated vans & their drivers are currently idle due to not delivering to restaurants etc?

 

Supermarket vans have special racking in for the trays. I doubt you can just use any vehicle, it's not pizza delivery.

[The Stationmaster]

10 minutes ago, melmerby said:

I wonder how many refrigerated vans & their drivers are currently idle due to not delivering to restaurants etc?

Apparently the RHA, or whatever they're called nowadays, said yesterday that 40% of lorries are off the road with no work available.  This struck me as a little odd because many road haulage operations are running more or less as normal although I can understand the building trade being down (but see below) and fuel deliveries to petrol stations being down but food distribution is going great guns, agriculture trade will be largely unaffected and container movements will be ramping back up to normal now that ships are arriving from the Far East.

 

Interestingly as far as construction is concerned Merehead Quarry loaded out over 20 trains one day last week which suggests their put put is up near 1970s levels when the really busy days saw 27 trains despatched - with smaller loads than is the case nowadays.

[boxbrownie]

1 minute ago, Phil Parker said:

 

Supermarket vans have special racking in for the trays. I doubt you can just use any vehicle, it's not pizza delivery.

As I mentioned earlier we have been told by an employee of ASDA on FB group that they were employing temporary delivery staff and even using their own vehicles ala Uber, do not know if it actually happened yet or if the idea stalled due to insurance (my thoughts only) but that was what was said.

 

I read on a shop site they are delivering in shopping bags to aid SI and safety margins, I suppose they don’t want to leave the plastic racking at the customers or wait for them to be unloaded.

[melmerby]

5 minutes ago, Phil Parker said:

 

Supermarket vans have special racking in for the trays. I doubt you can just use any vehicle, it's not pizza delivery.

I would think that is not an insurmountable problem.

 

I thought pizzas came on mopeds

[melmerby]

1 minute ago, boxbrownie said:

 

 

I read on a shop site they are delivering in shopping bags to aid SI and safety margins, I suppose they don’t want to leave the plastic racking at the customers or wait for them to be unloaded.

Correct.

Our Asda delivery was in plastic boxes but was unloaded by the driver into our plastic boxes, the smaller items were pre-grouped into single use plastic bags to make it easier.

[rockershovel]

I imagine the reference is to delivery of restaurant supplies - Brake Brothers etc? Rather than to take-away deliveries...

[rockershovel]

11 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

Apparently the RHA, or whatever they're called nowadays, said yesterday that 40% of lorries are off the road with no work available.  This struck me as a little odd because many road haulage operations are running more or less as normal although I can understand the building trade being down (but see below) and fuel deliveries to petrol stations being down but food distribution is going great guns, agriculture trade will be largely unaffected and container movements will be ramping back up to normal now that ships are arriving from the Far East.

 

Interestingly as far as construction is concerned Merehead Quarry loaded out over 20 trains one day last week which suggests their put put is up near 1970s levels when the really busy days saw 27 trains despatched - with smaller loads than is the case nowadays.

 

Considering the number of foreign registered lorries, driven by foreign nationals seen on the A14, I’d be curious to know what the relationship between lorries off the road and British lorries off the road, actually was? 

[rockershovel]

My wife was (finally) contacted by Ocado, and no other supplier, to notify her that she was a priority delivery. I’d assume from this, that the list is allocated on the basis of identified persons already registered with that supplier, so that there is a random-selection element relating to prior arrangements, with no mechanism to ensure that all identified persons get a delivery from somewhere?

 

 

[Metr0Land]

I've just had an email from Morrisons saying they're now doing deliveries in my area (West Wales - they didn't deliver here before, only Tescos and Asda).

 

When you log in to book a delivery slot the first thing they ask for is a mobile phone number before they'll let you see what slots are available (allegedly so they can let you know when van in on its way).  Trouble is, there is no mobile phone signal here and there's no way of contacting them to let them know how pointless this is.

 

Also I have friend a few miles away who had been having Tesco deliveries for some years but can't get a slot after next Tuesday.  There's no poinit her trying to register with Morrisons as (like many elderly people) doens't have a mobile phone.

 

Also, with regards to priority customers, that scheme doesn't apply in Wales, so whatever the hiccups in England, it's better than the nnothing we have.

 

Edit: Just wrestled with the Morrisons system, nothing until 23April anway.  

 

 

Edited April 8, 2020 by Metr0Land

[John Isherwood]

19 minutes ago, Metr0Land said:

Also, with regards to priority customers, that scheme doesn't apply in Wales,

 

There are lists being compiled for all of the UK - only the England list has been released to the supermarkets as yet.

 

I don't know if the on-line form for applying for priority is applicable to Wales, I'm afraid.

 

John Isherwood.

[Metr0Land]

15 minutes ago, cctransuk said:

 

There are lists being compiled for all of the UK - only the England list has been released to the supermarkets as yet.

 

I don't know if the on-line form for applying for priority is applicable to Wales, I'm afraid.

 

John Isherwood.

 

AFAIK there isn't one...............

 

Just checked again.  If you're in the category which means you get a doctor's letter by 6April saying you should shield yourself for 12 weeks there are things you can do. If you're just old and have various other conditions tough luck.......  In the case of my friend she hasn't been able to get a Tesco slot beyond next week, hasn't been able to get through to anyone on the phone for about 2 weeks now (about slots and returns of wrong products delivered) so can't actually speak to anyone about being vulnerable.  There doesn't seem to be an online way of declaring yourself in need to Tesco.

Edited April 8, 2020 by Metr0Land

[eastglosmog]

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

...................................

Interestingly as far as construction is concerned Merehead Quarry loaded out over 20 trains one day last week which suggests their put put is up near 1970s levels when the really busy days saw 27 trains despatched - with smaller loads than is the case nowadays.

Many quarries have shut for the duration.  Ones still working are supplying essential items like railway ballast, pharmaceutical supplies and road surfacing. (I think Merehead supplies railway ballast.)

[jonny777]

1 hour ago, rockershovel said:

My wife was (finally) contacted by Ocado, and no other supplier, to notify her that she was a priority delivery. I’d assume from this, that the list is allocated on the basis of identified persons already registered with that supplier, so that there is a random-selection element relating to prior arrangements, with no mechanism to ensure that all identified persons get a delivery from somewhere?

 

 

 

Yes, I have had that notification from Ocado; although mine came 10 days ago. I believe they are slowly trawling through their database to work out who are long term or regular customers (and those with Smart Pass) and bringing them to the front of the queue. I think this is only an internal Ocado policy, not a wider priority scheme. 

 

If your wife's timeline goes anything like mine then she should be able to log in almost immediately, although occasionally there is a short queue, but less than 5 minutes. I can book one delivery per week and usually the calendar is open for the current week and following week, therefore I can book a maximum of two slots. After a booked delivery has arrived, the calendar opens up for the week after your next delivery slot (if you have one), and so on. 

 

I am very happy with this arrangement, and although there are a few missing items or substitutions it is comforting to know I have deliveries into the future. From what I gather (looking at the company twitter messages) those who are more recent Ocado customers or who don't have any Smart Pass or regular order criteria booked from years back, are still having to queue for hours; and so I count myself very fortunate to have been a loyal Ocado customer for over 5 years - otherwise I might have to join the 200 yard queue at the local Waitrose. 

Edited April 8, 2020 by jonny777

[John Isherwood]

26 minutes ago, Metr0Land said:

 

AFAIK there isn't one...............

 

 

See https://gov.wales/get-coronavirus-support-extremely-vulnerable-person for information applicable to Wales.

 

John Isherwood.

[alastairq]

Just had an email from the Patient Access system...asking if I'll contact them if I display symptoms for Covid-19...or I think I'm doing so....

 

I'm not in the 'vulnerable' category...not even remotely vulnerable to diabetes, either  [one category below the  'might acquire diabetes at a later date if things go wrong' category..seems health is all categorised these days?]

 

The email mentioned vulnerability, and consulting my GP [whoever that is now..mine retired last year] if I thought I ought to be?