Yes, Grocery Store Workers Are 'Essential' In This Pandemic | The Odyssey Online
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Politics and Activism

I'm A Grocery Store Worker And Yes, I'm 'Essential' In This Pandemic

Don't come to my store if you just want to "kill some time."

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I'm A Grocery Store Worker And Yes, I'm 'Essential' In This Pandemic

So, all of us know what's going on. We are in the middle of a pandemic and many people aren't sure of what the next move is going to be.

I work in a grocery store. Yes, I signed up for the job, however, I did not sign up for people slinging insults and degrading remarks my way.

We are the reason you are able to have groceries in the first place. Most of the store is on a leave of absence because they are horrified of working and taking home a disease that could easily kill their families. By coming home every night, I am putting my family in danger of me carrying home this infectious disease. At my job, they have us take wellness checks before every shift. We get our temperature taken and asked three questions and then sent about our day. This is to ensure our safety as well as yours.

I am working 35 – 39 hours per week while still being a full-time student and I'm exhausted.

It's a lot. And trust me, I have no attitude that I need to fix, I am just tired. I am tired of being yelled at, I am tired from the last night's shift having to clean up everything that is left behind at the front lines. I apologize that the lines were as long as they are, I am trying my best to hurry everyone through my line to boost customer satisfaction. The answer is yes, lots of things have changed, even from my first week of work. No, when I started we did not have the plexiglass you see in front of you. PLEASE, don't knock on it, I like to compare it to the feeling of a fish in a fishbowl. I try to sanitize my lane at least twice every hour, but sometimes the lines are too crazy to even think about it.

My employers have been amazing during this time.

We are all trying our best to make you, the customer happy, as well as ourselves. The truth is, we don't know what will be coming in the shipments we get. I have no clue when there will be hand sanitizer, Lysol wipes, or toilet paper. What you see back there is what you get, I don't even know we have some things until they come across my belt. We are running out of random things even such as flour, apples, and potatoes. The people on the floor are TRYING. Please, just let us work at a pace that won't kill us.

All I am trying to say is, stay home if you are not on your last box of mac and cheese.

Don't come to the store to kill some time and leave with clothes and movies, get those things when you come to get GROCERIES. If it is not a dier situation for you to leave the house, don't. You aren't realizing how many people you are putting at risk, it is a never-ending chain. If you do go to the store, where your protective gear, and think about what you say/do before you do it.

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