"- Sorry madam, we no longer have boxes of 50, we have boxes of ten surgical masks if you want or lots of two washable.
- But it's only 10:30 am… How is it possible? "
Since the opening of this Monoprix store, in the heart of the 9th arrondissement of Paris, the queue has been full in front of the reception where two cashier hostesses are responsible for the sale of the precious masks. "There are many more people than usual, people have heard in the media that now we can distribute them too," analyzes a security agent, responsible for specifically monitoring this post. Since this week, in fact, mass retail chains have been authorized to sell surgical or fabric masks.
Some customers, holders of a loyalty card received an SMS on Saturday from the firm to warn them. This is the case of Myriam, who after trying, last week, "three times" to buy it in pharmacies, tries his luck this Monday at the supermarket. After 10 minutes of queuing, she leaves with two lots of two washable masks, sold for just under five euros each, but would have preferred to buy twice as many to give to her parents. To try to satisfy the maximum number of customers, the store limits purchases to a box of surgical masks or two batches of washable masks. "I find it expensive, it should be free since it will become mandatory but hey, we have no choice," sighs the young woman.
"We don't have one and we don't know when we will receive them"
In the 18th arrondissement, in a store of the same brand, stocks melted in one morning. "I only have a few washable masks left, but at this rate, I won't have anything before noon," breathes a saleswoman, sitting behind a large plexiglass window. In Intermarché, to avoid the rush, the brand has bet online reservations. The store near Porte de Clichy received a box of 40 lots, all of which have already been reserved by customers with a loyalty card. “The phone keeps ringing, we don't know where to turn. Everyone wants their mask, ”says one of the managers.
If some stores are taken by storm, it is also because, in many stores, these coveted masks have not yet arrived. Among the ten stores in the 9th, 17th and 18th arrondissements visited on Monday, two-thirds were still waiting for the precious merchandise. Since the opening, the telephone at the Auchan supermarket near Place de Clichy has been ringing continuously. "They all want to know if we have masks," says the manager, "but for now, the answer is no." We cannot even tell them when they will arrive, we are waiting for the [purchasing] center to contact us ”. Same story in a Carrefour City, in the 18th arrondissement. Since the store opened, customers have only had one question in their mouths: "Do you have masks? "No, we don't have one and we don't know when we're going to receive it," blows a saleswoman.
"People will end up getting carried away"
“It's still an announcement effect. We are told that there will be some at the pharmacy, there are none. We are told that there will be some at the supermarket, there are none. They don't give a damn about us, ”a customer gets carried away, at the checkout of a Franprix store. Facing her, the hostess seems sorry.
Will masks, the keystone of deconfinement, be available in sufficient quantity before May 11? The government is convinced of this. In the meantime, can these tensions in this coveted market generate renewed aggressiveness among customers frustrated at not finding them? "This morning is still fine, but if the difficulties in finding masks continue, people will end up getting carried away," said the security officer at Monoprix.
Society
Coronavirus: How to get masks sold in supermarkets from this Monday?
- Deconfinement
- Confinement
- Coronavirus
- Society
- Supermarket
- Paris