There is a red light near the top of the wall in the front of the store and another one just like it in the stockroom. Employees are trained to notice when these lights blink, for it means cooler or freezer doors have broken or been left open. A protected environment has been compromised. We…
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Dwindling desperation
If the level of anxiety can be measured by the length of the lines waiting for Wegmans to open each day, then people are calming down. The line outside my store at 6:30 this morning consisted of just one person, an elderly woman staring resolutely at the door. That doesn’t count a few scattered cars…
Nighttime Wegmans: another victim of Covid-19
Predawn Wegmans was a quirky time and place, a sort of alternate universe populated by nightshift workers, stoners, drunks, insomniacs, eccentrics, and lonely people who wanted someone to talk to. When we were open 24 hours a day, before shopping hours were cut because of coronavirus, we had our post-midnight regulars. There was the woman…
Smart move: purchase limits
Purchase limits work. We ended shopping hours on Saturday with chicken and beef in the meat cases, bread and toilet paper on the shelves. Wegmans has imposed limits on many items, ranging from diapers to spaghetti to carrots. (Precise limits are posted on the shelves.) The restrictions not only calm frantic buying, they calm frantic…
Just a matter of time
Wegmans has not yet reported any worker as having been diagnosed with coronavirus. It’s only a matter of time. Exposure, even with the new sanitary and social-distancing measures imposed by the company, is too high. Stores are too full. Out of negligence, ignorance or financial concerns, too many people are taking too many risks. The…
Night crew
My answer to the shopper who asked why we weren’t restocking during closing hours. This is just cereal.
More work, more risk, but no sick pay
In case you missed it, the New York Times ran this graphic Saturday under an editorial headlined, “The Companies Putting Profits Ahead of Public Health.” Follow the red arrow (which I’ve added to the illustration), and you’ll see Wegmans at about 2 o’clock. Using survey data collected between February 2018 and November 2019, the Times…
The social-distance dance
Update: Wegmans has instituted measures designed to increase the distance between people at checkout. Customers are asked to stand behind a line on the floor as they approach the register, place their reusable bags and their groceries on the belt, then remain at this distance as the cashier scans and bags groceries. The only point…
Stop using cash
Update: Wegmans has introduced measures designed to reduce contamination from money. Customers are now asked to place bills and/or coins on the shelf next to the payment screen. The cashier takes the cash from the shelf, and places change on the same shelf for the customer to pick up. The shelf and the rest of…
Wegmans again cuts hours
Wegmans has announced another temporary curtailment of shopping hours. All stores will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Update: Beginning March 20, the Brooklyn and New Jersey stores will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.) The company has also temporarily closed: Market Café seating areas In-store Pubs Select Burger Bars Amore Next Door