About 40 Woolworths workers in Whanganui joined a nationwide protest over pay and staffing. Photo / Mike Tweed
Whanganui-based Nicky Rennie returned to her home town in 2018 while celebrating three decades in broadcasting. She has written a column for the Whanganui Chronicle since 2021.
OPINION
As someone who is genuinely interested in others, I always chat with people who serve me in supermarkets, dairies, Four Squares or anywhere really.
It’s to get a better understanding of what they deal with on a daily basis and, to be honest, some of the stories that I have heard are harrowing to say the least.
What I’ve gleaned from many of the conversations I have had is that Covid changed the behaviour of the everyday shopper. For some reason, they thought it gave them the right to be rude, impatient, angry and to behave abominably towards staff who turn up every day to serve them and earn an honest living. I found Covid as frustrating as the next person but it didn’t mean that a switch was flicked and I became a horrible person or suddenly lost my manners.
At the time, I felt immense sympathy for the supermarket staff who had to handle irate customers while trying their best to implement the systems that were put in place to make sure everyone was safe. If anything, I felt even more gratitude for the job that supermarket workers do every day.
I would like to be able to say that things have got a lot better since then but, unfortunately, with the cost-of-living crisis they have got a lot worse and my heart goes out to supermarket staff.
I went to do groceries at Woolworths at the top of Victoria Ave on Tuesday. I needed a couple of things from the deli to make dinner. I had heard the staff were going to strike but had forgotten exactly when. The deli was shut and there was a skeleton staff still making sure that customers got served while the remaining staff from both stores picketed at Trafalgar Square. They weren’t alone.
Some staff from nearly 200 Woolworths stores throughout New Zealand walked off the job at midday for a two-hour strike after two weeks of negotiations with the supermarket giant stalled. I asked one staff member who was manning the self-checkouts exactly what they wanted. The answer was simple. “The living wage.” Call me naïve, but I would have thought that was already in place. Nope.
One of the other questions I asked was about the cameras they now wear around their necks and she told me that just a few days earlier, a customer got so angry with the self-checkouts that they put a staff member in a headlock. Stuff the living wage – they deserve that and danger money.
It’s a sad indictment on society when staff aren’t safe in their place of employment, but that is the case as people become more and more desperate, trying to buy the basics. Woolworths said it has invested $45 million towards improving the safety of the working environment including team safety cameras in all stores, trolley locks, fog cannons and double-entry gates. Super. Now when they get punched in the face, it’s on camera. I’m sure that will make them feel so much better about turning up for work the next day. This is madness.
Don’t get me wrong. I understand people’s frustrations with the price of groceries and when all we hear is about the profits that supermarkets make, it feels grossly unfair. I went to the supermarket the other day and bought three items. Laundry detergent, coleslaw and a bottle of wine (that was $12). The total cost for those three items was $38. My brother came over for a visit from Australia in the last two weeks and was completely blown away by how much we have to pay for our groceries. He actually thought it was a joke, except it certainly isn’t when that is our reality.
I spoke with a staff member from a Four Square the other day and she said a customer was so upset at the price of the items she bought that she simply didn’t believe the price and made the poor girl re-scan all the items. The price came out the same. Needless to say, the lovely wee operator wore the wrath of said customer’s tongue. She said, “It happens all the time.”
When did New Zealanders become this angry? When did they decide it’s okay to lash out at people just for doing their jobs? The people serving you don’t set the prices, but it seems the level of desperation is now so great that all bets are off. I too, have suffered the humiliation of having to take some items off the conveyor belt so that I can afford what I need, so this is coming from a lived experience, but it doesn’t mean I’d punch someone. To be honest, I’m more likely to cry and, again from my conversations, people are doing this more and more often. It’s a feeling of overwhelm, failure and complete and utter powerlessness.
I worry for the people who turn up to serve us every day and get abused. The whole sorry mess makes me feel so sad. So, this column is for every single supermarket staff member. Thank you for the job you do - this author appreciates you greatly. If you do one thing the next time you go to the supermarket, say “thank you” and tell them “You are appreciated”.