Within less than five minutes of Tesco opening its doors for the first time this morning, a fire alarm saw its customers trooping back out into the rain.
This slight embarrassment occurred at 9.05 a.m., shortly after the entrance rollers went up for the first time at 9.00.54, to a small cheer from those assembled, eager to be the first to sample Rhuthun/Ruthin’s new shopping experience. I would liken the jubilation a little bit to when the railway first expanded to the town in the nineteenth century.
Meanwhile, the accolade of being the first inside went to a young woman whose three friends had kept her space since 10 p.m. the night before, or so they maintained. She duly received her £100-worth of Tesco vouchers. She and her patient friends were probably not even at school at the time Rhuthun/Ruthin’s arch-rival Co-op opened as Lo-Cost, in 1992.
As 9 o’clock approached, staff in store were in their positions. All the checkouts were open. Others waited in the vestibule to greet customers and assist them to their chosen aisles. A dairy delivery was under way at the loading bay. The staff found themselves with nothing particular to do while they waited expectantly during the last few minutes, tasks complete, chatting among themselves, as they watched the assemblage outside. They were no doubt slightly nervous. They had, after all, worked hard all week to get to this point. The phoney war without customers would shortly end, as the battle commenced.
The queuing crowd huddled beneath Tesco’s canopy from the stormy downpour was smaller than I had expected. Even so, it was fascinating to see who turned up, including people I wouldn’t’ve excepted to see as first-in-the-queue-can’t-wait types. This included a Rhuthun/Ruthin Somerfield employee, later caught red-handed with a shopping basket in hand.
The initial impression was of a clean, bright, attractive store. Aisles were nicely wide. Shelves were as they would never be again – no gaps, items stacked neatly to the front, facing the correct way, no slumped tins or collapsed cereal packets.
With the fire alarm, a false start it might have been, but Tesco has all the time in the world to make amends. It will be a goldmine to which people will inevitably be drawn again and again.
This slight embarrassment occurred at 9.05 a.m., shortly after the entrance rollers went up for the first time at 9.00.54, to a small cheer from those assembled, eager to be the first to sample Rhuthun/Ruthin’s new shopping experience. I would liken the jubilation a little bit to when the railway first expanded to the town in the nineteenth century.
Meanwhile, the accolade of being the first inside went to a young woman whose three friends had kept her space since 10 p.m. the night before, or so they maintained. She duly received her £100-worth of Tesco vouchers. She and her patient friends were probably not even at school at the time Rhuthun/Ruthin’s arch-rival Co-op opened as Lo-Cost, in 1992.
As 9 o’clock approached, staff in store were in their positions. All the checkouts were open. Others waited in the vestibule to greet customers and assist them to their chosen aisles. A dairy delivery was under way at the loading bay. The staff found themselves with nothing particular to do while they waited expectantly during the last few minutes, tasks complete, chatting among themselves, as they watched the assemblage outside. They were no doubt slightly nervous. They had, after all, worked hard all week to get to this point. The phoney war without customers would shortly end, as the battle commenced.
The queuing crowd huddled beneath Tesco’s canopy from the stormy downpour was smaller than I had expected. Even so, it was fascinating to see who turned up, including people I wouldn’t’ve excepted to see as first-in-the-queue-can’t-wait types. This included a Rhuthun/Ruthin Somerfield employee, later caught red-handed with a shopping basket in hand.
The initial impression was of a clean, bright, attractive store. Aisles were nicely wide. Shelves were as they would never be again – no gaps, items stacked neatly to the front, facing the correct way, no slumped tins or collapsed cereal packets.
With the fire alarm, a false start it might have been, but Tesco has all the time in the world to make amends. It will be a goldmine to which people will inevitably be drawn again and again.
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Tesco