Thousands of people are placing calls for curbside service at Pennsylvania's Liquor Control Board (PLCB) state stores. But, the high demand for liquor has clogged some of the phone lines at the 176 locations across the state that are currently taking curbside requests.
"Once you got through to them, everything went great," said customer John Robinson, who admitted he called several times on Monday in order to get his order placed for pick up on Tuesday in West Manchester Township.
Pennsylvania's Liquor Control Board is accepting curbside pick up orders by phone at the 176 locations from 9-1 pm Monday through Saturday. Pickups are scheduled from 9-6 pm with stores accepting 50-100 orders per day on a first-come, first-served basis. Customers must show ID.
See the list of state stores accepting curbside orders by phone here.
Learn more about curbside pickup here.
Learn how to make an order online here.
"We anticipate that eventually as people get the products they need, that demand may slow down," said PLCB spokesperson Shawn Kelly, who added the PLCB is working to streamline its processes to increase its capacity online. He said the PLCB is also working to open more stores to curbside service within the next few weeks.
The PLCB said it has seen an 'unprecedented' amount of demand throughout the past month that has resulted in:
- 6,500 requests placed on the first-day of curbside service, which began taking orders April 20
- 56,000 orders placed online since April 1 when the state began to sell through its website
"We've taken more orders in 20 days than we had in a previous fiscal year," said Kelly who added the state took 39,000 orders in total in the fiscal year of 2018/2019.
The PLCB has already put 1,400 store clerks and managers back to work as of Monday to help fill curbside orders.
"We just ask that our customers be patient. We understand your frustration. We share your frustration," said Kelly.
Orders start going out as state begins curbside pickup at 176 state store locations
FOX43 asked Kelly if he believes the PLCB is losing money due to the shut down of state stores in March, and the troubles that some customers have experienced getting their orders placed online and by phone in April.
"There's no way that our online sales and curbside delivery will make up for closing 600 brick and mortar stores. We understand that." But, Kelly added, the demand is 'unprecedented.' "We're creating processes and increasing capacity in systems that were never designed to handle this much. So, we ask people to be patient and understanding."
The 176 locations offering curbside service were chosen based on a number of factors including location and population. The PLCB said locations were also chosen in order to open at least one location in every county.