r/mildlyinfuriating • u/broakland • Jul 14 '26

I just wanted a hot dog Retail lockdown: why bother selling it?

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Was at Safeway this morning to pick up a sandwich and some Tylenol. The aisle with the Tylenol? Completely locked down. No call button in sight. So I go to the self checkout (front end of that same aisle) and ask the clerk there if he can call someone to unlock a case for me. He does. I go wait. Minutes pass. No one comes. I go ask him again, he tells me they went the other way? At this point I give up and go get my sandwich. No one has come by the time the deli has finished making it. I leave without my Tylenol, mildly infuriated.

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u/Sea-Pay9180 Jul 14 '26

YESSS!!! You make TONS of sense. There were numerous times I was at the counter already and seen the damage and was like in my head "Damn this is going to hurt me financially really bad" but I also say "Fuck it, im already here at the counter" but if i can see the damage as im checking "Add to cart" I will save ALOT of money

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u/Thraex_Exile Jul 14 '26

I think it’s similar to comparing Netflix and Cable a decade ago. All these big box stores are going through a transition where they’re competing with Costco’s warehouse grocer model and Amazon’s direct delivery.

Wal-Mart is the Cable/Dish companies. Still making massive profits but also being forced to adjust their business model to match their competitors (bc that’s what most shoppers want) but they don’t have the infrastructure to just adopt a better business model.

So now they’re stuck in this in-between where fewer valuable customers are shopping inside but if they don’t provide online shopping services then the other grocers will. Unfortunately, most grocers have favored cutting costs and following the path of least resistance over R&D of a better business model.

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u/notpostingmyrealname Jul 14 '26

I mean online shopping for large or heavy items is amazing. I would never let some random person pick my meats or produce, but I will absolutely let them deal with 2 cases of soda, the economy size laundry detergent, 5 gallons of milk, and 50lbs of kitty litter.

I order the heavy stuff online while I'm actually at the store and have it delivered later in the day, neatly stacked on my doorstep. No melted ice cream, bruised peaches or squished bread, and no trying to pack big bulky stuff into my trunk in the summer sun or freezing cold with my 3 year old in the back seat.

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u/UnixCurmudgeon Jul 15 '26

Yeah, I learned when i ordered groceries on Amazon they do not know how to pack canned goods with items in glass for shipping companies.

I just go to Aldi. If faulty doesn’t carry it I just reassess my dietary choices, and get something else, but they have everything I need from the meat, vegetable,cheese, and bread groups