26 Mar Covid19 and the Law of Unintended Consequences
Sometimes “Good Intentions” go sideways.
I experienced this firsthand this morning when I rolled up to the local Costco store in South Jordan, Utah.
With the spread of the Covid-19 virus, many local, state, provincial and national governments have responded with either recommended or enforced stay-at-home declarations.
Given the apparent predilection of the coronavirus to strike individuals who have underlying health conditions and/or those who are 60-years-old or older, several American grocers & retailers have chosen to temporarily offer special shopping hours to those in the 60+ age group.
And that includes me.
On the surface, it’s a brilliant marketing move as it positions such companies as caring, socially responsible organizations.
Unfortunately, the Law of Unintended Consequences sometimes supersedes good intentions.
This video gives an example of what I mean.
Case in point, Costco has chosen to offer early shopping hours to the 60+ set on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with stores opening at 8am, some 90 minutes earlier than other days.
The only conditions? You’ve got to be 60 or older & a “member” of Costco.
To be clear, although I fit within the 60+ category, I am in quite good health, with no underlying conditions and a resting heart rate of 60bpm or lower.
And because my wife and I follow the teachings of our Church leaders, we can reasonably survive without going grocery shopping for 2-3 months … with the possible exception of our on-hand supply of toilet paper. (No snickering, please.)
So I journeyed out to Costco this early morning with the intent of buying some TP.
Yet imagine my surprise when I found some 500 members in the 60+ Club already in line outside the store, a line that began within the partially opened entryway of the store, lead down the east side of the building and then doubled past the front of the store and all the way to the opposite side of the building on the north.
And as I shot the video shared with this Post, I heard a Costco employee state that because of Social Distancing, they would only let 200 people into the store at one time.
“But that’s okay,” he continued, “because all of you (motioning to those standing within the entryway and those on the east side of the edifice) should be able to get in (with the first group).”
At this pronouncement, I heard a fellow Costco devotee mutter a grateful “Yes” through his gritted teeth because he fell within the anointed first group of shoppers.
Me? I turned to document for posterity the rest of the queue with my smartphone.
But upon seeing how long the line actually was and doing some quick math in my head, I realized it was likely I would not get out of the cold and into the warm confines of the store for over an hour.
Nah. That’s not for me, I thought.
So I headed for my car, absent TP, and thinking about Good Intentions.
#pandemic #goodintentions
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