"I bet grocery store employees didn't think they would get drafted for duty in 2020."
Time traveling Abraham Lincoln
As many may or may not know...
I'm a grocery guy. This has been my job for the last twenty five years and currently still is my job.
I work for Whole Foods in Portland Oregon. With the recent crisis, I'd like to share some insight with all you hive mates out there who may be wondering what to do in these scary times.
Before proceeding, the first thing to know when shopping these days is that... No, we do not have any more hand sanitizer hidden in the back or anywhere else. Please stop asking. Thank you.
Now this huge rush to buy five times the amount of groceries that people normally do had a very large and apparent cascading effect. First the store shelves get wiped out and two days later, our distributors are pretty much wiped out.
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Our region uses UNFI distribution but i'm expecting Amazon to take over soon like it always does.
UNFI has been a total shit show. I won't get into too many details but some examples are....
We order 1000 cases of dry grocery. They say they will send one third of that and they decide what they send. Whaa Whaaat?
Trucks show up at one in the morning. (You can't plan your labor with inconsistent delivery times.)
They are so backed up that they are skipping stores and being like tough titty! No groceries for you!
So it has been crazy and no, I haven't had any toilet paper come in for the last week. But ya gotta look for some sunshine in this time dispare.
We are getting a $2 pay increase through April...I believe.
Overtime is now double time instead of time and a half.
I have a shit ton of PTO saved up but now that my trip to Hawaii is put on hold....
I just need to work one 10 hour shift a week to get two hours overtime.:)
So I got that going for me.
Slowly things are making their way back onto the shelves and stock is being replenished.
From a grocers point of view, I ask that you eat some of the stuff you already bought instead of shopping like you are in the Chopped™ pantry and trying to make a dish out of graham crackers, anchovie paste, and yogurt covered raisins. Just shop normally folks. Just shop normally.
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I hope everyone is staying safe and distanced at this time. I know many others have it way harder and I am not really on the "front lines." Lets do all we can to help in a time of crisis. Thank you for reading and as always...
Keep being Cool Hive Mates!!!
