Grocery store handles pandemic changes in stride

WORLAND - Worland's grocery store, like many stores across the state and country have faced many challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic, but Blair's Super Market store director Brandon Yule said his staff and the majority of their customers have handled everything well.

Wyoming was one of the last states to record a COVID-19 case and once that first case was reported things began happening fast and furiously at Blair's. Yule said they had a busier than normal day on Thursday, March 12, the day the first case was announced in Sheridan County. The store saw record sales on March 14 as Yule said, "the panic broke loose."

He said they figured they would see some panic buying that had been seen across the country, but it was a surprise when it hit. "We're usually lagging behind here in Wyoming because we're a little more secluded. We do our own thing and everyone leaves us alone," he said.

Whether people were panicking because they might be quarantined, panicking because they were concerned about the supply change, or panicking because of information they were seeing on social media and in the mainstream media, the store shelves emptied quickly of toilet paper and paper products.

He said the run on toilet paper had everyone, including the bathroom tissue industry confused.

"We're still feeling the repercussions from it with the demand still outweighing the supply," Yule said. "Every morning when we would open our doors there would be 10 to 15 people beelining toward that toilet paper aisle."

Other shortages have come not just from panic buying but from companies shifting gears in their production. Yule said General Mills, Proctor & Gamble and other companies have shifted gears on their "bread winners, their primary items."

While the companies are focusing on their key items it takes everything else out of production. "A lot of the cleaning supplies you could normally get (shower cleaner) you can't get now because they are not producing it," Yule said. "It's not that we can't get it, it's that it is not being made right now."

And it is not just cleaning supplies where production has changed. He said Progresso has stopped production on more than 40 types of soups.

Flour is being produced mainly in 25-pound and 50-pound bags.

He said the staples – bread, milk and eggs were hit the hardest.

The store orders every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the following Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Yule explained. He said the bread orders are about a week and a half behind.

Milk, was only limited about two days in the store and they were able to increase their order to get more milk in.

"Milk just flew off the shelf and then it just died," Yule said, noting people learned they could freeze milk.

Regarding eggs, there are only a few egg producers in the country. He said producers began focusing on dozen and 18-pack. "We had to go out and source from Food Services of America and Sysco to try and get eggs because our warehouse couldn't supply any due to too much demand," he said.

Now the concern is meat supply. Yule said, "Once again the concern is the plant shutting down, the processing plants shutting because of ill employees. They are still producing. They are still running, but they are at a depreciated capacity (25%)."

He said that as soon as the news came out about the Smithfield plant in South Dakota closing, the next day people were in Blair's wanting to stock up on pork, not knowing that Blair's had already pre-committed to product coming to their warehouse. "We are going to get the supply we ordered for the immediate future. Everything will be fine so long as people stop buying so much demand. Buy for your immediate needs. We're going to continue to get pork. We're going to continue to get beef. We're going to continue to get chickens, just not in the volumes that the pandemic purchasing is supporting right now."

There are currently limits of two per type of meat at Blair's. Yule said the industry is "guestimating" four to six weeks for limited supply of meats.

Limits will continue on cleaning supplies, toilet paper and flour as well.

Another change on the food side was anything consumer served has been stopped and are now pre-packaged including soup, donuts and the water fountain.

STAFF SERVICE & PROTECTION

Yule said the employees at Blair's went into autopilot mode. "Everybody took care of business. We had very little hiccups. Everything ran smooth. Everyone did what they needed to do. We were very fortunate."

He added, "We didn't have a chance to plan for this." As the holidays near, he said they know to plan for rushes and can plan staff scheduling accordingly.

"Our team did an amazing job and continue to do an amazing job taking care of the customers and taking care of each other. Everybody is working together," he said.

To protect the employees, the store has made several changes. The first weekend during a warehouse meeting, a store in Texas had begun installing sneezeguards. "We thought that was a great idea," Yule said so he contacted S&H Glass to cut plexiglass that was installed on the registers.

They have commercial-grade sanitizer to clean registers, cases, carts. "Everything that is a hard surface that a consumer would touch we've addressed with sanitizer on a daily, and sometimes hourly basis," Yule said.

The next step was trying to get customers to maintain social distancing at the registers with footprints on the floor.

Cashiers are spread out if possible every other register to allow them to social distance as well.

Yule reached out to residents to get cloth masks and three-ply nonwoven masks. "We have them if we have to take a mandatory step on wearing masks.

"The first day we tried to have the whole frontend staff wear masks but some of them can't do it physically or mentally (claustrophobia) for an entire shift," he said.

Yule says he has seen more people who wear masks, touch their masks and face more often that those who do not wear masks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has maintained throughout the pandemic that people should not touch their face.

"We've gotten some flack about our employees not wearing masks. We have them available. It's not about not caring about the community, it's that some employees cannot wear a mask for eight hours," Yule said.

Some cashiers and other employees are wearing gloves, however, technically gloves should be changed between each customer but there is not enough supply. He said they are sanitizing between customers.

One of the last changes was one-way aisles that is a national movement and Yule said that is providing a flow for customers that seems to be working.

Any employees with COVID symptoms including fever and/or cough, or feeling sick in general they are not letting them come into work. "We have some sick time in place to offer them to quarantine until their symptoms are gone," Yule said.

The store went back to regular hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. with the first two hours in the morning reserved for seniors 65 and older, those at high-risk health-wise and for those with American with Disabilities Act issues.

The majority of the community has been patient and understanding through the many changes and limits at the stores.

"My big thing is if you're upset over the situation or at the situation, don't take it out on my cashiers or my employees. We're all working really hard. They don't deserve the outbursts. Come to one of us in the white shirts and let us have it. We'll take the verbal beating and explain to you why we are or why we are not doing something," Yule said.

NEW NORMAL?

Yule said eventually the one-way aisles will be removed. He said the sneezeguards likely will stay. He said people have adjusted and it gives an added level of protection for the employees.

He said as long as they can stay clean and presentable "I think we'll keep them in place. They are not obtrusive."

"We're remaining fluid and adaptable. As long as we can continue to adapt to nationwide pushes, changes, and suggestions with our community in our mind. That is how we plan on getting through all of this. Whether it is a normal we go back to or a new normal we go back to we'll adapt to it and we'll adjust for everything based on the community interests and our interests to make sure we can take care of everyone as best as possible," Yule said.

He said he hopes to be able to launch the curbside delivery in three to four weeks.

He said product was "flying off the shelves so quickly" the program had to be put on hold.

"The measures we've taken to sanitize the store, make sure the employees are educated and self-sanitizing has made a huge difference. I'm sure [COVID-19] was here. It's been through here in the store on a weekly basis as far as customers, but the steps our team has taken [regarding cleaning] has been paramount to getting through this and keeping everybody healthy."