My Experience On The Front Lines as a Grocery Store Worker and An Essential Employee Part 1 by Jeremy Thomas Holt

 

My Experience On The Front Lines as a Grocery Store Worker and An Essential Employee Part 1 

                  by Jeremy Thomas Holt

My Name is Jeremy Holt and this is the story of my experience of being on the front lines during the Coronavirus Pandemic as a grocery worker and an essential employee. Everything was normal, calm, quiet and peaceful but then Coronavirus came. Everything changed in a hurry like it was very sudden and unexpected. Business picked up and it kept getting busier and busier as each went by. Suddenly we had no toilet paper, hand soap, or hand sanitizer. People were going crazy and buying everything in bigger quantities than normal. You could see the fear, frustration, anger, anxiety, and panic in people's faces. Meanwhile the virus continues to spread. As an employee you really couldn’t understand the need to buy so much toilet paper but you can understand buying hand sanitizer and hand soap. I continue to go to work each and every day while risking your life not because I like being called an essential employee but because I want to help people and I know it’s what Jesus would do. Even though I’m making money and being paid I feel like by continuing to go to work while risking my own health and life that I signed a blank check. I work from 6:30am-3pm Monday-Friday cleaning and disinfecting our store, I’m also sometimes having to help out the front end on register or help the grocery crew with their trucks. People ask us dozens of times a day every day if we have toilet paper, hand sanitizer, hand soap, disinfectant wipes and sprays but we have to tell them we don't have any, that we don’t when our trucks are coming or even what items are coming in. We also run out of our sani wipes up by front doors that people use to wipe down their carts. Some people get mad, angry or frustrated that we don’t have  certain products and some people are very nice about it. We have some people be extremely rude to us about it too. They say things like “this is why I don’t shop here.” Or “you gotta be kidding me” or “that’s just ridiculous.” I just say that I’m really sorry and I wish we could get it in. They blame us (the employee’s at our store) for not being able to get items in. But in reality all of those same items are also out of stock at our wearhouse and a lot of those items possibly come in from overseas to. So it’s very hard for us to get these items In right now. We are working over time and we’re working hours and shifts we are not used to working to try to get things restocked by they are bought as fast as we stock them. I’m working full time 40 hour work weeks and sometimes more than 40 when I normally used to about 28 to 32 hour work weeks. I clean for 8 and ½ hours 5 days a week and it’s making my back, wrists, and left knee hurt and my hands are dried out, cracked, and sore from constant Hand washing and sanitizing. But I work through all of my pains and stress in order to help people in the hopes that they’ll survive this thing. Though I feel like there are still way too many people shopping I won't stand by and do nothing because I want to do something. My biggest dream has always been to help people and now I’m getting to do that on a bigger scale than ever before. I wear a face mask and a face shield, gloves, and yellow vest so I can be recognized as the cleaning person. I have no cape and well it’s because like they say “not all hero’s wear capes.” We are doing tge absolute best we can do every day at our store. To the community I serve and to all our customers I say you’re most certainly welcome for everything we are doing for you and we are proud to serve during this dark difficult time. I will  go to work every single day unless I get sick myself which I hope doesn’t happen to me by God's will. He is my protector and my healer. God bless everyone and I will be working as hard as I can and praying for everyone.