Praise for King's Lynn supermarket staff
A shopper has paid tribute to the way the staff at Sainsbury's superstore on the Hardwick are coping with the stresses of the coronavirus outbreak.
Kate Evans, a 25-year-old media researcher who returned to West Norfolk from London at the end of last year, said she was so impressed by their spirit.
She said: "The ongoing panic of the Covid-19 pandemic has left many stressed, anxious and worried for what the future will hold.
"With the uncertainty of events being cancelled and warnings to stay at home, it is the everyday workers striving to keep things rolling as normal who are really making a difference to the community.
"Employees working at Sainsbury’s, Hardwick, haven’t let this dampen their spirits.
"On Friday and Saturday of Mothering Sunday weekend, service assistants Karen Abbott, Sue Eracleous and Marie Castleton manned a table surrounded by flowers and gift boxes, carefully putting bouquets and flower arrangements together to be sold in store. 'It’s a service that isn’t normal but everybody enjoys doing it', they said.
"They do this voluntarily every year for both Valentine’s Day and Mother’s day, and have done so for the past four years.
"When I asked what would happen to the flowers that didn’t get sold, there was no hesitation in the response that unsold flowers would go to working staff who have found this time quite challenging but continue to do their utmost best in providing a positive service and keeping calm.
"Having had to close some of their instore counters earlier on in the week, the supermarket was left with food that would not get sold. It was again these employees who gladly volunteered to take food around, albeit in their own time, to a few local charities; including, King’s Lynn Foodbank, the Purfleet Trust, Night Shelter, Merchants’ Terrace, and the YMCA.
"Over two days, Karen and her colleagues provided aid for the homeless and those in need as they were 'determined that nothing would be wasted'.
"In such a pressing time as we are in, it brings just that little bit more of joy, that little bit more of happiness, and that little bit more of hope. Such acts of service continue to be seen and unseen in the community, uniting us together as we press forward to make the best of a bad situation."
