Editor's update: Effective March 19 all Save-On stores will limit their hours of operation, opening their doors from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., due to the pandemic.
Also, all stores will open from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. for seniors, people with disabilities and those most vulnerable to shop in a less hectic environment and allow for social distancing, as recommended by health officials, according to a news release from the company.
It has been an unprecedented whirlwind for Squamish's grocery stores for the last week or so as the global epidemic has crept closer to our shores.
Both Nesters Market manager Sean Daly and Save-On-Foods manager Owain Hoefle say the big uptick in customers streaming into their stores started March 12. when B.C.'s provincial health officer asked the public to take drastic measures to stem the spread of the disease. (The day before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.)
Hoefle said the store has struggled to keep up with demand — creating the empty shelves sometimes posted to social media — because of the collective strain on the main warehouse where the product comes from for all B.C. stores in the chain, which is in Abbotsford.
Almost all the stores are experiencing vastly increased sales so the main warehouse can't be restocked in time for the next shipment.
"It is putting our warehouse about 24 hours behind," Hoefle said. "At least 40% of our orders are getting shorted, because of the strain."
While the warehouse puts limits on what can be ordered, Hoefle hasn't — and is reluctant to — put limits on the numbers of items a customer can purchase.
"I am only going to do it if the company sets that direction. It is just one more thing that we would have to manage at this time," Hoefle said.
His two main priorities at the store are taking care of the team throughout the pandemic, and secondly filling the shelves.
"Our team members, who are basically on the front lines have to deal with all this stuff. If they work too much they are going to become immune-compromised," he said.
The staff at Save-On are unionized except for the managers.
Managers at Save-On are working extra long days, at this point, Hoefle said.
For Daly, things were complicated on Saturday, in the heat of the rush, by a long power outage due to the windstorm.
"That didn't help anything," Daly said.
The same storm knocked out power to Independent too.
"We've upped our orders because of the amount of stuff that was purchased over the weekend, but there are all kinds of surges that have happened.," Daly said on March 16. "People are returning from trips early and people are off work so they are buying a little more. Overall, it is pretty good."
Daly and Hoefle both stressed there is no need to panic buy.
"I think because the demand right now is so big they are seeing empty shelves in a lot of locations, but the food supply chain hasn't been disrupted in any way. The food is still coming," Daly said. "There's never any harm in having your earthquake kit, of course, but there doesn't seem to be a need to panic buy."
Hoefle agreed bulk buying isn't helping anyone and there's a big concern about seniors not getting the things they need. "We feel for them. They come to the store needing the things they need on a daily basis, and then the person before them has loaded up a whole buggy full of flour and toilet paper," he said.
On top of that, when the store has empty shelves, it creates a domino effect where people start to question if they should be panic buying too.
Is kindness contagious?
In terms of people's behavior, the managers say they have been pleasantly surprised by the way customers are responding.
"Surprisingly, pretty good," Hoefle said. "Tensions are high... It has been nice seeing all the messages out there like 'Be nice to the people who serve you groceries, they are working around the clock to help you and make sure you guys are looked after.'"
Both men said it is one of the few times grocery workers seem to be roundly thanked for doing their jobs.
"What I see in the store is people being very nice, very kind," Daly said, adding he sees Squamish residents coming in to get groceries for others who can't get out. "It has been very positive, from what I have seen."
Different hour for seniors?
Squamish's Jeremiah White has been trying to get the momentum going online for Squamish's grocery stores to open early or have a special hour for seniors in town. Another local is asking the same thing and adding in drug stores to the list.
White said he saw somewhere that Woolworths in England was doing it and thought it would be a good idea in town.
He said he has a great grandmother who lives in a different town and he makes sure she is OK, but others don't have that support.
"Anything to facilitate these people to not be afraid," he said. "The most high-risk people here are the most disadvantaged at this point."
He acknowledges that there are other groups who may want their own time, such as those with immune-compromised conditions, but he said seniors are a good place to start.
"Expand on that, but throw something out for seniors right now because they are scared and budgeted."
The seniors in town built our society, he noted.
Daly said he heard about the campaign and knows of stores that are doing it. He said Nester's parent company is looking into it.
Nesters is owned by Buy-Low Foods which, in turn, is owned by the Jim Patterson Group, which also owns Save-On-Foods.
"But it is so soon into this, but we aren't even sure how things are going to play out hour to hour," he said. "I am don't even know if I would be allowed to open early.
Hoefle said while sympathetic to the idea and he did pass it on to his higher-ups, the plan doesn't really make sense on the ground right now because if the store opened an hour earlier, it would create longer days for his staff, when they are already working longer than their scheduled shifts.
"It just strains them out even more. And then you adding an element of do you have someone standing at the door checking IDs? And then you aren't letting anyone else in. I am not sure what that looks like."
But he said if the company goes for it, he will make it work.
Both Nesters and Save-On have order online options (and email or call options with Nesters) for those who don't want to come to the store.
On a personal note, Daly said he is nervous like everyone else about the pandemic and what it will mean.
"It kind of feels like we are living history right now," he said.
The Chief contacted Hector's Your Independent Grocer, but was told the paper would have to go through the corporate headquarters for comment.
The central office did not respond to our request for comment for this story by press deadline. If we hear back we will add that comment online.
