RE: This panic buying is frustrating
March 22, 2020 at 11:18 pm
(This post was last modified: March 22, 2020 at 11:19 pm by GrandizerII.)
(March 22, 2020 at 10:44 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote: I went to Jewel today. And Dad actually talked with someone who worked there about the TP situation. I think I mentioned before that they actually had signs stating a hard limit of TP and paper towels for people to buy and you can see them in the picture below. They were still deserted last week. Admittedly, today, the paper towels were better stocked, but the TP was still off the shelves. Apparently, after talking with the guy, it turns out that they're actually restocking TP more than usual. And with that in mind, they still run out quickly.
And just for reference, here’s a picture of the paper towel aisle last week:
I remember that they had a similar set of signs for the TP aisle (and still do, because they're still up in both aisles), but did not take a picture there.
Like it or not, this isn't an issue of people only caring about the bottom line this time around. On a store-to-store level (not on the manufacturing level, mind), it's a case of demand FAR outstripping the supply. This demand might be for very stupid reasons, but it's there.
![[Image: 02243631-45-F9-4812-A115-E9-C2-C85445-E0.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/RW38Shyt/02243631-45-F9-4812-A115-E9-C2-C85445-E0.jpg)
I know the lower level staff are working hard and overtime, and I don't blame them at all when it comes to this problem. It's the consumer's automatic tendency to do things that are irrational out of panic and social proofing that's the main culprit here along with, imo, ineffective measures by the leadership at the top to address these matters.
We have signs like the ones in the picture as well, but I'm saying they're not aggressive enough still. They don't induce much fear or self consciousness in consumers behaving in an automated manner. A panic buyer could see this and be like "ok I'll come back later for more or have another family member grab them for me". Whereas what I'm pondering about are warnings that make people panic about panic buying, to the point they'd be too scared to work around the restrictions. DO NOT in red print or pictures of staring eyes sound, to me, more aggressive than using the key word "only"
Not trying to pretend I'm an expert here or thinking I have some clear solution in mind. Just ranting and thinking out loud.
