A Pecha Kucha presentation I gave in my HND Graphic Design class. We were to use 20 seconds per 20 slides to talk about a topic of our choice. I decided to use it as my chance to rant about the numerous spillages I've had to clean up at my job in a supermarket.
I work in Waitrose. And not just any Waitrose - in one of the poshest areas of Edinburgh.
I work in Waitrose. And not just any Waitrose - in one of the poshest areas of Edinburgh.
I work in Waitrose. And not just any Waitrose - in one of the poshest areas of Edinburgh.
A Pecha Kucha presentation I gave in my HND Graphic Design class. We were to use 20 seconds per 20 slides to talk about a topic of our choice. I decided to use it as my chance to rant about the numerous spillages I've had to clean up at my job in a supermarket.
People shop in Waitrose because it's different. They expect different quality, different products, and to be treated differently too. They want to be made to feel special. Now this is all well and good…but some people can push this a bit too far.
Here is your average Waitrose shopper - Air pods are in, gilet and red chinos are on. They want to get their quail eggs and get out, and receive exceptional service while they do so.
See this in contrast with your average Waitrose worker - overstimulated from the chaos on the employee headset, skinny trousers and demeaning apron. A box cutter that you'd hope could be used to defend yourself, if not for its safety guard.
There are a lot of things I don't enjoy in my job. And one of the worst ones is cleaning up spillages. Spillages are not part of my job description, but unfortunately take up a large amount of my working day. The difference in Waitrose are the things that end up spilling…
I think 'tahini' is a paste (it comes in a jar?), and I can barely spell 'taramasalata'. Look, spillages are nobody's fault - they're accidents. But, there are identifiable, and more importantly PREVENTABLE causes…
I think 'tahini' is a paste (it comes in a jar?), and I can barely spell 'taramasalata'. Look, spillages are nobody's fault - they're accidents. But, there are identifiable, and more importantly PREVENTABLE causes…
THE CARRIER: "I don't need a basket". Yes you do.
THE CURIOUS: Lifting everything off the shelf to have a look.
THE ECO: Packaging that's better for the environment. Great - but flimsy.
THE CHILD: If your child carries something to 'help', it's a fact that it'll get dropped.
Here are my handy tools when I'm faced with a spillage:
Cheap and Thin Blue Roll - The stuff that (as my Grandma used to say) "you could spit peas through".
Dustpan and Brush -Standard, but no use for spillages of a liquid nature.
Generic Cleaning Spray - Does it actually do anything? If it does, not well.
I've got a lot of experience of cleaning up spillages. So much so that I can now rank them all out of ten, based on the ease of the clean up.
From 0 (which has traumatised me) to 10 (almost a joy)…
Milk:
Liquid, so it absorbs well. But the smell really brings it down here - it sours and it lingers. 5/10
Blueberries - 5/10
They roll and travel too much to be rated any higher. You dust them into your dustpan, and they roll right back out. You'll never find all of them, and the lone ones left on the floor inevitably get stood on and squashed.
Blueberries:
They roll and travel too much to be rated any higher. You dust them into your dustpan, and they roll right back out. You'll never find all of them, and the lone ones left on the floor inevitably get stood on and squashed. 3/10
Salsa:
This is surprising, but it absorbs really well. The chunks give it a grip, even on the Thin Blue Roll. You can clean it up pretty easily, and it doesn't leave streaks or residue. 9/10
Washing-up liquid:
It itself is a cleaning product. You can't clean up a cleaning product. It goes sticky and lathers when you scrub it. You can't use a dustpan, and you can't spray cleaner on it. It turns the aisle into a slip and slide. 0/10
Yoghurt:
This is a personal phobia I've had since I was a kid. The smell and texture make me feel sick, therefore it's -10000000/10
Pickled herring:
I don't think anyone would disagree with me on this one. Chunks of dead fish. The smell is hideous, and one you won't soon forget. 2/10
Elderflower:
It's a liquid so it's easy enough. It smells really nice, but the downfall here is the customer is usually really unhappy. Elderflower is an occasion drink, and they're upset that it's spilled. That's what knocks it a few points. 7/10
Rice:
This is like blueberries but worse. They are impossibly small, so you're never finding every single grain. They haunt you - you end up finding them later, everywhere. In every nook and cranny. They're gone forever. 1/10
Chicken:
Pretty self-explanatory - the smell, and the stickiness. But my main gripe is the health risk attached here. I'm not paid to deal with the risk of salmonella, especially infecting others if I don't clean it up thoroughly enough. 2/10
Cream:
Finally we have double cream. I'm specifically talking about the double stuff because it's thick. It doesn't absorb. It sits on the Blue Roll and the aisles like oil on water, requiring lots of scrubbing effort and endless sheets of Roll. Sticky and stubborn. 1/10
The moral of the story is please try not to spill things. I know that accidents happen, but accidents can also be prevented. All I ask is that when you're in a supermarket, think before you spill. And if you do spill milk, I will cry.
People shop in Waitrose because it's different. They expect different quality, different products, and to be treated differently too. They want to be made to feel special. Now this is all well and good…but some people can push this a bit too far.
Here is your average Waitrose shopper - Air pods are in, gilet and red chinos are on. They want to get their quail eggs and get out, and receive exceptional service while they do so.
See this in contrast with your average Waitrose worker - overstimulated from the chaos on the employee headset, skinny trousers and demeaning apron. A box cutter that you'd hope could be used to defend yourself, if not for its safety guard.
There are a lot of things I don't enjoy in my job. And one of the worst ones is cleaning up spillages. Spillages are not part of my job description, but unfortunately take up a large amount of my working day. The difference in Waitrose are the things that end up spilling…
I think 'tahini' is a paste (it comes in a jar?), and I can barely spell 'taramasalata'. Look, spillages are nobody's fault - they're accidents. But, there are identifiable, and more importantly PREVENTABLE causes…
THE CARRIER: "I don't need a basket". Yes you do.
THE CURIOUS: Lifting everything off the shelf to have a look.
THE ECO: Packaging that's better for the environment. Great - but flimsy.
THE CHILD: If your child carries something to 'help', it's a fact that it'll get dropped.
Here are my handy tools when I'm faced with a spillage:
Cheap and Thin Blue Roll - The stuff that (as my Grandma used to say) "you could spit peas through".
Dustpan and Brush -Standard, but no use for spillages of a liquid nature.
Generic Cleaning Spray - Does it actually do anything? If it does, not well.
I've got a lot of experience of cleaning up spillages. So much so that I can now rank them all out of ten, based on the ease of the clean up.
From 0 (which has traumatised me) to 10 (almost a joy)…
Milk:
Liquid, so it absorbs well. But the smell really brings it down here - it sours and it lingers. 5/10
Blueberries:
They roll and travel too much to be rated any higher. You dust them into your dustpan, and they roll right back out. You'll never find all of them, and the lone ones left on the floor inevitably get stood on and squashed. 3/10
Salsa:
This is surprising, but it absorbs really well. The chunks give it a grip, even on the Thin Blue Roll. You can clean it up pretty easily, and it doesn't leave streaks or residue. 9/10
Washing-up liquid:
It itself is a cleaning product. You can't clean up a cleaning product. It goes sticky and lathers when you scrub it. You can't use a dustpan, and you can't spray cleaner on it. It turns the aisle into a slip and slide. 0/10
Yoghurt:
This is a personal phobia I've had since I was a kid. The smell and texture make me feel sick, therefore it's -10000000/10
Pickled herring:
I don't think anyone would disagree with me on this one. Chunks of dead fish. The smell is hideous, and one you won't soon forget. 2/10
Elderflower:
It's a liquid so it's easy enough. It smells really nice, but the downfall here is the customer is usually really unhappy. Elderflower is an occasion drink, and they're upset that it's spilled. That's what knocks it a few points. 7/10
Rice:
This is like blueberries but worse. They are impossibly small, so you're never finding every single grain. They haunt you - you end up finding them later, everywhere. In every nook and cranny. They're gone forever. 1/10
Chicken:
Pretty self-explanatory - the smell, and the stickiness. But my main gripe is the health risk attached here. I'm not paid to deal with the risk of salmonella, especially infecting others if I don't clean it up thoroughly enough. 2/10
Cream:
Finally we have double cream. I'm specifically talking about the double stuff because it's thick. It doesn't absorb. It sits on the Blue Roll and the aisles like oil on water, requiring lots of scrubbing effort and endless sheets of Roll. Sticky and stubborn. 1/10
The moral of the story is please try not to spill things. I know that accidents happen, but accidents can also be prevented. All I ask is that when you're in a supermarket, think before you spill. And if you do spill milk, I will cry.
People shop in Waitrose because it's different. They expect different quality, different products, and to be treated differently too. They want to be made to feel special. Now this is all well and good…but some people can push this a bit too far.
Here is your average Waitrose shopper - Airpods are in, gilet and red chinos are on. They want to get their quail eggs and get out, and receive exceptional service while they do so.
See this in contrast with your average Waitrose worker - overstimulated from the chaos on the employee headset, skinny trousers and demeaning apron. A box cutter that you'd hope could be used to defend yourself, if not for its safety guard.
There are a lot of things I don't enjoy in my job. And one of the worst ones is cleaning up spillages. Spillages are not part of my job description, but unfortunately take up a large amount of my working day. The difference in Waitrose are the things that end up spilling…
I think 'tahini' is a paste (it comes in a jar?), and I can barely spell 'taramasalata'. Look, spillages are nobody's fault - they're accidents. But, there are identifiable, and more importantly PREVENTABLE causes…
THE CARRIER: "I don't need a basket". Yes you do.
THE CURIOUS: Lifting everything off the shelf to have a look.
THE ECO: Packaging that's better for the environment. Great - but flimsy.
THE CHILD: If your child carries something to 'help', it's a fact that it'll get dropped.
Here are my handy tools when I'm faced with a spillage:
Cheap and Thin Blue Roll - The stuff that (as my Grandma used to say) "you could spit peas through".
Dustpan and Brush -Standard, but no use for spillages of a liquid nature.
Generic Cleaning Spray - Does it actually do anything? If it does, not well.
I've got a lot of experience of cleaning up spillages. So much so that I can now rank them all out of ten, based on the ease of the clean up.
From 0 (which has traumatised me) to 10 (almost a joy)…
Milk:
Liquid, so it absorbs well. But the smell really brings it down here - it sours and it lingers. 5/10
Blueberries:
They roll and travel too much to be rated any higher. You dust them into your dustpan, and they roll right back out. You'll never find all of them, and the lone ones left on the floor inevitably get stood on and squashed. 3/10
Salsa:
This is surprising, but it absorbs really well. The chunks give it a grip, even on the Thin Blue Roll. You can clean it up pretty easily, and it doesn't leave streaks or residue. 9/10
Washing-up liquid:
It itself is a cleaning product. You can't clean up a cleaning product. It goes sticky and lathers when you scrub it. You can't use a dustpan, and you can't spray cleaner on it. It turns the aisle into a slip and slide. 0/10
Yoghurt:
This is a personal phobia I've had since I was a kid. The smell and texture make me feel sick, therefore it's -10000000/10
Pickled herring:
I don't think anyone would disagree with me on this one. Chunks of dead fish. The smell is hideous, and one you won't soon forget. 2/10
Elderflower:
It's a liquid so it's easy enough. It smells really nice, but the downfall here is the customer is usually really unhappy. Elderflower is an occasion drink, and they're upset that it's spilled. That's what knocks it a few points. 7/10
Rice:
This is like blueberries but worse. They are impossibly small, so you're never finding every single grain. They haunt you - you end up finding them later, everywhere. In every nook and cranny. They're gone forever. 1/10
Chicken:
Pretty self-explanatory - the smell, and the stickiness. But my main gripe is the health risk attached here. I'm not paid to deal with the risk of salmonella, especially infecting others if I don't clean it up thoroughly enough. 2/10
Cream:
Finally we have double cream. I'm specifically talking about the double stuff because it's thick. It doesn't absorb. It sits on the Blue Roll and the aisles like oil on water, requiring lots of scrubbing effort and endless sheets of Roll. Sticky and stubborn. 1/10
The moral of the story is please try not to spill things. I know that accidents happen, but accidents can also be prevented. All I ask is that when you're in a supermarket, think before you spill. And if you do spill milk, I will cry.