Bad practices by shoppers, do you say anything to them ?

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twofor1

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I was in one of the big supermarkets this morning, a person took out a scrap of a tissue, blew their nose, finished the job with the back of their hand, put the tissue back in their pocket and started rooting through the bananas. I suggested politely that maybe they should wash or sanitise their hands, I think they thought I was a bit of a nut job and just smiled politely saying yes, and continued their search for their preferred bunch of bananas.

Another person was opening the lids of small boxes of mandarins, feeling different ones, putting the best from 3 or 4 boxes in their box, leaving the numerous mandarins they handled in boxes for others. I said nothing.

Moving on to detergents, another had pulled down their mask and opened several bottles of fabric conditioner, put them up to their nose and was sniffing them. Not liking any of the three, put them back and moved on. I said nothing.

It is the same all over, a lot of people just don’t get it.

Do you say anything when you see this type of thing ?
 
I think people that far gone are beyond reasonable suggestion... if someone has forgotten to use sanitiser or don mask going in you can kinda make a big show of your own use of it to remind them, "I hate this stuff but guess has to be done".

You probably should assume any products in the supermarket aren't sterile and either leave them for 24 hours in the shed or give the fridge products a rub with a dettol wipe. Especially e..g. milk cartons with that film of condensation on them.

Wash any fruit before use.
 
We did our last supermarket shop on the 21st December, mostly to get milk, bread and fresh vegetables. Our most recent shop was two days ago and we hope not to go again until early February.

On our last shop we wore both mask and visor. First time ever wearing both. We looked and felt like hospital staff. The reason we did this was due to the fact that people are still walking around supermarkets with their masks under their nose, including supermarket staff. We also heard of a family who have not done any socialising before or after Christmas and have tested positive for Covid. Their doctor suggested that they might have picked it up in a supermarket.

We sanitise our hands on entering the supermarket. We have noticed that many people no longer do this. We sanitise our hands on leaving the supermarket, most others don't.

When we get home we wipe down our purchases with a Dettol type wipe.

We have done this from the start and will continue to do so. If this new variant is super easy to spread we will up our precautions.

I would love to remind people to cover their nose when wearing facemasks. I would love to call people back in the supermarket and ask them to sanitise their hands. I have spoken with one woman who during the summer was hand picking the loose cherries for sale in Lidl. I just got stared at.
I don't bother anymore. What's the point. These are the people who still walk down the middle of the footpath, cough over goods on supermarket shelves etc.

They have always been selfish and unaware and just plain thick.....and they always will be.

I live beside two of them.....but that's another story.
 
Until you live in Ireland it is never the wrong time to do the right thing. If you correct somebody who is pawing items on supermarket shelves you are putting your own sanity at risk by asking the wrong-doer to stop. Suddenly, you're the victim and the wrong-doer will have plenty of support from the other brain dead shoppers. You'll look like a crank.

Just keep your mouth closed. Do your shopping. Get out asap. Get home. Store your shopping safely and sanitise everything. Look after yourself first, your family next and not only stay safe, stay sane.
 
I walked into a chipper a couple of weeks before Christmas without wearing a mask.
I was tired and in a world of my own, and I completely forgot about the Covid. I saw this other customer wearing this black face mask and I was thinking he looks very suspicious, definitely a potential till robber.
Then the peney dropped and I apologised profusely to the couple of people around and ran out to get my mask.
 
If we all look after ourselves that is all we can do. Some people just will not wear them ,properly, or at all. With the best will in the world it is just not worth the hassle or abuse that you will not doubt get for trying to be a good person .
 
Actually the issue with the oranges for me would be a red rag moment. I buy those punnets a lot for myself and for my 91 year old Mother who is in a care home and they are one of her treats, so if I came upon someone doing that well lets just say they would not forget me for the rest of their life.
 
Whatever about mask-wearing there has been a complete over-emphasis on fomite (surface) transmission of COVID. The public health messaging has been shocking on this. COVID spreads via aerosols and droplets so whilst the handling of oranges, bananas and detergent containers is a bit yuck the risk of contracting COVID from such a source seems to be minimal. The practice of sanitising or quarantining shopping is a complete waste of time.
 
24601 said:
The practice of sanitising or quarantining shopping is a complete waste of time.
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Agree with what you say but on this last point I think it's worth wiping down products in hard plastic or glass containers eg. wine bottles. After unpacking the shopping, wash hands.
 
24601 said:
COVID spreads via aerosols and droplets so whilst the handling of oranges, bananas and detergent containers is a bit yuck the risk of contracting COVID from such a source seems to be minimal. The practice of sanitising or quarantining shopping is a complete waste of time.
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Possibly you are right, I don’t know.

I do know that persons snot was on those bananas. I do know the other person put the fabric conditioner up to their nose and breathed in and out of the open bottles through their nose.

It’s not a big deal to sanitize anything that has to come in immediately, and leave the rest in the boot for a few days, I am happy to do it even if it is a waste of time.
 
twofor1 said:
Possibly you are right, I don’t know.

I do know that persons snot was on those bananas. I do know the other person put the fabric conditioner up to their nose and breathed in and out of the open bottles through their nose.

It’s not a big deal to sanitize anything that has to come in immediately, and leave the rest in the boot for a few days, I am happy to do it even if it is a waste of time.
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The virus fares badly outside of the body on surfaces. It's largely airborne. Fomite transmission has not been a material source of transmission anywhere really - I actually don't think there has been a suspected case of fomite transmission here. It's unlikely that you'd even catch COVID from the snotty bananas as counterintuitive and all as that seems. You might be happy to do it but the public health advice prioritising this is shocking with far too much emphasis on sanitising hands and wiping down surfaces; the fact that you're so worried about the surfaces of the items you're getting in the shop is evidence of the poor messaging.

The VFI was everywhere telling us pubs were "safe places" and were doing everything they could, but this was mostly just useless surface cleaning and hand-sanitising, giving a false sense of security. In low humidity, indoor environments the virus spreads like wildfire. Pubs, restaurants and homes are likely the key drivers of the current wave. Indeed, with the prevalence so high, being in a busy supermarket is relatively risky at the moment unless they are good at managing the number of shoppers and ensuring appropriate air ventilation/purification.

EDIT: Of course, there's no harm in good hand hygiene and surface sanitisation, but my issue is with its focus as a strategy to manage spread. Other viruses can spread more readily this way so it's worth doing all the time.
 
Prosper said:
Agree with what you say but on this last point I think it's worth wiping down products in hard plastic or glass containers eg. wine bottles. After unpacking the shopping, wash hands.
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It might make you feel safer so if you're happy doing it, plough on but I've heard of some older people that are petrified of their shopping bags, which I think is a bit sad and unnecessary.
 
I have to say that I am still annoyed at the number of people strolling around shopping centres and supermarkets and not wearing masks or not wearing them properly. I am also annoyed that the shopping centre managers are not even bothering to ask people to wear a mask.

I find some supermarkets are a lot worse than others. Nobody seems to social distance in any of the Aldi supermarkets that I have visited recently.

I saw a woman stocking shelves in Dunnes Stores recently coughing all over the display that she was stacking. She was wearing a mask and looked like a non Dunnes Stores employee but a rep from a company.

In Woodies last week there was a guy walking around sneezing, straight out. Through his mask. Never turned his head or sneezed in to the crook of his arm.

After two years of being told what to do, the same idiots are walking around with the same thick look on their faces.
 
Odea said:
I have to say that I am still annoyed at the number of people strolling around shopping centres and supermarkets and not wearing masks or not wearing them properly. I am also annoyed that the shopping centre managers are not even bothering to ask people to wear a mask.

I find some supermarkets are a lot worse than others. Nobody seems to social distance in any of the Aldi supermarkets that I have visited recently.

I saw a woman stocking shelves in Dunnes Stores recently coughing all over the display that she was stacking. She was wearing a mask and looked like a non Dunnes Stores employee but a rep from a company.

In Woodies last week there was a guy walking around sneezing, straight out. Through his mask. Never turned his head or sneezed in to the crook of his arm.

After two years of being told what to do, the same idiots are walking around with the same thick look on their faces.
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I agree but they are open and well ventilated places and ventilation is probably the single most important factor in all of this. Good hand hygiene is nice but makes little difference. Masks really do help but it's all about air changes.
Think of it like this; if you are in a space where if someone breaks wind and you'll be gagging from the smell then there's a high likelihood of catching Covid from an infected person. If you are in a place where you won't smell their fart after 10 seconds you are less likely to catch Covid from an infected person.
 
Lots of "perfume" trails in supermarkets that I visited recently. Do women wash themselves in the stuff? Absolutely gagging some times....

I visit the outdoor Stillorgan Shopping Centre quite often.....You often get a trail of cigarette smoke from the regulars who hang around the outdoor seating and free use of the outdoor coffee shop seating.
 
odea
i was in aldi other day checkout operators telling people to move up allowing no spaces at checkout queue .removing those shopper dividers so everyone's groceries on top of everyone else's not impressed
 
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