What's everyone doing in the lockdown?

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Obviously the "lockdown message" is not getting through.

Wife went to work (B+Q) today to expect to be told that the shop is closing imminently and today would a day of removing perishables and locking the doors.

Nope , business as usual people waiting on the shop opening at 07:00 and the employees have been told the shop will be opening tomorrow , WTF.

The call handler had taken 53 calls before 09:00 to ask if they are open today , one woman was going mental at the receptionist because she advised not to come in and collect her PAINT.

No restrictions to the amount of customers in store at any one time.

I understand that some form of "essential" purchases are required to repair a burst pipe / heating component / electrical part but why are the paint / kitchen / bathroom /wallpaper isles open to the general public especially at such a critical time.

Seems to be that ££££ is king for some organisations , no change there then.

If you want to stop people gathering stop giving them a place to do so.

Hopefully employee pressure may see some changes later today.

K
 
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The missus received text message this morning, from gov.uk with a link to the 'rules' for C-19. Anyone else received the same?
 
The missus received text message this morning, from gov.uk with a link to the 'rules' for C-19. Anyone else received the same?
According to BBC News, all the mobile networks will be sending the message to all their customers.
 
Yes, received the same message.....
 
According to BBC News, all the mobile networks will be sending the message to all their customers.
Ta! Just received it myself.
 
Obviously the "lockdown message" is not getting through.

Wife went to work (B+Q) today to expect to be told that the shop is closing imminently and today would a day of removing perishables and locking the doors.

Nope , business as usual people waiting on the shop opening at 07:00 and the employees have been told the shop will be opening tomorrow , WTF.

The call handler had taken 53 calls before 09:00 to ask if they are open today , one woman was going mental at the receptionist because she advised not to come in and collect her PAINT.

No restrictions to the amount of customers in store at any one time.

I understand that some form of "essential" purchases are required to repair a burst pipe / heating component / electrical part but why are the paint / kitchen / bathroom /wallpaper isles open to the general public especially at such a critical time.

Seems to be that ££££ is king for some organisations , no change there then.

If you want to stop people gathering stop giving them a place to do so.

Hopefully employee pressure may see some changes later today.

K

Subtle Kenny. But I suspect many here have their minds set on home decorating and nothing will stop them!
 
Last night our director put a 24h halt on all site work

We have around 100-150 employees who can work from home (admin/managers/HR)

About 100 site staff who are also qualified with the above and can work from home

Around 300 site staff that can only really do site stuff, aside from basic things like filling in their L&S’s at home

Will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow. We are in the occupational hazard industry, Asbestos/Legionella/Fire risk etc. I have done site work for weeks at a time without seeing or speaking to a single soul all day long, inspecting un-manned sites such as utilities, BT ATE’s, Water treatment sites, (void) residentials. I imagine we can still do those

We will likely be on call for all major contracts such as Royal Mail, Severn Trent, Co-op, Western Power and National Grid etc as well as the NHS should any utilities need repair or maintaining and there’s known hazards in the vicinity of said appliances, we will have to attend to make sure all is safe and to keep them running. Even as menial as water damage in a supermarket leading to asbestos being damaged, the shop would need to stay open for essentials and the risk stopped and cleaned up immediately

One crucial thing would be to keep boilers running in NHS sites, with most of them heaving with asbestos not only in public areas but especially in the boiler rooms anything like that and we would attend. Aside from that we’re also getting an influx of work from clients to get stuff done in properties that are now empty
 
Obviously the "lockdown message" is not getting through.

Wife went to work (B+Q) today to expect to be told that the shop is closing imminently and today would a day of removing perishables and locking the doors.

Nope , business as usual people waiting on the shop opening at 07:00 and the employees have been told the shop will be opening tomorrow , WTF.

The call handler had taken 53 calls before 09:00 to ask if they are open today , one woman was going mental at the receptionist because she advised not to come in and collect her PAINT.

No restrictions to the amount of customers in store at any one time.

I understand that some form of "essential" purchases are required to repair a burst pipe / heating component / electrical part but why are the paint / kitchen / bathroom /wallpaper isles open to the general public especially at such a critical time.

Seems to be that ££££ is king for some organisations , no change there then.

If you want to stop people gathering stop giving them a place to do so.

Hopefully employee pressure may see some changes later today.

K
Our B&Q store has restricted customer access since Sunday and is closed to the public today. Our Click & Collects have gone mental and staff have been told not to answer the phones. Not sure why your store is still open to the public?
This from the DIY.com website -

An update from Graham Bell, B&Q CEO
The Prime Minister has announced that all non-essential retailers will close to help stop the spread of Covid-19. We have learnt that the DIY and Hardware store sector has been categorised as an essential retailer by the government.
We are now working out the safest and simplest way to support communities in providing only essential products moving forwards.

Our stores, as we prepare, will be closed Tuesday 24th March.

Thank you for your understanding and support in advance. More information will follow.
 
Obviously the "lockdown message" is not getting through.

Wife went to work (B+Q) today to expect to be told that the shop is closing imminently and today would a day of removing perishables and locking the doors.

Is it not the case that 'hardware' stores were on the list of what is allowed to be open?
 
Is it not the case that 'hardware' stores were on the list of what is allowed to be open?
It is, see the quoted message from the CEO above (post #148). B&Q are trying to find a way of only providing essentials. No way is paint and flooring essentials..
 
Just heard in the radio , that Classic FM are doing a special thing on Thursday (26th) at 8pm, asking people to stop everything to take a minute to put their hands together and make some noise for the doctors, nurses, carers, gp s, pharmacists , emergency staff and all the NHS staff who are working hard to help those affected at this time.

Make sure you have Claasic FM on Thursday at 8pm, turn your radio up open your window and doors, stand on your balcony or in your garden and show your support please, keep safe x
 
Not sure why your store is still open to the public?

Opening hours have been changed to 08:00 -> 17:00 but still open , and will be tomorrow unless head office change their policy later today.

No restrictions to customer numbers and entire store accessible to them.

What i fail to understand is that during a lockdown and with moving around limited to "essential" travel only then why are people being allowed and think it is acceptable to even go anywhere near a bloody DIY store for "trivia".

I loaded the car last night with a mountain of dismantled decking ready for my trip to the dump this morning , it will shortly be unloaded and the decking space will become a firepit as it will need to get disposed of somehow. Cant even get some marshmallows to toast.

K
 
Opening hours have been changed to 08:00 -> 17:00 but still open , and will be tomorrow unless head office change their policy later today.

No restrictions to customer numbers and entire store accessible to them.

What i fail to understand is that during a lockdown and with moving around limited to "essential" travel only then why are people being allowed to even go anywhere near a bloody DIY store for "trivia".

K
It was like a scene from cup final day outside our store at the weekend queues stretching out of the car park onto the main road. Absolute chaos and totally irresponsible.
Retailers need to act in a morally responsible way, or it will come back to bite them when 'normality' returns...
 
What i fail to understand is that during a lockdown and with moving around limited to "essential" travel only then why are people being allowed and think it is acceptable to even go anywhere near a bloody DIY store for "trivia".

I think we're seeing the issue of practicalities arise. Very difficult to define tightly, to manage and to control.

Essential and 'essential' travel on restricted public transport services resulting in some services and stations teeming with people.

What actually constitutes essential - getting your house fixed (or decorated) - getting your car fixed (or serviced) - and buying milk (or truffles and caviar) - and buying medicine (or cosmetics).

It's difficult to clamp down.
 
Retailers need to act in a morally responsible way

Especially towards their employees , how can you create a 2m gap between people (customer + cashier) when they are going through a narrow checkout :wallbash:

Just remember that "it" can survive on hard surfaces for around three days so all trolley / door handles will need to be cleaned regularly but I bet they are not , people picking thing off the shelf then returning it , people pressing keypads making payments the whole thing is a cross contamination nightmare for employees and customers alike. Just remember these customers and employees are going home to their families.

K
 
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It's difficult to clamp down.

Not in B+Q , "all isles closed apart from plumbing / electrical / heating "

Big notice on the front door informing the customers of the above.^^ , only 10 customers in the store at any one time with contactless payments only (where possible) Or just leave the trade section open as you need to have a card to use Tradepoint.

Seemingly Screwfix have closed all their stores and they are part of the same group.

As Nicola said yesterday - "If you are still living your life as normal then you are doing something wrong"

Madness

K
 
All trolley / door handles will need to be cleaned regularly but I bet they are not , people picking thing off the shelf then returning it , people pressing keypads making payments the whole thing is a cross contamination nightmare for employees and customers alike. Just remember these customers and employees are going home to their families.

The problem exists for supermarkets too. And pharmacies that have self service sections.
 
Opening hours have been changed to 08:00 -> 17:00 but still open , and will be tomorrow unless head office change their policy later today.

No restrictions to customer numbers and entire store accessible to them.

What i fail to understand is that during a lockdown and with moving around limited to "essential" travel only then why are people being allowed and think it is acceptable to even go anywhere near a bloody DIY store for "trivia".

I loaded the car last night with a mountain of dismantled decking ready for my trip to the dump this morning , it will shortly be unloaded and the decking space will become a firepit as it will need to get disposed of somehow. Cant even get some marshmallows to toast.

K
I share your anger. This country, along with most Western countries, is plagued by self-self-self. We’ll only do what we feel is right for us, and fcuk everyone else. I can totally understand people wanting to make the best use of the time that they’re stuck at home to do a bit of decorating or other DIY, but going out now to buy materials is beyond selfish. It’s ignorant beyond belief. Don’t they care about the health of anyone else such as those members of staff who are having to continue working? It appears not.

My wife has closed her hairdressing business that she runs from home. It could be argued that it’s not actually a shop so doesn’t fall under the classification of businesses that have to close. But despite it meaning that half our household’s income will disappear for now, she rightly puts health foremost. Not just our family’s health but everyone else’s.

In the meantime, it’s reassuring to have workmen outside our house continuing to dig up the paths to install cables for FTTP broadband. The noise of all their machinery is so relaxing whilst we’re all stuck indoors!
 
Seemingly Screwfix have closed all their stores and they are part of the same group.

Screwfix are in the same grioup as B&Q - yio'll see some of the same unique brands there - though prices differ (not always in the same direction). It would make more sense to keep Screwfix open and only allow online ordering and set schedules for collection.

As for hearting/plumping/electrical - one might have assumed that basic tools and things like screws and nails and wood were fairtly important for fixing stuff.
 

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