Angry Christmas shoppers have blasted their local Sainsbury’s store after a hoard of customers were left queuing for 30 minutes this morning as they lined up to get the last of their items for the big day.
It comes as many packed into their local supermarkets up and down the country to grab their last minute essentials in preparation for Christmas Day, while some were left in tears at the check outs.
One store in Folestone, Parkfarm opened at 6am and shoppers were left outraged when only four tills were opened to serve them.
This is while a Twitter user in Talbot Green, Wales, posted pictured of disgruntled customers waiting to pay for their items this morning.
Video footage from inside the store in Parkfarm showed people with trolleys and baskets lined up around the whole of the store.
Shoppers were filmed as they waited to have their items scanned through at the checkout today (left and right)
Twitter users branded the store ‘disgusting’ and said the store hadn’t realised it was ‘the season of goodwill’.
Many became worried about frozen food items they had picked up and were worried they would defrost as they waited.
The video was filmed at around 7.45am and one local said management hadn’t taken into account the fact the store could be busier than usual due to the festive season.
One woman said: ‘We had no choice but to queue. Frozen goods were a worry and people were getting cross with others pushing in. Plus there was no-one to manage it either.
A Tesco store in Talbot Green, Wales (pictured above) was bursting at the seams this morning as many dashed around
Customers in Talbot Green struggled to get a trolly (right) while many were lined up at around 7.45am today
Shoppers in Talbot Green were pictured above this morning buying their last minute essentials
‘The amount of money this store must make and to not hire staff at this time of year is simply not good enough. System or no system!
‘We were in queue for about 30mins
‘These big companies need to sort themselves out, these stores know everyone needs fresh food for Christmas! It’s not a case of leaving it to last minute!’
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: ‘All available tills are now open and colleagues are working hard to help customers get through as quickly as possible.’
But those who don’t fancy braving the shops today can still order online as online retailer Amazon will be accepting Christmas Eve orders up until 9.15pm, with last deliveries coming in at midnight.
Prime Now members in many cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle will be able to benefit from the service.
Argos is offering same-day deliveries for online orders until 1pm on Christmas Eve. Fashion chain Next took collect-in-store orders online until 6pm today.
It comes as many shoppers have described chaotic scenes at their local supermarkets as many prepare to stock up for the festivities.
Customers have been forced to queue down the aisles in supermarkets such as Asda and Tesco and many took to social media to post photos of their horrendous shopping experiences today.
One shopper in Port Talbot, Wales, described his local Tesco store as ‘absolute madness’, adding that there were at least six checkouts that were not operating.
He estimated that the queue for the checkout is around one hour long.
Oxford Street in London (pictured above) was strangely quite this morning after a rush over the weekend
After a busy weekend, there were just a couple of people about on Oxford Street in London this morning
Another Twitter user added: ‘Went to Tesco this morning at 6AM & was absolute chaos but the Christmas food shop is done!!’
Another customer in Merseyside said an argument had broken out over a loaf of bread.
‘Saw raised voices & tears just over which loaf to buy during my time in Tesco, the mind boggles at times.’
One added: ‘I went in at 10am just for some essentials and the big Sainsbury’s was already pretty chaotic. Take-out Chinese sounds like a good option next year personally.’
Social media users took to Twitter to discuss the carnage they faced while some said they felt for those who worked at the supermarkets
Others commented that they had ‘survived Tesco’ but now had to venture to M&S.
Despite the outrage, some said they felt sorry for the people working at the stores with one user adding: ‘I couldn’t even imagine working in Sainsbury’s or Tesco’s today it would be hell.’
While supermarket shoppers faced carnage, the streets of London were less packed and the usually rammed Oxford Street was seen quiet this morning, as many left the city to spend Christmas elsewhere.
Only a few shoppers were seen going into major department stores such as Selfridges and John Lewis, while traffic on the road stretched to a couple of taxis and buses.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the Centre for Retail Research, said: ‘Online spending in the days before Christmas is growing as companies have invested in delivery networks to ensure last-minute delivery in time for Christmas.’