Redstone said:

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Convenience stores might have paper towels and TP... if you open the door, touch it only with a napkin / wet wipe / disinfectant wipe cover

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Or don't touch your face and wash your hands.

Kudos to HEB for all the good things they are doing in the community and in their stores. They have a good system for spacing folks waiting in line. But no one can control the shoppers from bunching up in an aisle.

Is there any news on increased availability of TP and paper towels etc? I was feeling pretty smug three weeks ago that I bought the super mega pack to last a month blunt now the month has nearly passed and I have been to H-E-B a half dozen times and nothing in that aisle at all. I am not thrilled about standing in a non socially distanced line to get in first thing in the morning, but would rather limit the number of stores I go to as well.

Redstone said:

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I was crowded in with several shoppers yesterday looking for grounded pepper (unsuccessfully); several breathed on me.

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Don't know if yours has one but at my bulk spice aisle the ground pepper and other spices were pre-bagged. Picked up some pepper. Not sure if they plan to continue to stock that and pre-bag them or if that was just what they did to get through remaining stock on hand.

Tailgate88 said:

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Is there any news on increased availability of TP and paper towels etc? I was feeling pretty smug three weeks ago that I bought the super mega pack to last a month blunt now the month has nearly passed and I have been to H-E-B a half dozen times and nothing in that aisle at all. I am not thrilled about standing in a non socially distanced line to get in first thing in the morning, but would rather limit the number of stores I go to as well.

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This one has me scratching my head too. I was at local Target yesterday, and they were cleaned out of paper products too. At some point the hoarders aren't hoarding.

Tailgate88 said:

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Is there any news on increased availability of TP and paper towels etc? I was feeling pretty smug three weeks ago that I bought the super mega pack to last a month blunt now the month has nearly passed and I have been to H-E-B a half dozen times and nothing in that aisle at all. I am not thrilled about standing in a non socially distanced line to get in first thing in the morning, but would rather limit the number of stores I go to as well.

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found them at Central Market 2 days ago.

I assumed paper supply chain would be back to normal by now. I'm good, but it's still odd.

CowtownAg06 said:

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I assumed paper supply chain would be back to normal by now. I'm good, but it's still odd.

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Was the supply chain ever actually interrupted? Isn't it just people on the consumer side buying more than they need?

That would have made sense a few weeks ago. Are people still hording?

Why not go to internet-only orders and just pay trained shoppers to fill them? Would keep the employees safe too.

CowtownAg06 said:

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That would have made sense a few weeks ago. Are people still hording?

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I'm thinking the need is up also with everyone at home. Families of 5+ and no one leaving during the day. Gotta be more home usage than before. But that doesn't explain the whole problem, only part.

Could also have a bin to drop off orders using checklist and pick up later, especially for staples.

Still looking for any info with regard to disinfectant wipes. We are approaching, quickly, only 1 reserve.

94chem said:

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Why not go to internet-only orders and just pay trained shoppers to fill them? Would keep the employees safe too.

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I know HEB's online ordering system has been a trainwreck right now.

We accidentally put an order in 2 weeks ago for yesterday and we weren't able to update or change anything on it during the duration.

We also weren't able to create a new order.

I think that is by design, so they can adequately plan on how to fill all the online orders. People jumping in and out of online orders to game the system and hoard items is what would create a sheetshow, imo.

While I cannot change existing orders, or order more than 60 items in an order, I have been very impressed with how hard they are working to fill my orders. I am kept in good shape supply wise.

So if I put an order in at HEB for just toilet paper (like one package or whatever the reasonable limit is) - would it get fulfilled within like 2-3 weeks? I am not at critical supply stage but planning ahead and want to avoid having to actually search with urgency later.

I've heard that some of the materials to make paper goods have been reallocated to making masks.

We realized this last week. I'm only going to the grocery store down the street, for which I take disposable gloves and then wash my hands.

Any hand sanitizer/disinfectant etc is a waste of time. From time to time I'll Lysol the front door handle, but otherwise what am I worried about?

74OA said:

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Aust Ag said:

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Redstone said:

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Still looking for any info with regard to disinfectant wipes. We are approaching, quickly, only 1 reserve.

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If you are quarantined, not sure what the need is for disinfecting (from COVID)? Of course, if your job takes you out then I get it. Maybe I'm missing something.

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This one has baffled me a bit, too. Unless you're out in publicly trafficked spaces and believe you've gone somewhere which might have you bringing virus back into the house despite immediately washing your hands, what is it you are routinely disinfecting? The virus doesn't just float into houses.

I'm asking, not criticizing.

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If you've brought anything into your home from the outside (groceries, deliveries, etc...) then there is a risk as it can stay on plastic/cardboard/etc. for sometimes days.

It's a lower risk than normal, and one that many can probably make a case is not worth worrying about based on everything you'd have to do to truly avoid it, but it's there.

for those who have done curbside, how much of what you ordered were you actually able to get? We have one set for next week, but I'm curious if they will actually have what we ordered.

btw - ran in this morning for groceries to "fill the gap" until our curbside, and they pretty much had everything, even TP and cleaning products.

This. We are having groceries delivered. But, we want to wipe them down on delivery.

Local HEB was almost back to normal today at 1:30. No line to get in, entered normally. I felt a tiny bit crowded but for the most part was able to maintain distance. Lots of meat, lots of produce. Limited canned goods.

I know they expanded the lines to 6 ft apart. We also have a covid action manager at each store that is supposed to be regulating that within the store. As far as toilet paper goes....the biggest issue is that we got wiped out in essentially one day....then our replenishment got wiped out and it's just been a vicious cycle. We are still getting in toilet paper but its disappearing as soon as it comes in. This is company wide of course, so let's say our warehouse gets in 600 pallets of toilet paper every single day, that's only 2 pallets of tp per store. Curbside probably gets one third of that and the rest is gone by those first 60 customers in line. If customers would stop buying tp for one week and let supply build up and then only buy as needed then we would be able to get back to normal. Obviously that's not happening.

Was amused by the lines, of people in close contact, waiting to enter the store under I assume of a new rule of 1 in and 1 out

Logic

Shout out to HEB overall however !!!!

https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/heb-prepared-coronavirus-pandemic/

Great job by HEB in my small town of Pleasanton. Went in this morning at 9am and they had almost everything that I needed.

The most puzzling thing about this other than the TP run is the run on fast rising yeast! There is not a packet of yeast in Pleasanton or SA! I want some of my wife's homemade bread, damn it.

There's none, anywhere. Hubs found a couple packets in Kenedy but no flour of any kind.

Max06 said:

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There's none, anywhere. Hubs found a couple packets in Kenedy but no flour of any kind.

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I know. Everyone bakes all of a sudden.