Worldwide, grocery store shelves are becoming more and more barren with each given day. The happiest place on Earth has closed for the first time since 9/11, making it the longest closure in Disneyland history. A majority of flights are canceled in and out of the country.
Colleges across the country have suspended classes and courses are now beginning to show up online for many students. Handshakes, high fives, and hugs have disappeared. Welcome to the coronavirus pandemic.
Grocery shopping is not a leisurely or calming activity for most. Bring in an unforeseen circumstance like the coronavirus, and it is an all-out battle scene. The scenes are similar to Black Friday, but instead of fighting over a T.V., consumers are fighting over toilet paper.
The Rohnert Park Costco has been so crowded that customers were not able to find carts by the entrance where they normally are. Instead, people were walking around the parking lot searching for deserted carts or resorted to asking strangers if they could take their cart once they were done. That is only the first battle. Once you are inside the building, customers are greeted by an employee handing out disinfecting wipes to clean your cart. Then, once you emerge onto the raceway, it feels like you are in a game of bumper cars racing to stock up on paper towels, toilet paper, water (plenty of sparkling water left behind), and hand sanitizer. Costco has put a limit of two on certain in-demand items like water and paper towels out fear that they could run out.
Costco CFO Richard Galanti said, “Members are turning to us for a variety of items associated with preparing for and dealing with a virus such as shelf stables, dry grocery items, cleaning supplies, Clorox and Bleach.” He also mentioned that warehouses are having trouble keeping up with the high demand and it has been “a little crazy.”
Costco is not the only business to be tested in a time of crisis. Trader Joe’s is also being wiped out by consumers. Frozen food aisles are almost completely empty in many locations. Trader Joe’s decided to stop passing out food samples amid the coronavirus scare as a way to decrease risk. As the company put it, “increased precautions” led to the decision to halt food samples.
Trader Joe’s recently put out a memo basically stating that sick workers are encouraged to stay at home and will still be paid. Specifically, the memo reads, “Since we want to reinforce this guideline, through April 15, your Captain has discretion to approve a reimbursement of AR for Crew Members who are unable to work due to respiratory illness . . . We are encouraging Crew who are exhibiting any of the above symptoms to see a medical provider and not come to work.”
Target is no different. Aisles of household essentials and cleaning products are gone. Target released a memo stating that employees who have the coronavirus will receive 14-days worth of paid time off. Target has also waived the absence policy for those who are starting to feel sick or need to take care of their children due to all of the recent school closures.
With events and performances being postponed left and right, such as Coachella and Billie Eilishe’s tour, and The Late Night Show with Jimmy Fallon being performed without a live audience, it is reassuring that Target’s CEO, Brian Cornell, stated that Target will remain open to the public for the remainder of the pandemic.
