ISSUE
Friday, August 15, 2025
Volume 16 . Issue 72
Countdown's meat supplies should be back to normal today after a supply glitch, but butchers are urging the government to allow them to run click-and-collect.
With smaller greengrocers, bakeries and butchers restricted to deliveries only at alert level 4, supermarkets have been dealing with high demand.
The workers have been widely praised but - perhaps due to the stress of lockdown and additional mask requirements - tension has run high for some customers.
One man was arrested for spitting at a Countdown staff member after being refused entry to a store in Christchurch while other customers have vented at a lack of meat on the shelves.
Countdown spokeswoman Kiri Hannifin told Morning Report that since the mask mandate started, staff had dealt with about 20 threatening incidents a day, but people were mostly doing the right thing.
"By and large people are very very good and doing the right thing ... if it gets violent or aggressive or or too difficult for us we call the police."
Countdown's meat supplies should be back to normal today after a supply glitch, but butchers are urging the government to allow them to run click-and-collect.
With smaller greengrocers, bakeries and butchers restricted to deliveries only at alert level 4, supermarkets have been dealing with high...
Countdown's meat supplies should be back to normal today after a supply glitch, but butchers are urging the government to allow them to run click-and-collect.
With smaller greengrocers, bakeries and butchers restricted to deliveries only at alert level 4, supermarkets have been dealing with high demand.
The workers have been widely praised but - perhaps due to the stress of lockdown and additional mask requirements - tension has run high for some customers.
One man was arrested for spitting at a Countdown staff member after being refused entry to a store in Christchurch while other customers have vented at a lack of meat on the shelves.
Countdown spokeswoman Kiri Hannifin told Morning Report that since the mask mandate started, staff had dealt with about 20 threatening incidents a day, but people were mostly doing the right thing.
"By and large people are very very good and doing the right thing ... if it gets violent or aggressive or or too difficult for us we call the police."
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