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It was also in a suburban area where there are almost no people on EBT. I suspect a similar store in an urban, economically diverse, area would have had to evacuate the store to prevent looting.
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I discovered today that cash is useless when the grid goes down
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It was also in a suburban area where there are almost no people on EBT. I suspect a similar store in an urban, economically diverse, area would have had to evacuate the store to prevent looting.
We have some friends in the LDS church and while I had to loan them just about all the items for a presentation on emergency preparedness, they were the first ones to mention that your cash stash should have lots of small bills.
What I do is take $20's out of the ATM and pay for everything I buy for a week or so with them. But I keep all the change, so I wind up with a bunch of $1, $5, and $10.
BTW we often wind up with excess change. So I collect it in a cup and go to the self check-out line at a grocery store and feed it all in (only when the lines aren't deep).
I spent the day helping a friend get his generator running and connected. When we got done we decided to get someone gas for it. The one gas station we found that could pump the gas could only take cash. There was still quite a line waiting ...
Had no idea that we were running low on disposable diapers and the power has been out since 9 last night. Luckily, Stop and Shop was open and taking cash or check. Could have done the cash route but gave them a check in case I need the cash for something else.
About half the lights were on in the store and the cold sections were roped off. The open cases (cheese, yogurt, etc) were all cleared out.
About half the lights were on in the store and the cold sections were roped off. The open cases (cheese, yogurt, etc) were all cleared out.
The only store yesterday able to cash out at a register was Big Y in southampton. They were running on a generator.
MisterHappy
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Could this be a reason why some engage in looting during an emergency (nobody'll take their cash).
Brilliant!
An affirmative defence!
The last time we lost power, we were ordered by the local fire marshall to not allow ANY non-employees past the front checkout area of our store.
Its not always just a customer service/store policy thing.
Yeah... my power is back on. 70% of the town was out, including the main road through town where all the stores were. The main road was back on Wednesday morning. Predictably, every last store in the blackout area of this town (and a neighboring town I go through to get to work that also had major power loss) was closed. There was one exception, a Hess station, that was very busy; they must have had a generator. None of the other gas stations in the area were open. Not actually needing any gas, I didn't stop in to figure out if they happened to have working credit card processing, or if it was cash only; I should have stopped in just to find out, although it was very busy so I didn't. I'm guessing they wouldn't have been able to process CC's.
If a Mom and Pop shop could have stayed open to sell coffee, they would have made a lot of money. Everyone driving around looked like they were desperate to find some place that sells coffee. After all, how many people these days can make their own coffee at home without electricity? (I used a percolator on a Volcano stove.)
One thought I have is... if the grocery stores were closed because they had no power, then what about power needed to keep their food from spoiling? I think I'm going to avoid buying any perishable foods for a while just in case they are reselling any of it.
If a Mom and Pop shop could have stayed open to sell coffee, they would have made a lot of money. Everyone driving around looked like they were desperate to find some place that sells coffee. After all, how many people these days can make their own coffee at home without electricity? (I used a percolator on a Volcano stove.)
One thought I have is... if the grocery stores were closed because they had no power, then what about power needed to keep their food from spoiling? I think I'm going to avoid buying any perishable foods for a while just in case they are reselling any of it.
I remember watching a Discovery channel program a few years back on the top ten reasons for the fall of mankind & technology was I think #3.
This is a perfect example of us as a society being beyond the point of return technology wise. We've become way to complacent. Remove electricity, GPS, satellites, computers, cell phones etc.
We instantly create a standstill that will through us back to the stone ages. well not that far but far enough to radically change life as we know it.
With the OP's screen name I'm sure your aware of the potential for doom.
This is a perfect example of us as a society being beyond the point of return technology wise. We've become way to complacent. Remove electricity, GPS, satellites, computers, cell phones etc.
We instantly create a standstill that will through us back to the stone ages. well not that far but far enough to radically change life as we know it.
With the OP's screen name I'm sure your aware of the potential for doom.
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Stores like Big Y only have generator power to run the registers and lights. They already had it on TV on how much was being thrown out.
Every time we lose power, basically everything gets chucked. Its not worth trying to save the food given the possible outcome.
See, that's when you turn the frown upside down and announce that you're hosting a big barbecue for all the folks who lost power in the area. Cook up the food, give away some staples to folks, crank up the goodwill, and write off the expense.
Sadly, the economics probably favor throwing it all out and filing an insurance claim.
I just counted. I have at least six ways to make coffee without electricity.
joeendris
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Mrs and I went thru this earlier this week. ATMS, banks, what fun...
The moral of the story has nothing to do with cash - the point is without backup power you can't buy anything at a crap hole department store. Cash is king. In an emergency, you could offer it to a homeless guy for his gloves ![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
And, considering the power was out, I didn't get to see those stories on stuff being thrown out. But, it must have been huge amounts of stuff. I stopped in Market Basket this evening to pick up a few perishables, and I asked them what happened to all the perishables. As I'd guess, she said they replaced it all. That's a lot of replacement; I'm actually impressed they could do this so fast, and in so many stores, at once. The selections were good, although I did notice frozen veggies seemed to be low, and they didn't have any of the organic chicken I usually buy (that's more of a specialty item that probably takes longer to re-order more of).
Awesome!
And, I normally drink iced coffee, but ice is a problem without electricity or a generator. I improvised by filling a pot with water from the tap, which was very cold, and submerging the percolator in it for 5 minutes. It worked... not quite iced, but cold enough.
5 bucks probably wasn't worth her job, which is certainly what she would have lost if her manager found out.
If powers lost for more than 4 hours we empty the coolers into the dumpster. We lost power a few weeks ago when a couple poles in the plaza fell over after a support line got ripped out of the ground, threw out more than 3500$ worth of food and we only have 5 2-door coolers and freezers. Imagine what market basket has to throw away. Smaller stores might try to get away with still selling the stuff but chain stores wont risk it.
My freezer foods rep more than tripled his sales for tuesday he said, just filling emptied coolers, think he said he took home more than 500$ for his commission on the day.
Walmart in lowell was closed until sometime tuesday so we were getting a ton of their business, my sales were doubled sunday through tuesday. Its nice having power, though the dunks down the street had its line going past my store, guess they were the only one open in the area.
FrugalFannie
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We ran our generator a night when we were home. It was good enough to keep the food from spoiling. after we got power back there were a few things that were questionable so we chucked the.
What really got me was the neighbor who complained about the noise of the generator running but then came over and asked if we had ice cubes so they could have a "proper drink."![[rofl]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/013.gif "ROFL [rofl]")
What really got me was the neighbor who complained about the noise of the generator running but then came over and asked if we had ice cubes so they could have a "proper drink."
What really got me was the neighbor who complained about the noise of the generator running but then came over and asked if we had ice cubes so they could have a "proper drink."
I hope you told said neighbor to FOAD!
AllaSnackbah
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exact same thing happened to me during irene at walmart. as scary as it was being in complete darkness in a crowded walmart, even with a CCW, the worst part by far was being stuck in traffic for an hour leaving.
During hurricane Irene we lost power, but I was still able to use cash at CVS, a gas station (not for gas), and at a deli. They just rounded up and wrote down what they had sold (probably to update the inventory). It shows that if they want to sell you something, they can do it even if they cannot open their register.
I am glad I have a little generator. If you think about it, value of what you have in your fridge/freezer is most likely a lot more than what a small generator cost. It's a pretty cheap insurance policy if you ask me.
I am glad I have a little generator. If you think about it, value of what you have in your fridge/freezer is most likely a lot more than what a small generator cost. It's a pretty cheap insurance policy if you ask me.
albythewhitey
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A retail store I worked for had backup generators to keep the refrigeration units up and running. In the event of total power loss, they also had 4 or 5 pallets stacked with emergency ice packs to keep the food cold. All cases were checked with thermometers every half hour until the items got to a certain temperature, and then they were chucked.
Well depending on who the store uses for a supplier, they may not need backup systems to keep things cold. After Irene and the ice storm, the company I work for sent refrigerated trailers to the stores so they could load all their frozen/perishable products onto them. WE also ship out ice and dry ice. A couple large freezer tubs with some blocks of dry ice can be handy.
After the snow storm and resulting power loss, the amount of perishable stuff that came back (right when I was helping do an audit) was staggering. Stores were refusing shipments because they had no power. The dock was piled with pallets and they were rushing trucks out as fast as they could pick the cases and load the trailers.
Most of what the stores needed was sitting on the dock of our perishable warehouse waiting to get the "we have power" call to deliver it. Bear in mind, most stores don't keep a huge inventory on hand in the back room. Stores get restocked multiple times a week. They toss all the perishable stuff, and the next shipment waiting to be delivered can more or less compensate.
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MisterHappy
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The last is a good point - a "store" is not really that, anymore (in the sense of a place where things are "stored") - they're distribution points.
If the supply chain is significantly disrupted to the store, and the customers still have access at a normal, or accelerated "panic" rate, the shelves wil be empty of everything very fast.
If the supply chain is significantly disrupted to the store, and the customers still have access at a normal, or accelerated "panic" rate, the shelves wil be empty of everything very fast.
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Actually, Shaws was an exception. When I went to one shortly after the storm, the was a big handwritten sign at the entrance "See the manager if you want to store your food in our freezer".
