COLOMBO : As long as you don’t cut in line or block aisles with your shopping cart, there wasn’t much harm you could do at a supermarket from an etiquette point of view. Times have changed and keeping the COVID-19 virus at bay has become the biggest daily challenge; therefore, something as mundane as going to the supermarket requires new thinking and customized etiquette.
Apart from washing your hands, wearing a mask, having your temperature checked and checking in to the supermarket via an app, here are a few things that you need to practice while netting your stuff.
01. Go Alone
As often as possible, go on your own or ensure that only one person from your household goes to a supermarket. This reduces the exposure, keeps the more vulnerable parties safe and reduces the crowds at these sorts of public places.
02. The Kids
Kids are kids and they love outings; don’t expect them to understand that we are in the midst of a pandemic. Plan your day so that someone else is at home with them or have someone look over the wall and mind them for a while.
03. Don’t Dilly Dally
Spare yourself the germs, get in, net them and get out as soon as possible. If you wander lazily down aisles and stare in to the shelves for hours, you are bound to be depriving someone else from entering the store. Carry a list and remain focused.
04. Keep Your Hands to Yourself
Touch and take only what you need, don’t keep picking things up if you don’t really have a plan to purchase them. Of course, you do need to make sure your vegetables and fruits are not squashed, but minimise contact as much as possible. You should neither leave nor pick up germs via products.
05. Sanitise Every Now and Then
I would recommend sanitising hands before moving from the fresh produce area to the other sections. This helps to minimize the spread of germs from one section to the other and keeps you safe.
06. Space Out
Quite often people stand carefully on the marked cages when in the queue to pay but throw caution to wind as they push their carts down the aisles, happily bumping into other carts, brushing past other shoppers and crowding around shelves. You are as likely to catch the bug when near shelves and down aisles as when standing in queues.
Being safe is of paramount importance while you are out and about; following good etiquette should help you to keep safe.
Till I return with ‘Full of Etiquette’ next week, stay safe!
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Praveeni Jayasekera is the Founder and Editor of fullofetiquette.com; she is a regular advocate on the subject. She is an ACMA, CGMA; holds a BSc. Economics and Management; PG in IT and Diploma in Social Sciences. She is employed full time in the capacity of Chief Operating Officer at CL Synergy (Private) Limited; a Sri Lankan freight forwarding company. She is an ardent fan of the written word and has compiled content for numerous websites for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes, corporate profiles and blogs. She has experience in training corporate professionals on customer service and business etiquette. She conducts coaching sessions on etiquette for school children every now and then.
