So..."Let Elderly People Shop Early" - what's "Elderly"?

[Another Reader]

I tried to go to senior hour at Costco at 7:35 this morning. The line snaked down by the tire center all the way to the street and then along the edge of the parking lot. I did not stick around.

A friend went back this afternoon. Not too bad, but no TP or bottled water. She works with a cat rescue and wanted to buy 4 bags of cat food. The cashier said the limit was one. She kicked it up two levels. No sign on the shelf plus the food was needed to feed rescue animals. 30 cats can demolish a bag in a few days. Chewy is out of stock and way behind in shipping, as is Amazon. Scored a few bags from Target, but not enough, and now they are delayed in shipping. The manager finally gave in. Had to ring them up as separate transactions but the cats will have food.

 

[Montecfo]

It's been a long time since I was carded for anything. I'll have to see if I can find my old fake ID from when I was in college.

In our area senior hours are 55+ or 60+. Only been to Walmart's senor hour so far. It was pretty busy.

They had a guy at door as I approached. Noticed a small crowd hovering, I guessed waiting for the regular hours. The guy told me only seniors 60+ could enter and was turning me away. I told him I'm over 60 and he let me in. I heard a lady behind me call out "it's a compliment!"

I think shopping outside the senior hours could be a better plan as things get better stocked, due to crowds. I shopped late Monday at a different local store. It was great, uncrowded. Not everything in stock hence the early visit to WMT.

 

[PatrickA5]

People are storing all of that meat in a newly acquired freezer. I have a friend that is the buyer for an appliance store in my city. He said in February he bought every freezer he could find in our region of the country. He said his store sold over 500 freezers this week (mid-sized city). I accused him of hoarding freezers. He's expecting a big bonus. I was wondering where all of the hamburger and chicken was being kept.

 

[Sunset]

I attempted to place an online order with our store delivery service Pepod but after I loaded the cart no delivery date was available through 3/31. You think they would advise you before you shop.......

I guess we will use the senior shopping time between 6-7:30 starting tomorrow.

That is what I noticed with the Walmart online order, but it kept my list of items I had picked out. So the next morning very early I logged back on and saw my list, then checked out as there were new time slots available.

 

[DrRoy]

I am 60 (and have had pneumonia before), and I went to the senior shopping yesterday at 7am. There was a pretty long line to get in, but it moved quickly. Store people watched and counted those that entered, but did not card. I saw a neighbor inside. Shelves were about 2/3 stocked. I got a couple dozen XL eggs, but only one doz was left. They still had a fair number of L. There was no chicken at all. Other meat was thin except for ground beef.

 

[Emerson11]

I do wish that we could quarantine the elderly so the rest of us can just get sick and get it over with. As it is the whole damn country is trying to slow down a freight train that's coming from all directions and is invisible.

Flattening the curve is costing the country a fortune.

Packing the elderly into casinos, resorts, and cruise ships for a month would have to be cheaper than what we're facing now. And besides wouldn't they all be happy to get free vacations.

I agree that isolating the vulnerable who choose to isolate would have been preferable.

 

[Aerides]

I do wish that we could quarantine the elderly so the rest of us can just get sick and get it over with. As it is the whole damn country is trying to slow down a freight train that's coming from all directions and is invisible.

Flattening the curve is costing the country a fortune.

Sure, but how would that really work? What's the age that's safe or not (first under 18 death yesterday, plenty of anecdotal reads of youngs being sick and hospitalized). And keep everyone over 60 locked up for how long? 3 months? 6 months? Until there's a vaccine/cure? Maybe if you want to drop Full SS and Medicare ages to start on the lower age of the quarantine because plenty of those folks still need to work too.

I'm 50, and I've read enough that I don't want to gamble with getting Covid, or giving it to my husband, or anyone else I care about (or don't care about for that matter).

You can put me firmly in the lives over money camp.

 

[REWahoo]

You can put me firmly in the lives over money camp.

+1

I saw this in a newspaper editorial today and it sums up how I feel about the situation:

...picking economic health over public health...does not reflect the values that have made this nation great.

What sort of society puts its most vulnerable members at greater risk while the strong or the young “get back to living?”

....

Here, the strong shoulder the load for the weak. Here, the young respect and care for the old. That is who we want to be. That is our best humanity. That is what makes us a decent society and one that is worth preserving.

 

[harley]

Sure, but how would that really work? What's the age that's safe or not (first under 18 death yesterday, plenty of anecdotal reads of youngs being sick and hospitalized). And keep everyone over 60 locked up for how long? 3 months? 6 months? Until there's a vaccine/cure? Maybe if you want to drop Full SS and Medicare ages to start on the lower age of the quarantine because plenty of those folks still need to work too.

I'm 50, and I've read enough that I don't want to gamble with getting Covid, or giving it to my husband, or anyone else I care about (or don't care about for that matter).

You can put me firmly in the lives over money camp.

I agree. Also, it appears the early assumption that this disease isn't serious if you're young isn't turning out to be true. The Coronavirus Is Sending Lots Of Younger People To The Hospital

 

[stepford]

I restocked this morning at the 'peri-elderly' time of 7:40AM (elderly hours are 7-7:30). Since I am peri-elderly at 59.5 this is fitting.

Anyway, southern California Ralph's (Kroger chain). Minimal line up outside - maybe 5 shoppers staying well apart. Not crowded in store, but the usual shortages of paper and cleaning products were evident. Fortunately staples like bread, eggs, milk, dried fruits and nuts, and fresh veggies were abundant. A first for me, I bought about $300 worth of stuff (typical shopping for 2 pre-Corona was $70-80, but we'd go multiple times per week).

Everyone, shoppers and staff alike, were courteous and cooperative about maintaining distance. I was inside for longer than I wanted to be (about 35-40 minutes including a lengthy self-checkout) but was wearing my low-rent PPE (gloves, surgical mask, protective glasses) and washed thoroughly on return so I'm not too worried (knock on wood).

 

[gwraigty]

Honestly, I'm not impressed with the idea. Hey, if we get one compromised person we can infect the maximum number of the vulnerable population by concentrating them in time and space!

Further, I'm not convinced the the generic senior population should have priority on the latest shipment of TP and hand sanitizer over families with babies, non-senior at-risk people, or health care workers like my BIL/SIL - a general practice doctor and a nurse who work during the day to protect their patients.

+1

It seems like this is an experiment designed to solve a problem while creating other problems. I wonder how it's going with the special shopping hours for the store employees. Much the same, maybe?

 

[ivinsfan]

That is what I noticed with the Walmart online order, but it kept my list of items I had picked out. So the next morning very early I logged back on and saw my list, then checked out as there were new time slots available.

Walmart online PSA.. they only release two days of time slots...so try shortly after midnight or very early the next morning.

 

[Amethyst]

I went to Walmart today during old people hour. The minute I saw the parking lot (spaces!) and the plentiful carts outside, including the little-old-lady double-decker special, I knew they must be out of TP and anything else people want, and I was right. Not a square to spare. A store employee told me that a truck with TP was due in later that day. I'm sure it was mobbed the moment it pulled into the loading dock, but I wasn't about to wait around for the melee.

I did get some Greek yogurt (they were all out of plain, so I settled for vanilla, even though it has sugar), the expensive non-Walmart brand of oatmeal, and some bananas. There were zero "Great Value" canned or frozen vegetables. Some bags of Birds Eye and cans of Green Giant vegetables. I guess the cheaper stuff sells out fastest.

 

[Rustic23]

Making homemade yeast bread has been a failing of mine. I just can't get it right. I can do quick breads though.

Give this a try. First loaf, and all others have turned out good.

 

[FIREd]

France CV death rate/M population: 17. US: 2.

Meaningless comparison as France and the US are not on the same spot on “the curve”.

 

[becca]

I did the old people shopping at 6AM this morning at Giant Food. There weren't many old people in the store, but there were many, many restockers. It was difficult to get your cart down an aisle due to the restockers and the boxes. Store was pretty well stocked except for TP (about 8 packages, I didn't need any) and limited meat. I don't think I will do the old people shop anymore, just take may chances with the younger crowd.

 

[Corporateburnout]

That is what I noticed with the Walmart online order, but it kept my list of items I had picked out. So the next morning very early I logged back on and saw my list, then checked out as there were new time slots available.

I ended up reserving a spot for a 4/1 delivery. I'll be glad to get 70% of what we ordered. Last week I placed an order with Shaws through Instacart for a total of 12 items and to my surprise they delivered the next day except they were only 8 of the 12 items...

 

[youbet]

I'm deep into geezerhood (73) and have some health issues which make me very eligible for the so-called "special" shopping hours. I was going to go to the Jewel tomorrow (geezer hours = Tues and Thurs from 7 to 9 AM) but am trying a work-around instead.

Despite being one of those "can't learn nuttin' new geezer-guys," I figured out how to order delivery from Amazon Fresh. I think around here, that means the goods come from Whole Foods. I ordered this morning and delivery is supposed to be early this evening between 6 and 8 PM. Sounds good to me.

We're getting milk, eggs, ground beef, dish soap, some fresh fruits and veggies and a loaf of Ezekial bread. Didn't really have to have anything urgently, but did want to test the system and my ability to use it.

I'll report back if/when the goods show up.

EDIT: I misspoke above. The scheduled delivery window was 5 - 7 PM. They arrived at 5:21 PM. Everything was there. Everything was well packed with perishibles and frozen goods in insulated bags with ice (a frozen water bottle supplied in each bag no charge). Eggs in a crush resistant container. Etc. DW (pretty fussy) prepped, cleaned and stored everything and seemed to be quite pleased.

The delivery team was a middle age couple who dropped the stuff on our front stoop and left. Since we noticed their arrival, we quickly had the door open and waved goodbye to them as they got back into their van.

No complaint from us and will likely do this again.

 

[meleana]

I am in my 60's and I shop when I feel like it. I do not want to go very early. First off I don't get out of bed until the sun comes up and then it takes me a while to get moving.


If i get there 9 or 10 or 11, half the stuff is gone so is it the elderly that are hoarding everything?

 

[meleana]

Give this a try. First loaf, and all others have turned out good.

I have a bread machine I am taking out of the box after a few years of not using it. I could not get flour in the stores so I ordered from a local grist mill. Then I couldn't get yeast but a neighbor had some and was kind enough to give me a few packets. So will see how it goes this weekend.

 

[gwraigty]

I am in my 60's and I shop when I feel like it. I do not want to go very early. First off I don't get out of bed until the sun comes up and then it takes me a while to get moving.


If i get there 9 or 10 or 11, half the stuff is gone so is it the elderly that are hoarding everything?

They are definitely hoarding the toilet paper. According to store employees that I spoke with yesterday, they get such a small shipment in, there isn't enough for even the approximately 50 elderly shoppers that hang around outside waiting for the doors to open up. Within a few minutes of opening, all the available toilet paper is gone, even with a limit of 1. No one else gets any until the next shipment comes in. I don't know how often that is, but unless they start getting in hundreds of packages, the elderly will continue to take it all during senior shopping. The rest of us will get no toilet paper. I'm getting angry about it and it needs to stop, not that I have any power to do anything about it, of course.

To make matters worse, some of our local stores have elderly shopping hours on multiple days of the week. The store I was at yesterday has this 2 days a week. One store has it 3 days a week, all in a row. I haven't seen a package of toilet paper in a store in more than 2 weeks. If I hadn't bought some extra toilet paper, responsibly, buying only 1 package twice at week between 2 different grocery stores, my household of 4 would have run out by now.

They're also hoarding the paper towels. I guess that's the next best thing to toilet paper, provided you can remember not to flush it. I was in the store at 11 AM and the paper towels racks had been emptied out. They were just bringing a pallet out to restock.

Another trend I'm seeing is that every meat that's on sale is out of stock. Completely. Definite hoarding going on.

I realize that home toilet paper usage has probably skyrocketed with schools being closed and people working from home or being out of work. The paper product manufacturers claim they're putting out product as fast as they can make it. Are the people responsible for purchasing not accounting for any of this?

 

[aaronc879]

They are definitely hoarding the toilet paper. According to store employees that I spoke with yesterday, they get such a small shipment in, there isn't enough for even the approximately 50 elderly shoppers that hang around outside waiting for the doors to open up. Within a few minutes of opening, all the available toilet paper is gone, even with a limit of 1. No one else gets any until the next shipment comes in. I don't know how often that is, but unless they start getting in hundreds of packages, the elderly will continue to take it all during senior shopping. The rest of us will get no toilet paper. I'm getting angry about it and it needs to stop, not that I have any power to do anything about it, of course.

To make matters worse, some of our local stores have elderly shopping hours on multiple days of the week. The store I was at yesterday has this 2 days a week. One store has it 3 days a week, all in a row. I haven't seen a package of toilet paper in a store in more than 2 weeks. If I hadn't bought some extra toilet paper, responsibly, buying only 1 package twice at week between 2 different grocery stores, my household of 4 would have run out by now.

They're also hoarding the paper towels. I guess that's the next best thing to toilet paper, provided you can remember not to flush it. I was in the store at 11 AM and the paper towels racks had been emptied out. They were just bringing a pallet out to restock.

Another trend I'm seeing is that every meat that's on sale is out of stock. Completely. Definite hoarding going on.

I realize that home toilet paper usage has probably skyrocketed with schools being closed and people working from home or being out of work. The paper product manufacturers claim they're putting out product as fast as they can make it. Are the people responsible for purchasing not accounting for any of this?

Those senior shopping hours are a request, not an order. My local chain grocery store has senior hours from 6-8a very day. After going at 8:30 a couple times and having nothing be in stock I went in at 7(I'm 40 years old) and got what I needed. I didn't push any old people out of the way but I got what I needed.

 

[gcgang]

Our local Costco started senior hours today. I was planning to go but thought better of it and got there around noon. Not overly crowded, but not empty either. Overheard an employee telling another customer that it was packed during the senior hour. As this is being reported on Nextdoor for other stores that have senior hour, it didn't surprise me. He also stated that they have TP every day but run out very early. They are not getting any hand sanitizer. Very few people seemed to be aware of 'social distancing' .

I did the senior hour at Costco yesterday. Very long line, took almost 45 minutes to get in. People were pretty well separated, by shopping carts and yellow taped pallets. When I came out, the line was about 1/10 as long.

The store had pretty much everything (except the $5 roast chickens, which were still roasting).

 

[PatrickA5]

Our state (Oklahoma) has a "Safer at Home" policy geared for those 65 and older. Basically, these people are supposed to only go to the grocery store and pharmacy. I think this is how the government will probably try to "reopen" the country - telling the old to stay at home and let the younger people go back to work. Based on what I saw at Home Depot today (deemed essential), I think it will fail miserably. I was probably the youngest there (61) and there were a ton of 75-80 year olds standing within 2 feet of each other at the checkout. My FIL is 83 and has many underlying conditions, but he doesn't care. Nobody is going to tell him what to do.

We'll see how this all works out.

 

[gwraigty]

Those senior shopping hours are a request, not an order. My local chain grocery store has senior hours from 6-8a very day. After going at 8:30 a couple times and having nothing be in stock I went in at 7(I'm 40 years old) and got what I needed. I didn't push any old people out of the way but I got what I needed.

It depends on store policy. Some stores are limiting it to 60+, which I can't pass for. Or they'll just use the generic "seniors". Thanks for the data point though. It's more indication that these senior shopping hours are shutting the rest of us out. IMO, it's ridiculous to have it every day.

Our state (Oklahoma) has a "Safer at Home" policy geared for those 65 and older. Basically, these people are supposed to only go to the grocery store and pharmacy. I think this is how the government will probably try to "reopen" the country - telling the old to stay at home and let the younger people go back to work. Based on what I saw at Home Depot today (deemed essential), I think it will fail miserably. I was probably the youngest there (61) and there were a ton of 75-80 year olds standing within 2 feet of each other at the checkout. My FIL is 83 and has many underlying conditions, but he doesn't care. Nobody is going to tell him what to do.

We'll see how this all works out.

Ohio has that policy as well with the stay-at-home order. The elderly are to stay home as much as possible. Because they won't, IMO, millions of people have become unemployed or minimally employed. Are people like your FIL aware of that, or do they even care? My FIL/SMIL have that general attitude as well.