Paying in Blood

Why do staff wash floors and stock up at the busiest times of the day?

It’s a Saturday afternoon, the supermarkets are packed.
Mothers with no ’me time’ jump at the opportunity to catch up on cell
phone gossip at all the busy intersections in the store, specifically
around the fresh meat and dairy sections.

Large trolleys loaded with stock are pushed around by the
store’s staff who are filling up the shelves. Little kids yell "Mommy,
I want!" Yellow signs are placed in such a way that they block off an
entire aisle whilst cleaners wash floors.

I try not to go to shops on weekends, but sometimes we
don’t have an option. This was the case last Saturday when I popped
into our local chain supermarket to buy some bread.

As usual, the shop was packed with weekend shoppers. I
was disappointed when the shelf where our usual bread is stored, was
empty. My eyes flitted over to another little free-standing shelf where
they keep all the healthy bread and registered some activity on the
floor.

I nearly fainted when I saw that one of the deli ladies was wiping up blotches of blood the size of the palms of my hand!

Upon investigation, I discovered that a shopper had
slipped and hit her head upon this little shelf - there was a piece of
paint missing of the shelf. The lady was sitting on the floor barely
conscious. A few minutes later the ambulance arrived to take her to a
nearby hospital. Whilst this was happening, we found the wet floor
signs on the diagonally opposite side of the shop.

Lo and behold, visiting this shop again yesterday at
about 17h00 - the busiest time of the day - they were washing the
floors again!

I have often asked shopkeepers and staff why shelves are
filled and floors washed at the busiest times of the day, receiving
only a unanimous shrug in answer.

It’s understandable that they’d refill the shelves when
specials are on and the stock is flying off the shelves. If I had a
shop, I would do forecasts and have the shelves packed before my shop
opens. I would also ensure that my floors are dry when shoppers enter.

Of course, spills are understandable, but the maintenance of a shop should definitely take place out of shopping hours.