After the news about the curfew in Samut Prakan I thought I should go out and stock up on food and petrol. I wasn’t really expecting any crowds, but there was a massive traffic jam outside Tesco Lotus. Also, many petrol stations were closed.
We drove onto Foodland Srinakarin which has a reputation of being more expensive. This usually means that there is only one or two people at each of the checkouts. This is the view that we had when we arrived.
People were panic buying. Items like water, rice and meat seemed popular. We had only been there 5 minutes when they announced that the supermarket would close at 7 p.m. in only 20 minutes.
This is the view of the checkouts when we got there. I don’t think Foodland has been so popular. I have never also seen the shutters down on Foodland as it is normally open 24 hours.
- Posted from my iPhone
miCRoSCoPiC^eaRthLinG
20/05/2010 at 11:37 pm
Richard: Off the topic… but where exactly is the Foodland in Srinakarin?
Thanks,
m^e
KAPTAINK
21/05/2010 at 12:51 am
Villa supermarket on Thonglor road was the same at about 4pm. i queued for 15 mins. normally there is a free counter or maybe a few people waiting. I also for the first time in 10 years saw a 7/11 store with the lights off an shutters down. I’m surprised their shutters actually function after being open for so long.
Somchai
21/05/2010 at 2:42 am
What time were you there? Around 18:30? I was there at about 17:30 just before you and it was crowded, but no panic in the air. Some shelf were empty, correct, however most were just as full as always. Took me 2 minutes to wait in line at the cashier to pay for the stuff that I wanted to buy, no line-ups there.
Also about the petrol stations, the only one I saw that was closed in the area was the one under renovations. Others had staff and cars at the pumps same as usual.
I think that the word “panic” is a bit too strong in this case.
Narong P
21/05/2010 at 10:25 am
I dont know where you get your information from but contrary to what you say, Foodland has reputation of cheaper than other supermarkets, that is why is most time is full. Many Thai peoples like buy in Foodland (my family always goes there) but also see many foreigners buy there, so is always been very popular.
Here can read english information maybe useful for you:
http://www.thaiwebsites.com/consumer-priceguide.asp
harold
21/05/2010 at 7:34 pm
I totally agree with Narong.
Foodland normally is open 24/24, now there is a curfew, should any shop stay open for buffallo’s??????
do u work and pay staff for free?
best regards.
harold@pro-audio.com
Richard Barrow
22/05/2010 at 8:29 am
Thanks for your comments.
@Somchai – I said “panic” because some people were rushing around the store seemingly grabbing random items. Others were stocking up on water and rice. I was there later than you and as you can see from my photo some shelves were empty. But, I agree with you that it wasn’t as crazy as “hurricane buying” in America and all the Thai people were very civilized and polite even when they were announcing the closing of the store. About the petrol station, I was out of petrol and passed two stations before I then found one open.
@Narong P – Thanks for your link. Interesting to see. I agree that Foodland is not an expensive supermarket. However, many of my Thai friends say they don’t go there because both Big C and Tesco Lotus often have price cuts and “buy one get one free” offers. This then gives people the impression that Foodland is more expensive. I like it that way as it means there is always an empty checkout there! I love the service at Foodland Srinakarin.
Alyce Elder
01/06/2010 at 2:33 am
Really awesome post. Honest..