Northeasterners are going crazy as they prepare for winter storm Juno, possibly the biggest snowstorm the region has ever seen. And that means lots of people are hitting the grocery store to stock up on the things they need as well as the things they might need, because you never know, right? Cosmopolitan.com caught up with a grocery store employee who had an "absolutely crazy" day at work the day before the storm hit and was happy to share all the insane details about abandoned carts, the first items to go out of stock, and arguments between customers.

I can only imagine how nuts people are going right now in the path of the snowstorm.

Yes. They're going apeshit.

Can you describe the general scene of the store for me?

It was crazy. The line wrapped around the store twice, and there was also a line waiting outside to get in. And there were empty produce shelves, and by the end of the night, there were empty everything shelves. We had some cereals left, and a lot of our canned stuff was gone. All of our eggs were gone — that's always the second thing to go. Lots of crackers gone; I don't know why people stock up on crackers. And lots of ice cream gone.

How long do you think it took to get from the end of the line up to the cash register?

Ooh. Probably, at the busiest point, about 25 minutes. But if you really need stuff, you're gonna wait for it.

Was it just totally crammed with people?

It was absolutely crazy. There's a fire capacity, so there were so many people coming in that we had to stop people from coming in. We had to limit the number of customers that could come into the store at once because it was so flooded with people.

Even with only the number of people allowed by the fire capacity, I'm sure it was still incredibly crowded.

Yeah, the store was absolutely mobbed. There were constant, constant lines. No shopping carts left; no baskets left. People were taking photos because, you know, you never see totally empty shelves.

Did people get frustrated with how busy it was?

A lot of people would come in, they would start filling their cart, and then they'd see the line. So they'd just give up and just abandon their cart wherever they are and leave the store. That was really annoying. Or they'll take a frozen thing and shove it near the cereal and hide it. So we don't find it until the end of the night and we have to throw it away because it's gone bad. So people will just abandon things around the store, which is probably the most annoying thing.

Did that happen a ton yesterday?

Yes, it happened a lot, a lot. There were abandoned carts everywhere. Which is also annoying because there were other people waiting for carts and we can't give them because there were just half-filled carts around the store, and you don't know what belongs to who or if it's just been given up on.

What kinds of frozen things did people hide by the cereal?

A lot of frozen vegetables and entrees. They just dump it there because they give up or decide, Oh, I don't want to eat this.

What was the first thing to go out of stock?

It's always the wet produce, the vegetables. People think there's never gonna be another bag of salad.

What did you restock the most of?

Honestly, there wasn't just one thing. It was literally everything. Every single thing in every section was selling out.

Did people buy a lot of milk?

Not really, actually. Surprisingly, no. I know the joke is, like, "milk and bread," right? People always want milk and bread. But by the end of the night, we still had both.

What about alcohol?

We don't really sell it, just beer. We still had plenty left, so that wasn't a big seller either.

Were people pissed they had to wait outside before they were allowed in?

Yeah, absolutely. Because it's like, once the snowstorm comes, as well as the food going, people's patience also magically disappears. So, yeah, people aren't nice to each other. They're actually pretty nice to the employees, but people get really nasty with each other, which is pretty not nice.

What were some of the things you heard people saying?

Well, there's a lot of people, you know; it's a crowded store! And obviously everyone's trying to get around as quickly as possible so people are going to accidentally bump into each other and people just take it so personally when that happens. I don't know why, because everybody's there for the same reason, but everybody thinks they're more important than everybody else.

They're pretty nice to the employees though?

Yeah, surprisingly. People aren't pushy with us. I feel like people see us more as trying to help them so they're nicer, or maybe they just realize that they get to leave the store and we're stuck in there with all the craziness, so...

They feel sorry for you.

Yeah, that's the thing. It could be pity, or it could be just generally being nice. But either way, it's nice that they aren't mean to us.

When all the carts and baskets were in use, did people try carrying everything in their arms?

Yes. A lot of people just kind of gave up on finding a cart or basket and just grabbed ... In the beginning, we were pretty good at restocking, but by the end of the night, when we [have] run out of stuff and the late truck hasn't come in yet, people are sort of just grabbing whatever they can. It's sort of like, I've never cooked this before, but it fills your stomach so I'm just gonna go ahead and try it. So they'll just carry up to the register whatever they can in their arms.

Did people try to use multiple carts to get as much as possible?

I would see couples, one with a cart and one with a basket, but not multiple carts. It was hard at the time to get even one cart, let alone two. It probably wouldn't have happened.

Were there more men or women shopping?

It's pretty balanced, actually. I can't say either.

Did you have to actually help people, or was it mostly restocking shelves and cleaning up abandoned carts?

Some people still were like, "Do you have this?" or, "Do you have that?" Meanwhile, there are a million other people just trying to get in and get out. Some people seemed to have no concept of the fact that there was some urgency going on and that it's probably not a good idea to stop and ask us to check in the back if we have this one thing. But we still did it. Also, I guess there were rich people who had personal shoppers? That was interesting. I'd never seen that before. They would come up and ask me if I had "this," and they would show me a picture and say, "Yeah, my client wants this and this and this." So they bought the groceries for their client and brought them to them.

That must have been a useful service to have during such chaos.

Yes, it was. But the problem was we were out of stock of everything, so they'd have to find something else to get. They seemed like they had it worse than us, actually.

At what point before a storm does it really get crazy in the store?

The day before. I worked on Saturday and Sunday, and it was only yesterday that it got insane. And Sunday is our busiest day already, so add a snowstorm to that and it gets so much worse.

Did any fights break out inside the store?

No fights over items, but I've seen people get into screaming matches because one person bumped into another one. Instead of saying, "Excuse me," and letting it go, there's always somebody who can't let it go. They turn into giant children and start screaming at each other. It's ridiculous.

Did that happen between men or women?

Men and women. It doesn't matter. People don't care. It doesn't matter who it is. You just get two of the right people together in a stressful situation and they'll fight.

Do employees keep things in the back for themselves?

No. No way.

Do employees go shopping there after they get off their shift?

Yes, that was common. Which sucks at night, because then we're out of stock of a lot of things.

Do you guys have any sort of services for people who are old or disabled?

Not to help them get here, but once they're in the store, we have people who can help them shop. We have people who you can tell if you need help, and we have people who take them around the entire store, and they don't have to wait in line either.

Did people tend to talk to you about the actual snowstorm?

Not really. People just care about getting their stuff and getting out.

What was the most frustrating part about working during the blizzard?

Keeping everything stocked. And getting everything out when there are a million people in the store.

Describe your shift yesterday in three words.

Batshit crazy.

That's two words, but we'll let it go. You're stressed.

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