Cough drops! I went to get some Cepacol for DH and got the last box (honey flavor, which I don’t like but fortunately he doesn’t mind). The cough drops were empty. So, if you see any, grab a bag or two for the winter just in case!
I usually do a local CSA food delivery. Fresh milk/eggs/veggies/meat. It’s amazing. I had to go to Publix the other day, and wow. There was very little milk available. I hadn’t heard that was messed up.
Post by clairebear on Nov 18, 2021 13:45:25 GMT -5
I ate at Boston Market yesterday and the employee told me that they were getting no more truck deliveries until the new year. They had enough for regular dining and limited Thanksgiving orders and then were shutting down until Jan. That is just nuts to me! I remember working at a restaurant and getting food deliveries 1-2x a week.
According to this article from CNN, T.J. Maxx currently does not have certain brands in stock because these brands currently don't have any surplus available to sell to T.J. Maxx.
I figured this was the case. My favorite brand of sheets is usually always available at Tuesday Morning (realize that's not TJs but same idea applies) and they aren't there now. Hoping what I have holds on for another 6 months or so. I'm so cheap...
Things I've had trouble with - hangers and notebooks. And still cat food. Realize I can order most of this stuff on amazon but I DON'T WANT TO. Boo. I want to be able to walk over to Target and pick it up.
According to this article from CNN, T.J. Maxx currently does not have certain brands in stock because these brands currently don't have any surplus available to sell to T.J. Maxx.
I figured this was the case. My favorite brand of sheets is usually always available at Tuesday Morning (realize that's not TJs but same idea applies) and they aren't there now. Hoping what I have holds on for another 6 months or so. I'm so cheap...
Things I've had trouble with - hangers and notebooks. And still cat food. Realize I can order most of this stuff on amazon but I DON'T WANT TO. Boo. I want to be able to walk over to Target and pick it up.
What kind of cat food are you looking for? Did you check Chewy? I've been able to get my cat's food from them just fine.
What kind of cat food are you looking for? Did you check Chewy? I've been able to get my cat's food from them just fine.
Just Fancy Feast (my dudes are not bougie and this is what they have decided they will eat). And it's not that I can't get it at all from any venue - I am sure I can get it from Chewy. It's just when I'm out running errands and the shelves are consistently empty at Target and at Pet Smart in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the US, I get a little weirded out.
People in Western Pennsylvania are now stealing catalytic converters from parked cars..
This has always been a thing. At least here in Chicago. Theives sell it for the platinum inside. Which, from what I gather, doesn't amount to all that much. Especially compared with how much it costs to replace. Grrrr...(yeah,my catalytic converter was stolen 5 or 6 years ago. That sucked).
I ate at Boston Market yesterday and the employee told me that they were getting no more truck deliveries until the new year. They had enough for regular dining and limited Thanksgiving orders and then were shutting down until Jan. That is just nuts to me! I remember working at a restaurant and getting food deliveries 1-2x a week.
Wow!
I worked at a Wendy's a million years ago, and come to think of it, we got truck deliveries pretty regularly. So, wow.
I was reading the Starbucks board on Reddit, and it's mostly employees posting. There are a bunch of posts from a bunch of employees about how they are running out of some ingredients and also aren't getting some non-food items, or running out quickly on certain things, and customers are getting pissed and being nasty to them about it.
I'm not a regular Starbucks customer (I only go when someone gives me a gift card), so I don't know all of the promotions, but apparently there is a "Red Cup Day" when customers can order a holiday drink and receive a reusable red cup. Apparently Starbucks corporate pushed back red cup day at least once because they didn't have enough red cups to ship them to every store. Then, after Red Cup Day was rescheduled, some Starbucks employees were told to not tell customer ahead of time what day will be the rescheduled Red Cup Day just in case it had to be pushed back again. Then, I guess Red Cup Day actually happened yesterday or today, but not every store actually received their red cups prior to today or yesterday. Also, some stores ran out of red cups really quickly and customers got mad that there weren't any red cups left.
Also, there was something in the New York Times recently about Starbucks being out of a lot of things, and some lady in Atlanta drove to several different Starbucks locations on the same day looking for her favorite flavor of iced tea.
That's crazy. It's just a cup, or tea. There are plenty of alternative drinks. I also don't drink coffee or tea so maybe I don't understand the gravity of the situation. The employee at Boston Market also said they've had to call the police on several customers who got physical with them after being told they were out of certain items. The woman in front of me tried to order pot pie (out), chicken noodle soup (also out) before finally laughing and said, "what DO you have?" and then got chicken.
I figured this was the case. My favorite brand of sheets is usually always available at Tuesday Morning (realize that's not TJs but same idea applies) and they aren't there now. Hoping what I have holds on for another 6 months or so. I'm so cheap...
Things I've had trouble with - hangers and notebooks. And still cat food. Realize I can order most of this stuff on amazon but I DON'T WANT TO. Boo. I want to be able to walk over to Target and pick it up.
What kind of cat food are you looking for? Did you check Chewy? I've been able to get my cat's food from them just fine.
Chewy didn’t have either choices of our cat’s food this month!
This is all kind of terrifying, mostly b/c people are such entitled assholes.
On one hand, I feel like everyone should know and understand that there are widespread shortages, and not take it out on the poor cashier at Boston Market when they’re out of pot pie (because clearly it’s not the employee’s fault).
On the other hand, we’ve all collectively been through some shit in the last year, and it’s super-frustrating when the store is out of the one food your toddler reliably eats, or the one kind of formula your baby needs, etc.
Post by mysteriouswife on Nov 18, 2021 23:13:33 GMT -5
I’m not customer facing in my role. That is handled by care reps. My friend (who got me the job) is in a care role. She has cried more in the last 6 months than the last 15 years I have known her. Even customers on the retail side are being snatches. You would think of all people they would be more understanding. At the same time they are being yelled at by the consumer needing their product. It feels like a never ending circle of hell.
I’m not customer facing in my role. That is handled by care reps. My friend (who got me the job) is in a care role. She has cried more in the last 6 months than the last 15 years I have known her. Even customers on the retail side are being snatches. You would think of all people they would be more understanding. At the same time they are being yelled at by the consumer needing their product. It feels like a never ending circle of hell.
And not being able to get your favorite $10 Starbucks drink is one thing, but I do wonder what happens if it is something more vital, like a particular formula brand, foods for special diets, etc.
Consult someone living in a third world country and see how they get by?
Barring insulin or other un-substitute-able medical items I think we overestimate what we "need".
Also, being a jackass won't magically make the item appear. But will certainly make retail workers say F this and quit, and continue the "nobody wants to work" narrative.
Moral of the story is that this year has been a doozy and we all need to stop being assholes to each other and more understanding.
Be flexible. Be kind. Be thoughtful.
The number of businesses that have put up signs around here reminding people not to be assholes is crazy. Like just be nice. I know it can be hard. My year has sucked too.
We're constantly running out of rapid covid tests at my hospital.
There are also some meds. One antibiotic we have <15 bags to last until January....better hope you don't have a infection that requires that specific antibiotic!
Post by hellomarriedlife on Jul 1, 2022 7:27:50 GMT -5
I hope that nobody marks this as a Zombie thread, but if they do so, oh well.
I was diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea by a doctor after I participated in an overnight sleep study at a hospital sleep lab. I am on the waiting list right now for a CPAP machine to treat said sleep apnea.
I have been advised that there is currently a nationwide shortage of CPAP machines. It is my understanding that this shortage is due at least in part to a recall by Phillips Respironices a few months ago. (I'm thinking, though, that the Covid factory shutdowns, etc also didn't help matters.)
Anyway, I have been on a "waiting list" with a medical supply company associated with my health care provider for about a month now for my CPAP machine. I just received an email that my CPAP machine will be shipped to me within the next few days.
It is my understanding from doing research on Reddit that some people have been waiting several months to receive their CPAP machines.
I'm fortunate because I have apparently already been going through life for a very long time with OSA without knowing it, so in the grand scheme of things, me having to wait an extra month or so is not very bad. I'm grouchy and sleepy all of the time (I have been falling asleep on the bus for years), and I'm eager to get this machine and start getting treatment, but right now I'm surviving.
I'm fortunate that I don't need the CPAP machine to remain alive. However, it is my understanding that I'm fortunate in that regard.
My mom has central sleep apnea and uses a Phillips "DreamStation" bi-pap machine. When her was recalled because the sound insulation was breaking down and getting into the air she was breathing, it took almost 6 months to have it replaced. We were able to use a filter to catch the particles but damn the situation sucked. It's concerning that Phillips is about the only provider of these devices. Monopoly much?
When I had my sleep study done, the hospital made me sign a waiver that said that I was aware of the recall and that I was aware that the hospital was going to have me use a machine that was included in the recall for my study that night. They gave me the waiver when I was already in the sleep lab, waiting to be all wired up for the study. The hospital had some reason as to why it would be safe for us to use the machine that night, even though the machine was currently under recall. I signed the waiver because I was so nervous about the study already and eager to get a diagnosis and get treatment.
When I had my sleep study done, the hospital made me sign a waiver that said that I was aware of the recall and that I was aware that the hospital was going to have me use a machine that was included in the recall for my study that night. They gave me the waiver when I was already in the sleep lab, waiting to be all wired up for the study. The hospital had some reason as to why it would be safe for us to use the machine that night, even though the machine was currently under recall. I signed the waiver because I was so nervous about the study already and eager to get a diagnosis and get treatment.
Perhaps it had been retrofitted with an after-market filtration device.
Ugh, though, to have it sprung on you with no warning or chance to investigate or ask your own doctors.
FWIW, with mom's CSA (where the brain "forgets" to tell the body to breath) and mom's craptastic arteries, going without was more dangerous than using the device for her.
The other bit that sucked about the recall was how quietly it was rolled out. I only found out about it from a FB post a full month after the recall. There was no mention at the time in the NYT, the local all-news station or NPR news (my main news sources). She wasn't officially notified by Phillips for a few months after I'd already registered with the recall and her in-home provider never notified her or proactively sent filters to lessen the risk. I had to hunt those down and buy them elsewhere.
My husband waited for a new CPAP for about 8-10 months (the recall happened back in 2020 or early 2021 I think?) but he finally got it. It was a shitty decision to make every night — risk getting cancer by using the old one and breathing in the nasty stuff, or risk long-term heart problems by not using it? Keep me awake every night worried that he’d stop breathing, or let me sleep?
While he has the new CPAP, getting replacement hoses and masks has been damn near impossible….
While he has the new CPAP, getting replacement hoses and masks has been damn near impossible….
Thanks for the heads-up. When I had the sleep study, they told me that ordinarily, they're supposed to dispose of the mask and hose that I used for the sleep study. Instead of having them throw it away, I had the option of taking the mask and hose home with me for back-up use when I get my machine, even though I will get a new mask and hose when I get my machine. I took the mask and hose home with me.
My husband is still waiting for a cpap. It’s been over 2 months.
I waited months too, then learned I could buy one myself on CPAP.com. I had to pay out of pocket and I don't know how much my insurance will reimburse (it'll be out of network for sure), but I decided I could afford it and I'm sick of feeling shitty all the time. (I'm not sure if it's helping yet, but I've only had it about 2 weeks, so I'm definitely still just getting used to it.)
Post by mysteriouswife on Jul 1, 2022 13:27:12 GMT -5
I know this doesn’t help those in search for missing items on shelves, but there is light at the end. I’m seeing an increase in production at the ports. We are starting to clear vessels in pre-Covid time periods. There is still delays to get off the port and on rail/truck. They urgency seems to be diminishing. I’m not sure if that is due to everyone giving up on a timely delivery or if we are truly catching up.
The CPAP stuff is so weird to me. It took me 7 weeks to get my original one last fall and they gave me a Luna II and my doctor was pissed because that's not what she ordered for me so at my follow up in January she ordered me a ResMed and it came in 2 weeks. The ResMed is so much better even though I can't explain why. I have been ordering new nasal pillows and headgear covers on amazon but couldn't find the actual headgear and everything online so went to a med equipment store yesterday. They had what I needed but had to get an Rx to sell it to me. Is this because they don't want people buying them and reselling them? It was a pain but I did get what I needed.
I don't want Apria hounding me any more than they already do if I order supplies through them so I refuse to do it. I hate Apria from my years as a hospital social worker.