Sitting here on my day off, which has been spent planning ahead for the next challenges, sleeping and recuperating from working so hard over the past few weeks, I just have to respond to Cllr John Thorne’s comments around supermarket management in the WWN (March 25).

All retail staff are under so much pressure from the uplift in trade we have seen, coupled with loss of staffing due to Covid-19, and should be being praised not slammed for their excellent efforts.

Despite apparent experience in the sector he completely misses the logistics of running the operation in the current climate. Decisions were and are being made day by day and often hour by hour to reflect the ever-changing environment.

Comments around limiting stock earlier would have been a drop in the ocean as most shoppers were just shopping more frequently and not necessarily in bulk.

The accusation that shop managers were standing still while their tills ring is absolute rubbish in my branch and I would imagine the same across the sector. Myself, having worked weeks of 12-hour plus shifts, switching from day to night work just to keep food on the shelves for you, I can assure you I have not just ‘stood by and watched’ for weeks!

The lack of understanding of our work is further emphasised with comments around stock ordering. We cannot just order stock – this may have been done at branch level years ago but times have changed and these processes are managed centrally. I can assure you that our central supply chains have been working at maximum capacity but this just is not enough to supply the demand seen in the past few weeks. It has been an unprecedented amount with everyone wanting to do their weekly shop all at once. Everyone right the way up the chain is working to the maximum to try to flatten out this difference between supply and demand but this takes time and labour which is rapidly depleting due to Covid-19.

In response to stock being sat in warehouses I can assure you that any stock is worked and available to our customers but be mindful that our business is not just the customer who walks through the door. A large proportion, and more so in these times, is online and so some of our stock will never hit the floor. This does not mean we want empty shelves. As a manager this is the last thing I want. I am not happy stood in front of empty shelves explaining why, I would much rather have the stock available for customers to purchase, but with the difference in supply and demand this has not been logistically possible.

I know how exhausted I and my colleagues are and so how every supermarket worker must be feeling. We do not need to be told how to do our jobs, we need to be allowed to do it. At the end of the day, the work we have done over the past few weeks has kept food in your house, all this while being subject to abuse which has resulted in extra security being required. Every day we work at the moment we put ourselves and our families at risk by being in close contact with the public – please think before you slate the very people doing their best for you!

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