Minor things that bother you

[vdeane]

People who "panic buy" in advance of snow.  I needed to do my normal grocery shopping (due Tuesday, but I don't like shopping in pouring rain, so I did it today) and I had to bounce over to Hannaford because people had picked the shelf clean of one of my staple frozen foods.  Ironically, this happening on the regular at Hannaford is the reason I switched to Market Bistro in the first place!  First time I had to bounce in a year or two.  Both stores were complete zoos and it was worse than going to a department store on Black Friday, but at least Market Bistro had all hands on deck, so the extra people were mainly noticeable with the extra-full parking lot and more crowded aisles.  Not so at Hannaord, which had a long line at the self checkouts.

[webny99]

People who "panic buy" in advance of snow. 
... Both stores were complete zoos and it was worse than going to a department store on Black Friday,

This was also true of Wegmans this morning, although it didn't occur to me until reading this that it may have been weather-related.
Snow has started falling, but the worst of the storm is tracking further east.

[ZLoth]

I'm traveling at the moment. Two things that bothered me...

First, going through the TSA at DFW. After checking in and dropping off my luggage, I go to the nearest TSA Checkpoint which apparent does NOT TSA Pre-Check (boo), however, they gave me a blue card stating that i don't have to take off my shoes, etc. However, after the checkpoint, I went to pick up my stuff... and the empty bins were stacked up as other travelers refused to do the common courtesy of sliding the empty trays to the collection area so that they can be sent to waiting people.

So:

1) Lack of TSA PreCheck at DFW.

As far as I can determine from the DFW Airport Map, only the security checkpoint at D22 lacks TSA Pre-Check at DFW, which happened to be the closest one to where I dropped off my luggage. But, the big point was my fellow travelers not moving the empty trays down.

2) Luddite Mom

That's putting it politely....

People who "panic buy" in advance of snow.  I needed to do my normal grocery shopping (due Tuesday, but I don't like shopping in pouring rain, so I did it today) and I had to bounce over to Hannaford because people had picked the shelf clean of one of my staple frozen foods.

Depends on the context and area. Judging from the icons and reference to "The 518", you are in New York State. Having lived in upstate New York when I was very young in the Rose, New York area and the resulting lake-effect snow that caused slipping and sliding. In 1977, we moved away from that.

In Texas, it's a different story, especially in the North Dallas area. It is expected that you may get a dusting of snow once a year, and only significant snow once a decade. Thus, snow removal equipment can only be found at the two airports. With snow being such a rarity, noone has chains and driving under such circumstances in February 2021 (The Texas Extreme Weather Event), February 2022 (Son of Extreme Weather Event), or February 2023 (Thundersleet!) are extremely bad ideas. But, in all three cases, the weather forecasters gave us several days of warning, but yet again, people wait until the last minute.

[tmoore952]

I went to food store today during the storm (all rain for me in central MD) and it was a good thing because 1) no one was there and 2) they must have restocked last night since there was plenty of everything.

I now don't have to go tomorrow which will probably be a madhouse since it supposed to be a nice day, and (relatively) no one went today.

[mgk920]

I kind of laughed at the 'panic buying' of things like TP due to that 'bug' craze a few years ago. Most of that kind of stuff I buy in case lots and have an ample supply on hand to not have to worry about those kinds of things.



Mike

[kkt]

I kind of laughed at the 'panic buying' of things like TP due to that 'bug' craze a few years ago. Most of that kind of stuff I buy in case lots and have an ample supply on hand to not have to worry about those kinds of things.



Mike

That works fine for TP, not so well for perishables.

[GaryV]

I kind of laughed at the 'panic buying' of things like TP due to that 'bug' craze a few years ago. Most of that kind of stuff I buy in case lots and have an ample supply on hand

What if you are right near the end of the case when the next zombie apocalypse happens?

[Rothman]

I kind of laughed at the 'panic buying' of things like TP due to that 'bug' craze a few years ago. Most of that kind of stuff I buy in case lots and have an ample supply on hand

What if you are right near the end of the case when the next zombie apocalypse happens?

Meh.  We had an ample supply of TP when the lockdown happened.  When we did eventually run out, we were able to find more.

Hopefully, distribution will be better next time.

[epzik8]

People who "panic buy" in advance of snow.

Never fails in Maryland.

[mgk920]

I kind of laughed at the 'panic buying' of things like TP due to that 'bug' craze a few years ago. Most of that kind of stuff I buy in case lots and have an ample supply on hand

What if you are right near the end of the case when the next zombie apocalypse happens?

I normally restock non-perishables when my supply gets below half.

Mike

[kkt]

I kind of laughed at the 'panic buying' of things like TP due to that 'bug' craze a few years ago. Most of that kind of stuff I buy in case lots and have an ample supply on hand

What if you are right near the end of the case when the next zombie apocalypse happens?

I normally restock non-perishables when my supply gets below half.

Mike

Yes.  I don't really understand the panic buying of non-perishables.

[wanderer2575]

I kind of laughed at the 'panic buying' of things like TP due to that 'bug' craze a few years ago. Most of that kind of stuff I buy in case lots and have an ample supply on hand

What if you are right near the end of the case when the next zombie apocalypse happens?

I normally restock non-perishables when my supply gets below half.

Mike

Yes.  I don't really understand the panic buying of non-perishables.

I think the toilet paper one has a simple explanation:  Most people are terrified at the thought of taking a shit in the woods if there's no TP to be had.

[formulanone]

I kind of laughed at the 'panic buying' of things like TP due to that 'bug' craze a few years ago. Most of that kind of stuff I buy in case lots and have an ample supply on hand

What if you are right near the end of the case when the next zombie apocalypse happens?

Meh.  We had an ample supply of TP when the lockdown happened.  When we did eventually run out, we were able to find more.

Hopefully, distribution will be better next time.

One problem with paper goods that nearly everyone failed to realize is that they're comparatively large items; keeping additional quantities in stock is difficult for a grocery store to keep in their backroom due to their volume. People became so wrapped up in terms like "greed" and "logistics" but didn't see the middle school math problem inside of it which is almost always going to be an issue.

A boxed container of toilet paper might have a 12 between 24 packages in a case, with each package each containing between 4 and 12 rolls. While larger quantities exist (especially in warehouse stores), that means the volume of the packaging is ever-larger as the package quantity increases. A 24-pack of toilet paper in case takes up much more room than a 24-pack of canned corn, and the profit-by-volume is much greater on a the canned good, even though it doesn't cost as much. As a rough estimate, a grocery store could probably bring in 10-12 additional boxes of the average grocery product (canned, boxed, bagged) which would take up the same amount of space as one additional box of toilet paper, and even more so against the size of a paper towel crate. If your aim is to get more profits and balance which items are most critical, then paper goods may take a backseat to edible items and high-profit items.

If one additional person wants an extra 12-pack of paper goods, the store can usually comply. But when the public fervor of any one item suddenly is exposed to a daily 25-50% increase in demand, the store will still run out very quickly before its next shipment. And I'd guess that the demand suddenly spiked to a 100% increase which is truly difficult to make space. When the grocery truck has to decide what is loaded and not loaded, they aren't going to allow 10-20 more stock-outs so people can buy just a little more toilet paper, which already doesn't have a terrific profit margin by volume.

Why don't grocery stores just have larger backrooms? Because a larger backroom of stock takes away from the available floor space to sell those goods. The increased volume of the overall store costs more to zone, build, lease, maintain, and tax. Stores have chipped away at that with just-in-time ordering, trucking, and more careful observation of sales patterns. Warehouse stores just load more of it above the easily-available stock but stores with narrower and more aisles cannot easily do so, but also at the expense of a limited variety.

Lastly, most places didn't put it on the radar. So all it takes to stock-out of toilet paper was 10-20 people per day going on a run and buying up twice as much they'd normally do. And we see that with milk, eggs, and bread as common examples; all it takes is 50-100 people buying a second package or jug "just in case" and they're out of stock. That's going to leave hundreds of others without any to purchase. A second item isn't exactly "hoarding". Stores will typically do fine when just a handful of people just pick up extra amounts and typically encourage this (win-win), or so as long as it focuses on a variety of different items (typical patterns).

[tmoore952]

I buy the Centrum Silver 50+ men's vitamins (gummies).

I bought a bottle last week for about $12 since I was running out.
This morning there was a coupon in newspaper for $4 off.

All is not lost, coupon is good for another month, and I guess I could use it then, shelf life should support that too.

[Rothman]

All vitamins do is give you expensive urine.

[webny99]

People who "panic buy" in advance of snow.  I needed to do my normal grocery shopping (due Tuesday, but I don't like shopping in pouring rain, so I did it today) and I had to bounce over to Hannaford because people had picked the shelf clean of one of my staple frozen foods.

Depends on the context and area. Judging from the icons and reference to "The 518", you are in New York State. Having lived in upstate New York when I was very young in the Rose, New York area and the resulting lake-effect snow that caused slipping and sliding. In 1977, we moved away from that.

Yeah, but Upstate NY gets snow all the time. Shouldn't that make us less prone to panic buying? We're coming off a mild winter last year and a mild start to this one, but still, snow in January is not exactly a shocker.

[tmoore952]

All vitamins do is give you expensive urine.

Nearly 7 years past 50, and just trying them as of this past November. I'll make that determination.

It's no more expensive than beer (which I do drink, but rarely).

[jeffandnicole]

I kind of laughed at the 'panic buying' of things like TP due to that 'bug' craze a few years ago. Most of that kind of stuff I buy in case lots and have an ample supply on hand

What if you are right near the end of the case when the next zombie apocalypse happens?

Meh.  We had an ample supply of TP when the lockdown happened.  When we did eventually run out, we were able to find more.

Hopefully, distribution will be better next time.

One problem with paper goods that nearly everyone failed to realize is that they're comparatively large items; keeping additional quantities in stock is difficult for a grocery store to keep in their backroom due to their volume. People became so wrapped up in terms like "greed" and "logistics" but didn't see the middle school math problem inside of it which is almost always going to be an issue.

A boxed container of toilet paper might have a 12 between 24 packages in a case, with each package each containing between 4 and 12 rolls. While larger quantities exist (especially in warehouse stores), that means the volume of the packaging is ever-larger as the package quantity increases. A 24-pack of toilet paper in case takes up much more room than a 24-pack of canned corn, and the profit-by-volume is much greater on a the canned good, even though it doesn't cost as much. As a rough estimate, a grocery store could probably bring in 10-12 additional boxes of the average grocery product (canned, boxed, bagged) which would take up the same amount of space as one additional box of toilet paper, and even more so against the size of a paper towel crate. If your aim is to get more profits and balance which items are most critical, then paper goods may take a backseat to edible items and high-profit items.

If one additional person wants an extra 12-pack of paper goods, the store can usually comply. But when the public fervor of any one item suddenly is exposed to a daily 25-50% increase in demand, the store will still run out very quickly before its next shipment. And I'd guess that the demand suddenly spiked to a 100% increase which is truly difficult to make space. When the grocery truck has to decide what is loaded and not loaded, they aren't going to allow 10-20 more stock-outs so people can buy just a little more toilet paper, which already doesn't have a terrific profit margin by volume.

Why don't grocery stores just have larger backrooms? Because a larger backroom of stock takes away from the available floor space to sell those goods. The increased volume of the overall store costs more to zone, build, lease, maintain, and tax. Stores have chipped away at that with just-in-time ordering, trucking, and more careful observation of sales patterns. Warehouse stores just load more of it above the easily-available stock but stores with narrower and more aisles cannot easily do so, but also at the expense of a limited variety.

Lastly, most places didn't put it on the radar. So all it takes to stock-out of toilet paper was 10-20 people per day going on a run and buying up twice as much they'd normally do. And we see that with milk, eggs, and bread as common examples; all it takes is 50-100 people buying a second package or jug "just in case" and they're out of stock. That's going to leave hundreds of others without any to purchase. A second item isn't exactly "hoarding". Stores will typically do fine when just a handful of people just pick up extra amounts and typically encourage this (win-win), or so as long as it focuses on a variety of different items (typical patterns).

And add to this that it's usually not just one store with the issue, it's an entire region. So people not only want to get a second one, but if they start running around they may be tempted to get even more, just in case.

[mgk920]

Those annoying little growing orchard brand label stickers that are now on apples at the supermarket.

Mike

[kkt]

Gas pumps that play commercials while you pump.
Will avoid that gas station next time.

[dlsterner]

Gas pumps that play commercials while you pump.
Will avoid that gas station next time.

Pro Tip - I've found that on many of those gas pumps, one of the buttons (typically the upper middle or lower middle) in the column to the right of the display is a mute button.  I typically mute the thing if it comes on.

[kkt]

Gas pumps that play commercials while you pump.
Will avoid that gas station next time.

Pro Tip - I've found that on many of those gas pumps, one of the buttons (typically the upper middle or lower middle) in the column to the right of the display is a mute button.  I typically mute the thing if it comes on.

Thank you.  I'll look for that if I end up there again.

[Scott5114]

I kind of laughed at the 'panic buying' of things like TP due to that 'bug' craze a few years ago. Most of that kind of stuff I buy in case lots and have an ample supply on hand

What if you are right near the end of the case when the next zombie apocalypse happens?

Meh.  We had an ample supply of TP when the lockdown happened.  When we did eventually run out, we were able to find more.

Hopefully, distribution will be better next time.

One problem with paper goods that nearly everyone failed to realize is that they're comparatively large items; keeping additional quantities in stock is difficult for a grocery store to keep in their backroom due to their volume. People became so wrapped up in terms like "greed" and "logistics" but didn't see the middle school math problem inside of it which is almost always going to be an issue.

A boxed container of toilet paper might have a 12 between 24 packages in a case, with each package each containing between 4 and 12 rolls. While larger quantities exist (especially in warehouse stores), that means the volume of the packaging is ever-larger as the package quantity increases. A 24-pack of toilet paper in case takes up much more room than a 24-pack of canned corn, and the profit-by-volume is much greater on a the canned good, even though it doesn't cost as much. As a rough estimate, a grocery store could probably bring in 10-12 additional boxes of the average grocery product (canned, boxed, bagged) which would take up the same amount of space as one additional box of toilet paper, and even more so against the size of a paper towel crate. If your aim is to get more profits and balance which items are most critical, then paper goods may take a backseat to edible items and high-profit items.

If one additional person wants an extra 12-pack of paper goods, the store can usually comply. But when the public fervor of any one item suddenly is exposed to a daily 25-50% increase in demand, the store will still run out very quickly before its next shipment. And I'd guess that the demand suddenly spiked to a 100% increase which is truly difficult to make space. When the grocery truck has to decide what is loaded and not loaded, they aren't going to allow 10-20 more stock-outs so people can buy just a little more toilet paper, which already doesn't have a terrific profit margin by volume.

Why don't grocery stores just have larger backrooms? Because a larger backroom of stock takes away from the available floor space to sell those goods. The increased volume of the overall store costs more to zone, build, lease, maintain, and tax. Stores have chipped away at that with just-in-time ordering, trucking, and more careful observation of sales patterns. Warehouse stores just load more of it above the easily-available stock but stores with narrower and more aisles cannot easily do so, but also at the expense of a limited variety.

Lastly, most places didn't put it on the radar. So all it takes to stock-out of toilet paper was 10-20 people per day going on a run and buying up twice as much they'd normally do. And we see that with milk, eggs, and bread as common examples; all it takes is 50-100 people buying a second package or jug "just in case" and they're out of stock. That's going to leave hundreds of others without any to purchase. A second item isn't exactly "hoarding". Stores will typically do fine when just a handful of people just pick up extra amounts and typically encourage this (win-win), or so as long as it focuses on a variety of different items (typical patterns).

And add to this that it's usually not just one store with the issue, it's an entire region. So people not only want to get a second one, but if they start running around they may be tempted to get even more, just in case.

An additional problem with the toilet paper was that institutional and consumer products have completely different form factors. (That is, nobody wants to use the garbage toilet paper your boss buys to be cheap at home.) Production was set up to be more or less 50/50; when the pandemic started that sharply changed to 100/0 and the manufacturers failed to maintain the flexibility to change their production to meet the sudden new demand.

[ZLoth]

I kind of laughed at the 'panic buying' of things like TP due to that 'bug' craze a few years ago. Most of that kind of stuff I buy in case lots and have an ample supply on hand to not have to worry about those kinds of things.

The way people were purchasing TP in 2020, you would think that it would become the trading currency for goods. A box of mac-and-cheese for a roll of TP? Maybe make a nice fleabay profit.

From my perspective, it has to do with "just-in-time" manufacturing. The plants are set up for X number of rolls per day so that the supermarkets and warehouse clubs can maintain a healthy supply with a minimal amount "in the back". When people panic-purchased, that drove demand way beyond the margin for additional capacity. I personally had a extra week of canned food with a 1-2 year shelf life "just in case".

What still bothers me years after the pandemic was declared over was the fact that doctors, nurses, first responders, store clerks, and truckers got recognized, but those of us in the technology fields got ignored, especially those of us who kept the Internet running and the online meetings going so that you could work from home and watch streaming movies without skipping a beat. Many businesses and governmental entities had to "crash learn" these new technologies, and this has permanently changed our world.

[algorerhythms]

Gas pumps that play commercials while you pump.
Will avoid that gas station next time.

There was a gas station like that near where I used to live in Illinois. That was strike one. Strikes two and three and the ejection by the umpire was the time I went there and there was a card skimmer on every pump. Luckily it was obvious enough that I noticed before putting my card in. Never went back after that.