"Most of our controls are illusions..."

[votivesoul]

Every once in a while throughout my earthly tenure someone says something that strikes me as quite profound and worth remembering, as the statement made, while meaningful in the context in which it was uttered, also applies in many other scenarios, thus showing the multivalency of its inherent truth.

About 6 years ago, I worked as the General Cashier in the Accounting Department for a very large, fairly famous four-diamond standard resort in WI.

Every March, this resort hosted the final race in a professional snowmobiling circuit. For three days, the entire accounting staff up to and including the Resort Controller, worked 18 plus hours a day, taking in and counting all the cash from the event (Nearly $200,000/day), and I was the man of the hour. We were guarded by several county sheriffs at all times in a locked room on-site at the race.

During all of this, one of the servers working the event came to us to ask me a cash-handling policy question, and I gave the official answer, but then made an off-hand comment about how unofficially, it didn't actually matter one way or the other.

My boss, the Resort Controller, upon hearing me, chided me and said "Don't tell her that. Most of our controls are illusions". Basically, the controls in place were carefully crafted deceptions meant to keep cash-handling associates in check so they didn't get sneaky with the resort's money.

I had never realized!

I work at my local Walmart as the Autocare Center Department Manager.

I've seen all the panic-buying first hand in real-time before even the media was reporting on it or it showed up on social media.

Things have calmed here in WI and we are slowly getting the store stocked with even the worst-hit items, especially over-nights since the store now closes at 8:30 PM and reopens at 7:00 AM instead of being 24 hours. Many shoppers are coming in with masks and gloves and we are pouring out hand-sanitizers by the gallon every day. We have stations by every entrance where customers can spray their carts with an industrial-strength multi-level disinfectant and dry them off with some paper towel. We are only opening every other register so more distance between customers at check-outs can be maintained.

We are soon to get sneeze guards for all of the registers, too. The Autocare Center has been closed to keep us from handling car keys and going into and out of people's vehicles. The Doctor of Optometry has had to cancel all her appointments because the Vision Center has been closed except for 4 hours a day for very limited needs.

Our store and Walmarts across the world are doing everything they can to contain this virus while maintaining operations as best as possible because we are considered an "essential" business. I even got my letter saying so!

"Most of our controls are an illusion..."

Right before 7:00 AM, customers gather outside the door by the dozens, shoulder to shoulder, waiting to be let in. Sometimes a local police officer is parked nearby to keep an eye on the crowds before the store opens.

The day unfolds like normal after that.

During the first two weeks of panic buying, we had nearly 1,000 customers and associates in the store at any one given time. Total sales were up over 38%. Check out lines were long. Self-check outs were packed. Our first senior shopping day had more people in the store than during the first two weeks of panic buying. The senior hour is now being opened up to not just seniors, but also to those most "at-risk", whoever they might be???

In the breakroom, all the associate cliques continue to gather and sit together at tables no one is cleaning or disinfecting. Door handles aren't being cleaned or disinfected, either. The Fastenal lockers that house our hand-helds and portable printers aren't being cleaned or disinfected. Neither the hand-helds or portable printers. Or the key box or the keys.

Customers clean and disinfect the handles on their carts, but not the baskets. They go shop with carts that were recently used by strangers, who recently put their items into the baskets of said carts, with merchandise, including food items, that were stocked by associates who may or may not be wearing gloves, but no masks, as far as I have seen.

Then, when done, they all lineup or go use the self-checkouts and have their items, including food items, swiped across register scanners that are not being cleaned or disinfected after every customer. Those items are then bagged by cashiers who may or not be wearing gloves, but no masks, as far as I have seen. Card readers are used most often but are not being cleaned or disinfected after each customer. Cash and coin are being passed, too. That cash and coinage goes into the till and is set on top of earlier cash and coin transactions, and then comes out and is given to other customers as change.

And as far as I know, no one takes their groceries and other items home and sprays them down with industrial-strength multi-level disinfectant then wipes them off with some paper towel before using them.

"Most of our controls are illusions..."

[Esaias]

Check out the Emperor's new clothes! What fancy duds!

BTW thanks for posting this.

[votivesoul]

Originally Posted by Esaias

Check out the Emperor's new clothes! What fancy duds!

BTW thanks for posting this.

You're welcome.

You can share it with others if you like. Maybe it will go v...i...r...a...l...

[KeptByTheWord]

Thanks Votive, you've posted, quite eloquently and thoughtfully what I feel has been the case all along.

When you think about how much every single thing we use every day has been touched by other people before it gets to us... even in food service? So we have to ring a bell at the local restaurant to pickup an order. Is the bell disinfected? What about the cooks? Are they wearing masks and gloves? What about the food handled? Did those people wear masks and gloves? As we stand behind the sneeze partition, and we think we are safe, how many people before us in the store have touched the very groceries we are buying? And on the list goes.

And you wonder.... WHY? Why? Why? What good is any of this doing?

I like your statement, it's all an illusion. You are most certainly right. Somehow its comforting to think that things are clean, but really, in all reality... is there anything clean? What about hotel rooms? I've always wondered about that. Doctor's examining rooms? Hospital rooms? When you think about who may have been there before you, and what kind of a job did the cleaning service do?

My goodness... this is a germaphobe nightmarish thought.

But... here we all are... we've survived for the past years of our lives unaffected by these things, more or less. So what has changed?

[Amanah]

When Europeans arrived to the Americas the natives were decimated by exposure to new diseases.
The idea of slowing the spread and gradually building herd immunity so as not to overwhelm the health care system still makes sense.

The way this idea has been implemented does not make sense.

Closing down the whole economy rather than isolating areas and individuals was not a great idea.

[Evang.Benincasa]

I’m just so glad we are all safe.

[loran adkins]

Originally Posted by Amanah

When Europeans arrived to the Americas the natives were decimated by exposure to new diseases.
The idea of slowing the spread and gradually building herd immunity so as not to overwhelm the health care system still makes sense.

The way this idea has been implemented does not make sense.

Closing down the whole economy rather than isolating areas and individuals was not a great idea.

And they keep talking about how bad it is, but the numbers still don't add up. I read just this morning that the number of cases in California has doubled overnight. The number? went from 200 - 410, but don't fear the state is getting ready 10,000 ventilators to be able to combat the spread of the virus. Really? Lets put a number like 10,000 beside a number so low it has no meaning, to get inside peoples heads. It is called phycology and People are falling for it.

I don't want to sound without feelings, but we talk about population explosion on the one hand, and then on the other hand we go to the extreme to save a few thousand lives.

[KeptByTheWord]

Originally Posted by loran adkins

And they keep talking about how bad it is, but the numbers still don't add up. I read just this morning that the number of cases in California has doubled overnight. The number? went from 200 - 410, but don't fear the state is getting ready 10,000 ventilators to be able to combat the spread of the virus. Really? Lets put a number like 10,000 beside a number so low it has no meaning, to get inside peoples heads. It is called phycology and People are falling for it.

I don't want to sound without feelings, but we talk about population explosion on the one hand, and then on the other hand we go to the extreme to save a few thousand lives.

You are doing well to question... as we all should be. A small portion of the American public is waking up. But... whether it will accomplish anything but chaos remains to be seen.

No doubt the globalists are going to push vaccinations to end the controlled lockdown measures. Watch and see. I believe it is the next item on the agenda. And they will be able to check everyone to see if they've been vaccinated, or not.

It is all part of a very dark agenda.

But ... our God is greater than all these things!

We are living in exciting times! Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world!

[Evang.Benincasa]

Originally Posted by KeptByTheWord

You are doing well to question... as we all should be. A small portion of the American public is waking up. But... whether it will accomplish anything but chaos remains to be seen.

No doubt the globalists are going to push vaccinations to end the controlled lockdown measures. Watch and see. I believe it is the next item on the agenda. And they will be able to check everyone to see if they've been vaccinated, or not.

It is all part of a very dark agenda.

But ... our God is greater than all these things!

We are living in exciting times! Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world!

My supermarket close at 8. I'm not that excited.

Shut off the evening news.

[TGBTG]

Originally Posted by Evang.Benincasa

My supermarket close at 8. I'm not that excited.

Shut off the evening news.