The hygiene aisle of King Soopers was completely empty after shoppers scrambled to get cleaning products and toilet paper. photo by Chris Davis
As the world grapples with the effects of the coronavirus, grocery store employees are diligently working to provide their communities with essential resources.
On the afternoon of Friday, March 13th, 2020, the grocery stores of the Denver-metro area were flooded with customers. “That was the day it all of the sudden went insane,” remembered Chris Davis, an employee of King Soopers. Disturbed by the president’s travel ban and the closure of Colorado school districts, anxious patrons crowded the aisles, targeting cleaning supplies and, inexplicably, toilet paper. “You would think that it was Black Friday and it was the last thing on the shelf,” recalled Stephanie Mondragon, another King Soopers employee.
Similar scenes were playing out across the country as the threat of the coronavirus became ever more formidable. “On that Friday it was really stressful because it was really crowded,” expressed Finn Parker, a former employee of Sprouts. “It was hard to get everything done.” While many companies were adjusting to working remotely, grocery store employees could not stay at home. As essential workers, they had to put aside any fears of impending doom, strap on face masks, and serve their startlingly high volume of customers. “It was bizarre to see everybody panicking,” Davis remarked. “We were all pretty much in awe.”
Despite the unprecedented circumstances, the employees countered the new demand in high spirits. “The grocery store workers are very close, and they’re like a family,” explained Glenn Ward, an employee of King Soopers. “Everybody has shown up with a good attitude.” Grocery store employees are not strangers to unusual circumstances. Everyone has to buy groceries, so grocery store workers deal with all sorts of unique individuals on a daily basis. “You see almost everything in the grocery business,” Ward joked. The corona surge was just another challenge that could be conquered with a little perseverance and a lot of hand sanitizer. “[Grocery store employees] are the most resilient people. It is amazing to watch them,” Ward asserted. Still, the employees are not immune to the uncertainty inspired by the pandemic. “There is a fear,” insisted Mondragon. “There’s people that are still scared of it, and they are wearing their masks constantly.” Nevertheless, the employees have continued to come to work and provide for the community.
Customers have also striven to improve their performance. “A lot more people were saying thank you and being more considerate than usual, which was refreshing,” Parker noted. The employees’ efforts have not gone unrecognized. Workers have received pay raises and bonuses to account for the new obstacles. “We’ve been treated really well by the community, including the restaurants surrounding us,” commented Davis. Chains including Little Caesar’s, Dominoes, and Jimmy Johns have catered lunches for the employees to show their appreciation. Though a global pandemic is terrifying enough to put the coolest heads on edge, customers have displayed a rare expression of gratitude and patience. Contrary to what viral toilet-paper-stampede videos would make one believe, Colorado consumers have maintained the ‘all in this together’ mentality.
Things are slowly going back to normal in grocery stores. The cleaning supplies aisles look less post-apocalyptic with every day that passes. “[Toilet paper] lasts a couple of days whereas before, every single day we got it, it was gone by that night,” noted Davis. Unfortunately, customer attire has also begun to resemble the pre-corona age. Davis explained, “My biggest concern is, a week ago, 75 percent of our customers were wearing masks. Now that they’re getting ready to lessen the restrictions a little bit, only 25 percent of our customers are wearing masks. People don’t seem to be worried about it anymore, like it’s gone and over with.” It is important to note that masks do not only serve to protect the wearer. They also prevent the wearer from spreading the disease to those around them should they be an unwitting carrier of the virus. “You could have this and not know it. You’re going to be completely fine, but you could go into a store and give it to another person without realizing it,” contended Davis. “If someone wears a mask everywhere they go, and it prevents one person from getting it, that may save one life or two lives or five lives. Wear a mask out of respect for our health.”
No matter what changes the coronavirus causes, grocery stores will continue to nourish their communities. There is no question that the determination and camaraderie of grocery store employees will withstand these troubling times. As such, only one mystery remains unsolved: “We still do not know why everyone was buying all of the toilet paper,” marveled Mondragon. “We still do not know to this day.”
