ISSUE NUMBER 56 SEnine


Being the insomniac that I sometimes am, I found myself in Sainsbury's the other evening around 9pm. Picking up a few odd items, milk, bread and the like I wander off to the till area. Arriving, I was greeted by a long row of checkouts, all empty, and by empty I mean not even staff in attendance. One till was open with a rather lengthy queue which . I joined. Looking about, I noticed 5 staff hovering around the front counter and self check out section.


A supervisor approached me and suggested that I check out my goods in the self service section, I declined and asked why more tills were not open. The supervisor directed me and my trolley to the self service checkout and instructed a staff member to record the sale of my items. While the staff member did this task (with a bit of a humph on) I spoke with the supervisor to find out what this was all about. You guessed it, they want to cut staff members, so are offering one till and self serve after a predetermined time at night with the view, I was told, to being totally self serve eventually.


Can anyone remember when service stations were just that, a staff member would fill your car, check oil, water and tyres and believe it or not, even clean your windscreen. Those days are long gone, and now it seems that Sainsbury's is leading the charge to send us down the same route.


I can understand offering a self serve quick check out (5 - 10 items), but can you imagine the chaos of doing your regular shop and then having to ring it through the till yourself.


Totally Independent


Founder: Mark Wall mark@senine.co.uk


Editor:


John Webb editor@senine.co.uk


Phone: 020 8333 7493 Web: www.senine.co.uk Publisher: SEnine Ltd: PO Box 24290, Eltham, SE9 6ZP


B&Q are already at that point. You will recall that I reported going to purchase something from B&Q some months ago and was confronted with no options. It was use the self serve or nothing, I chose nothing and went to Avery Truman's on the high street. Before you state the obvious, yes I should have gone there first and I let myself down.


Sainsbury's et.al. will argue that they are reducing costs by reducing staff because you will do the work they previously did, they will argue that they must do this to stay competitive. A down side is you cannot complain about the service when you are serving yourself.


My preference would be to pay a penny or two more on my weekly shop, keep local people employed, and be able to have a nice chat while your goods are registering at the checkout. Now that would be service.


I remember my first after school and weekend job was working at a grocery store in Perth. My job was to pack customers shopping into bags and then carry them to the customers car if requested to do so.


Even before that I recall the Baker, Greengrocer, Milkman and Iceman visiting our street in a horse drawn carts. With the promise of pocket money, which rarely appeared, I was charged with collecting the horse droppings, when they occurred near our house, and spreading it on Dad's rose bushes


Other visitors to our street were the 'Rag and Bone' man although I never saw him collect rag or bone, concentrating


his efforts on scrap metal.


On a not so regular basis was a man who had a grinding wheel on the back of his cart. He would collect the knives and scissors from the house and for a few pennies sharpen them all. Much later (perhaps 60s) I recall he would arrive on a push bike.


JULY 2011


From My Desk


From the 70s onward one vendor would return to our streets. Much like the ice deliveries which ceased when electric refrigeration became a household appliance, the ice cream van would bring cold and iced delights to our kerb side. We could hear him miles away as he travelled up and down the roads with the tune Greensleeves blaring from roof mounted speakers.


CERA The Central Eltham Residents Association seems to have ceased to exist. Their email and phone numbers are not responding and I have not seen a newsletter in ages. The web site is very out of date. If there is someone involved with CERA either on committee or a street rep who could give me an update on the status of CERA I would appreciate a call.


Well that a bout wraps up the June edition, I hope you enjoy reading it.


Enjoy life: Enjoy Eltham.


Cover: Fuchsia 'Deep Purple'. In flower now in the newly refurbished Pond Room at Avery Hill Winter Garden.


Picture by: Karen Pepper


Cameo: Gordon School Trim Trail Closing Dates. All copy must be received by about the 15th* of each month to appear in the next edition. Contributions and Stories are always welcome from the residents of Eltham. Submissions are subject to our overall editorial policy. *Some months do vary, check our web page www.senine.co.uk for exact dates.


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