Gainesville shopping practice distance
 

Just returned from Gainesville. . EVERY. Store has line on the sidewalk 6’ apart. That’s Publix Walmart, Target, every store. Only certain amount of people in. When shopper leaves only one allowed in. If you are a couple, you wait for 2 to leave.

Each store has senior shopping, still with the same guidelines.

We waited for 15 minutes, in line at TJs. While we were in TJs only 10 people were in the store. Carts were sprayed, after each person, and left to dry for 10 minutes. Any employee you encountered stayed 6 plus feet away. No outside bags allowed. All shelves were full, including paper products.

What a difference compared to shopping in TV.

Just a short 3 hour commute away

This post was about how Gainesville is handling social distances, and stock. Since I drive it often, Sunday was 48 minutes on I75, and today with more traffic it was 57 minutes, average speed 72mph. Up north we drive an hour each way to get groceries, so little less time here. Plus every store has an abundance of paper products

Sometimes I think we live in an alternative reality in TV. I live in a very quiet area, I love my home which looks out onto a championship golf course. The sun is shining. The golfers are out there and I am surrounded with nothing but trees, birds and quiet. It is not until I have to leave my safe home and venture out for supplies that I am made aware of living in a world with a pandemic which has changed our way of life, ruined our economy, put thousands of people out of work and no one knows how long this will last. The Villages really is a bubble.

Each day, I realize that this is truely a bubble, and in many ways separated from reality.

Not a critique at all.....I have been here for twenty years......just a statement of what I read and see.

Our local Costco has implemented the same procedures..

They've gone so far as to set up a route in the store in which traffic is to flow. Everyone moving in the same direction. Isles marked one-way.

They have a sign out front indicating what popular items are in/out of stock so there's no standing in line needlessly only to find out they don't have what you need.

No handing the cashier your membership/credit card. They just gun scan it. They scan your items while they are in the cart. If it needs to be rotated for the scan you are the one who handles it. No using the conveyor belt.

And employees cleaning everywhere.

Our local WD, Publix and Wal-Mart managers have no mind and do not listen to the news. They could really enhance social distancing. Instead, it is business as usual. The other day I was in WD and some really old codger was crowding me from the rear...first, thinking he would speed the cashier by unloading his groceries by pushing me forward, second by thinking the payment system would be faster if he again crowded me. When I asked for distance, he was unable to hear me! I have no doubt that COVID will spread rapidly in TV unless the stores assist in this process.

Are the grocery stores simply unaware that COVID-19 is here and TV is especially vulnerable?

I normally order from Wal-Mart and have items delivered to my door.
Prior to this pandemic, one item I always ordered online was toilet paper. Now every single brand says "in store purchase only." It's ridiculous to have to expose yourselves to picking up covid19 in order to buy toilet paper.
They could easily limit the number you buy online.

I've observed the same thing. Wonder if that same guy you encountered was the guy I had behind me. Good Grief!! "My" guy could hear just fine though...just seemed extremely in a hurry and thought by crowding he could get the process moving a long. SMH Also the same observations with the grocery stores. Though I thought I'd read WD had implemented some procedures. Haven't been to one but read it in the paper.

My wife's best friend still lives in Maryland, she said the Shop-Rites stores there have all gone one-way aisles. I think that's pretty clever. As far as Gainesville goes, I've made many a trip to the VA hospital there. From Tamarind Grove (near Seabreeze) to the parking of the hospital takes me one hour if there is no backups on I-75. That's about 2 miles past Trader Joe's on Rte 24.

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I think I read this tip on this site, maybe not, but good tip. Put your groceries on the cash register area, then get in front of your cart and keep it behind you. No one can get near either you or the cash register until you want them to. It works, I tried it. I did pxxs off the person behind me, but in these times I really don't worry about that.

There is probably a big influence in Gainesville from UF health. I wish some of it would trickle down to TV.

Great idea
 

That’s a great idea and the sooner they implement it here the better 👍👍

I get what Gainesville is trying to do, but we are adults and should be able to follow a simple idea like staying six feet away from one another. The question begs, what is Gainesville going to do if people cross the lines?

In New York City, huge crowd gathered to see the hospital ship and people were on top of one another. Are New Yorkers really that stupid?

This led the city of New York to announce that it will begin fining people $500 if they don't maintain six foot distances.

Is Gainesville next with fines?

I do know better, but I had to get a prescription at Publix and they were closed last night when I went. (Which, come on. Update the store hours on your website.)

Tuesday is Publix's senior shopping hours including the pharmacy, so I showed up around 6:55am for a 7am opening. The lot was packed and a huge line of people was waiting; they must have queued up by 6:30. They were only allowing people in one entrance, but I didn't want to get in line with everyone CROWDED together. I hung back waiting for people to finish entering, but after 20 MINUTES I still couldn't see the end of the line. I asked the staff person who was barring the other door if I could please just get to the pharmacy, and she kindly let me.

What did all those people think they were gaining by going early? There wouldn't have been a line and no waiting during standard hours. I suppose there's a chance more items would be in stock earlier in the day, but personally I'd rather chew glass.