Shopping …

You know, just occasionally, I’m like a lot of other people.

I go food shopping …

I like to eat, what can I tell you?

Well, apart from “I like food”, obviously …

Oh, and paying for stuff with money …

Well, no, I don’t like spending money, unless I absolutely have to, but who doesn’t?

At any rate, can I be honest, here, and confess that there’s been something bothering me for a while, now.

Somerfields.

Or rather, the Brentwood branch of Somerfields.

Now I’ve been a regular customer in the Brentwood branch of Somerfields for some time: since the late 1990s, to be honest.

And, while it’s small, it’s usually been good enough for my needs.

The problem — or part of it, to my way of thinking — is staffing.

Or rather Brentwood Somerfields lack of it.

Now, Brentwood had a branch of Sasinsbury’s open in town, a few years ago.

Or reopen, I should say. Sainsburys have had a presence in town for quite some time.

The opening I mentioned about was actually where Sainsburys had built a new store, with a lot floor space, closed their old branch — which is now the local branch of Superdrug — and moved into the new.

And — given that floor-space — it meant Sainsburys immediately started a very aggressive recruitment campaign. (They turned me down, I should add. Why, I don’t know.)

It had noticeable knock-on effects.

It seemed very apparent to me that — in the course of the next few months — Somerfields lost a lot of staff to Sainsburys.

At least, going by what I was told by some of the friendlier Somerfields staff.

With the result that Somerfields started going down hill …

Now, granted that — at about the same time — Somerfields, itself, was going through a heck of a crisis; one similar to the one that caused the collapse of First Quench Retail, the company who owned my former employers, Threshers.

But with one big difference.

Threshers collapsed.

Somerfields were bought out: by the Co-op.

But it’s only recently that a few — a very few — extra staff have been taken on. To little visible effect.

Very little, in fact.

Now I know, in these tough times, that hiring staff is tricky for some companies.

I also know that I — and a few of my friends — have — when Somerfields has been really busy — have put down full baskets.

And walked straight out of the shop.

But one thing I know I always aimed to try and do in my retail career, is this: make sure that I tried to serve customers as rapidly as decently possible.

I believe — and have seen for myself, from the other side of the till — that customers are less likely to walk out if they see that staff are visibly working and that that queues are visibly getting shorter: or moving, at least. Activing Throughput, if you want management speak.

Something that the local branch of Sainsburys seem to have realised.

And, to my way of thinking, Somerfields — the supermarket that’s nearest me, so tend to use more when the weathers like this — don’t seem to have that in mind.

•••••

One last thing to mention, here, is a little conversation I had with one of the friendlier supervisor’s at Somerfields, a few months ago.

According to her, their area manager had — several times — described the Brentwood branch of Somerfields as “… overstaffed.”

I don’t know who that area manager was.

But I’m tempted to use the phrase “Complete Bloody Idiot”, about now …

•••••

Oh, I’ve just had a quick natter with Tim, bless him, busily trying to install UNR on his Desktop — just to see what happens — who’s mentioned the Benfleet branch of the Co-op is just as bad …

•••••

Oh, and I hope you don’t mind, but I thought I’d put in a couple of extra bits …