Iceland has perfect response to Greggs withdrawal patches prank

Rumours of Boots selling Greggs withdrawal patches have, sadly, been greatly exaggerated.

Yesterday, @Manc_Pictures sent out this tweet, giving hope to Greggs fans desperate for a sausage roll fix now that the retailer has shut up shop due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Alas, it was an April Fools’ Day joke. Enter Iceland, who responded: “Nahh… but frozen @GreggsOfficial products really ARE available at Iceland!”

Ah well, that’s something, at least. But Greggs withdrawal patches…what a beautiful dream!

Please pipe down

Also in the crazy world of social media, Iceland’s Director of Corporate Affairs has hit out at coronavirus point scoring MPs and councils.

“Dear MPs and councils, @IcelandFoods and all the other supermarkets really are working as hard as they can to feed the nation and care for the elderly, vulnerable and self-isolating. Having all of you write to us demanding that we try even harder does not actually help. Thanks,” Keith Hann tweeted yesterday.

When one Twitter user commented, “I think the supermarkets are doing a great job in trying circumstances. It’s idiot customers who are making it difficult”, Hann replied: “You might think that: I could not possibly comment”.

He did not share any of the aforementioned correspondence from our elected officials, but last week Iceland MD Richard Walker remarked that the coronavirus emergency had brought out the worst, and the best, in people.

In terms of the worst, “we have seen the sickening destruction of two of our much needed delivery vans in a night of disturbances in Southmead, Bristol”.

There have also been far too many instances of store colleagues being abused and even physically assaulted by customers, usually enraged about stock shortages, or resentful of efforts to impose limits on their purchases to ensure that lines in high demand are available to as many people as possible.

“Selfishness, rudeness and a total lack of care for others are sadly part of every shop worker’s daily experience right now,” Walker commented.

“Yet those who work in retail have never been more in need. We have always called our store teams ‘frontline colleagues’ but the last two weeks really have felt like the front line in a war.”