Why Is Nobody In Texas Ever Ready To Be Open For Business Anymore?

This problem may go beyond Texas, but it's certainly a problem here.

I try not to let the "grumpy old man" in my show through too much. I'm very much a "live and let live" kind of guy. If I don't like something, I generally just avoid it and move on (usually to another place). I figure that eventually, stores will get wise to the idea that I don't like what they are doing.

I don't know when it started to happen, but the pandemic certainly set a problem in stone. Gone are the days when the doors opened for business and everyone was ready to go. Instead that first hour or so is when everyone is running to play catch up and getting in the way.

When I visit stores there are still racks and racks of merchandise waiting to be put on shelves and in a lot of cases blocking the shelves. Usually, this is the actual food and drink reps checking their stock and moving things around as the stores seem to do a pretty good job of keeping up with their own stuff.

When I visit home improvement stores there are still people sweeping up, or worse, riding around on those weird little mopping machines. It gets worse at the home improvement stores too; due to their safety rules, you'll often find entire rows (usually the ones you need) closed down.

I don't know what happened to "night stockers". Maybe they're not letting them in due to security issues or something. I would say it's more likely the stores want to make their team members do double duty during the early hours. As for the merchandisers that come in, stores should put them on a short leash and make a greater effort to make sure they are the heck out of the way.

I'm well aware that some updates to the stocking process have to happen throughout the day, I could deal with that, but I don't think an "Open" sign should be flipped over or turned on until at least the basic maintenance is done and the isles are clear.