Supermarket annoyance.

I'm finding the supermarkets tricky too - I got really bad sensory overload in Asda earlier this week. It was so busy and chaotic, I couldn't find the essentials I needed, and it was really stressful. I did notice a few days ago that Lidl seemed to have more stock and was quieter than other shops. I've also found local corner shops quieter and less stressful, even if they don't have the same range of stock. I'm currently self-isolating and doing okay (thankfully, I managed to find the stuff I needed before I had to self-isolate), but I'm having to find ways to manage my anxiety due to all the uncertainty at the moment. I think supermarkets could help by putting limits on the number of items people buy, apart from where there are extenuating circumstances (e.g. where people are shopping for both themselves and a vulnerable relative) - not sure how you'd prove those circumstances though. I think the staff on the ground are doing an amazing job, but the companies could do with finding ways to make the shops a calmer environment and prevent stockpiling.

While I'm at home, I'm just finding ways to keep myself busy, as well as putting time aside to relax. Hope you're doing okay and that things improve over time.

Has anyone tried grocery shopping on amazon etc?

Seems problem is supermarkets getting things from warehouse to shelf faster then customers emptying shelf. Big online vendors can bypass this problem. I don't like recommending amazon because of issue with their business practices, but in this case it could really help.

I got very down last night. I usually do my shop late at night. My first shop for a week- so much changed. Nothing on the shelves. I live very simply. Frozen foods and fresh foods, never any canned really. I thought I'd be ok but there was nothing. I'll not queue in the day time and hope very soon it will settle down. 

I believe and hope that the situation will settle down, now that most people have done their panic buying and stocked up for a siege.  They will have no more storage space at home to put things. So when the supermarkets eventually restock,  the stock will last longer.

At the moment it's madness. 

Yesterday's local Aldi's fresh meat and bacon counter.

I think you are thinking too much about yourself saying things like all 24 hour stores should be closed down and opened at 9am with the first 2 hours only for the minority. What about the people that work night shifts, and people who start work early would not be able to get in to buy their lunch in the morning. Supermarkets are a business not a charity for the few and this would make it highly inconvenient for the majority of the population

The current situation is unheard of but the solution is quite simple, if you desperately need a high demand item then you need to go (or have someone else go for you) when that store opens first thing in the morning or order it online. I have never been in a situation in any supermarket that I've had enough time to play games in the queue. I understand that the busyness can be overwhelming but find that in non-panick buying circumstances that there are quiet periods such as in the evening where the shopping experience is much more relaxed without the need for designated times barring other people just because they don't have a label

Hello there. I feel sorry for those that have had difficulties buying their essential supplies, food or otherwise.

The one obstacle that people face when going shopping is the inappropriate behaviour of some fellow shoppers. Some stores, especially Tesco Extra stores that normally do 24-hour opening times, would open their stores at, say, 0600, restock everything, and then things like toilet rolls and hand sanitisers get snapped up quickly. In my opinion, these 'priority' periods, which the likes of Iceland have done, ought to become a permanent fixture, even when the coronavirus crisis is over. These 24-hour opening times ought to be reviewed, possibly changed for more appropriate times (perhaps 9am to 8pm or something), with the first hour or two allocated only to the elderly and the vulnerable (the autistic and their carers included). If this scheme is more widely implemented and successful, perhaps another priority period should be implemented, such as at lunchtime.

All stores should ensure that the elderly and the vulnerable (including the autistic) get the best possible shopping experience. In the current situation, I would advise that any shoppers consider drawing up a shortlist of as many supermarkets as possible that are within a reasonable road travelling distance of their home. They should create a shopping list, either on paper or using a mobile phone app, and start the search from the most distant of those stores (perhaps 3 stores within 10 miles or something). Every item that they successfully get should be crossed off, and any unavailable items should be searched for in the second most distant store, if not the third, or however many more stores they can get to. Such a procedure would be a bit like using a semi-fast train service, where you go to location 1 for Tesco, location 2 for Sainsbury's and so on.

Any autistic shoppers should be prepared for anything, especially at the checkout areas. If they have a mobile phone, they should download as many games as necessary, as playing even the simplest games (e.g. wordsearch, connect four, board games etc) will help with the anxiety of the queuing. Seeing or being in a queue can be very stressful even to myself. If, for that matter, you were to get everything you need in the first of these stores, and if every shopping list item is crossed off, you should select the first checkout that isn't busy, pay the money, and head back home. It would then be a waste of time to search any more stores.

Hopefully this advice will help you, and anyone else reading this message.

You have to go first thing in the morning after they have restocked. I think it will get even worse soon

I went shopping on Monday, and just bought a little bit more than usual, not to hoard, but so I could delay going shopping again for a few days longer than usual if necessary. Then I got home and found that my van has a fault and will probably be off the road for some time. So I booked a delivery from Asda for just over two weeks time (the earliest available date), and walked to my local garage to buy a few things to last until the delivery. It's the unknown element of this that worries me, as I've tried to look after myself, and act responsibly, but who knows what might happen? I'm sure it's bad enough for many NTs, and I'm not as badly affected by anxiety and a need for certainly than many of us, but I'm not in a good state to be dealing with any of this.

I've luckily not needed to do a full shop since everybody started with the totally unnecessary panic stockpiling, but I have several family members who work in supermarkets and honestly it sounds like a nightmare, I'd have had a breakdown by now if I was in their position. I'm dreading when I finally need to go out and get toilet paper or soap.

At the moment there are no real shortages, just people buying stuff faster than the supermarkets can restock them.

If toilet rolls are out of stock in the evening,  try the morning, they might restock overnight. 

I started stocking up early,  before it got mad.  However, I only have 27 rolls of loo paper, 16 bars of soap, 4 tubes of toothpaste,  160 tea bags,....   I'm still doing a stock check.

If thinks really get bad we may be reduced to a barter economy,  one roll of toilet paper for one bottle of milk!

It's nice to feel I'm not the only one that feels this way. Hopefully we can ride it through and get back to some normality sooner rather than later, I hope.

I think its times like this that people show their true self. May I add their are some good folk out there willing to do some kind favours for people also.

I quite agree. I can see no reason that there should be significant shortages of anything at this point. The production of food and goods didn't suddenly plunge off a cliff, and reasonably well-off folks with freezer-space and a car (i.e. the majority of the selfish hoarders) should have little need to buy so much more than they normally would to cope with a two week quarantine (to quote a joke I saw recently; if you need a trolley-full of loo-paper for a fortnight, you should probably have seen a doctor long before the virus outbreak!).

I have had a few dirty looks already when some of my slightly less charitable thoughts have inadvertently slipped out ("sure you've got enough there?") - not knowing when I'm speaking out loud is probably an autistic trait I could do without right now. But franky, I think it is about time that decent people do let their disapproval show, and that we try to make such selfishness socially unacceptable. I didn't really expect the supermarkets to respond swiftly (ker-ching!), and I would have been completely in favour of them being forced to implement rationing long before they've finally got around it voluntarily.

And who is likely to suffer most from the selfishness of the hoarders? The very people who are most likely to have the most to fear from the virus -  elderly folks, disabled people, and those with chronic illnesses; especially if they have no family or friends with sharp elbows.

I for one have no problem with you having a bit of a rant; I'm thoroughly disgusted myself with some people's behaviour (many of whom no doubt would allege that its autistic folks like us who are short of social graces and common sense!)