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Original poster

Woolworths - so sad

35 replies

Sherbert37 · 06/01/2009 22:44

Anyone else see the report on ITV news? The poor store manager looked so upset in his empty store today. Had my first Saturday job in Woolies. Brought a lump to my throat. Really feel for all the staff who have no jobs to go to.

OP posts:
Clarissimo · 06/01/2009 22:45

Fio and others on here- sorry it had to come to this. Hope you're all in the best job ever asap.

trixymalixy · 07/01/2009 10:21

I'm totally gutted for all the poor Woolworths staff. I hope they all manage to find jobs soon.

expatinscotland · 07/01/2009 10:23

Our nearest town is quite small. Woolie's was the place where we went for all our bits and bobs.

21 people have been made redundant. At the same time, the HMRC is closing hte local tax office, making more people redundant.

FioFio · 07/01/2009 10:25

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hippipotami · 07/01/2009 10:25

It is sad. We walked around our local Woolies on Saturday, it's last day of trading. Parts of the store were barricaded off. Teh shelves were bare, but the staff still friendly and courteous. The oddest thing was that all they appeared to be selling were boxes adn boxes of plimsolls. Hundreds of them, all stacked up all over the place.

I used to go into Woolies frequently, until they changed their layout/stock a few years ago. From that point on they never seemed to have what I wanted...

Fio adn others, I hope you are okay and find a new job soon.

Ceebee74 · 07/01/2009 10:27

I agree - I too had my first Saturday job at Woolies 20 years ago and it saddens me that it has now gone

When I think of all the local Woolies here, they were all huge and in really prominent places - how sad that they will now just be empty shells as I can't see any other shops wanting to move into them at the moment!

Clarissimo · 07/01/2009 10:28

If I can help ina ny way fio, even if just looking over your CV (temped in an agency writing them for six months) let me know OK?

I'd go to the jobcentre yes, I find Dh feels he's doing more than if he applies off the internet (Uni might have fallen through so needs to get out of his job now on advice of GP). Local papers as well, as many firms won't advertise in a jobcentre but as you say there isn't much atm.

TotalChaos · 07/01/2009 10:31

Fio - aren't all the job centre vacancies up on their website these days?

here

www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/Internet/setLocale.do?country=GB&language=en&page=/initialise.do

good luck to you and anyone else reading affected by woolies closure in finding work.

Hangingbellyofbabylon · 07/01/2009 10:34

Yes the situation is really really sad, we went to our Woolworths which closed in the 'first wave' just after christmas. All the staff had coats on as there was no heating and the store manager was walking around with a pile of lampshades trying to get people to buy them. It's just so bloody awful how many people are affected by this.

FioFio · 07/01/2009 11:38

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expatinscotland · 07/01/2009 11:42

and now with a lot of the Adams folks being made redundant and 1200 more from M&S and talk of Next and Debenham's making folks redundant as well . . .

FioFio · 07/01/2009 11:46

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ChopsTheDuck · 07/01/2009 11:47

i went to ours yesterday. They had music blasting out and were singing along wiht it wearing hats and scarves etc. So gutted for them, really hope they find new jobs.

Adams and woolies have gone, rosebys is closing and prob M&S food will be going from our town, it's getting so bare.

Ponders · 07/01/2009 11:49

Last time I went to a jobcentre looking for vacancies (about 3½ years ago) they just pointed me towards 2 machines in the corner. Those just have the same ones that are on the website - which is not user-friendly (but then neither are the jobcentre staff )

Good luck, fio

Clarissimo · 07/01/2009 12:36

TRhe problem with the machines / website is that most of the time (we ahve fund anyhw) the jobs are gone or oversubscribed by the time you get to call them, but not taken off the site.

Do you have my email from TTR Fio? I suppose there's CAt

Ponders · 07/01/2009 15:02

On the website (& on the machine too presumably, I never bothered with them) you have the option of looking only for for jobs posted in the last 24 hours/1 week/2 weeks/whatever (can't remember exactly)

Obviously you're likely to have more luck with the recent ones, but my daughter recently found a couple of caring jobs on the jobcentre website & they weren't the most recent.

fio, what could you do apart from retail? Only those vacancies are going to be swamped atm.

FioFio · 07/01/2009 15:57

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Ponders · 07/01/2009 16:10

Well the clients she has are a mixed lot; mostly elderly, only a few incontinent. Some need to be visited several times a day to supervise medication, some need meals made & to be sat with while they eat them, some have to be got up & dressed in the morning & then undressed & helped back to bed in the evening - that kind of thing.

She has worked hours between 8am & 11pm, 7 days a week (not all those hours every day though ). The agency is pretty flexible so it could be fitted around your children's needs. She had to have a CRB check (& an additional one for the elderly? or vulnerable?); also she has worked in a care home before, I don't know whether your care of your little girl would count as relevant experience or not but I think this agency does also provide carers for younger people.

She found the job via the jobcentre website anyway, so it would be worth you looking into your area if you think you might like to do it. I can see how it would be a bit of a busman's holiday, but you would not be emotionally involved at least, & there's lots of variety; it might tide you over while you continued to look for something else in admin or retail.

FioFio · 07/01/2009 16:14

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Ponders · 07/01/2009 16:27

ohhhhh, dear

A couple of hers have died already & she's only been doing it a month or so. One was a grumpy old baggage who she'd only seen once so she wasn't that bothered, but she did like the other one; & there's one who is going to die soon, from cancer, only she still doesn't know it, & lots of her family are there all the time - that one will be difficult.

I do see what you mean.

Simplysally · 07/01/2009 16:37

I did my work experience in my local Woolies - only a week but it was great fun and my Mum even worked there when she was at school. We've just had a 100-yr old shop close in my nearest town - an old ladies underwear/housecoat type of shop but it's horrible seeing it all boarded up. it's going to be flats now.

it might be worth going to the job centre once a week or so even though they're pretty grim places as you can keep printouts from the machines as proof you're applying for work if the benefits people get picky and the staff might just get to know you as a regular. I've found agencies the best way to get work myself but it really depends on what line of work you want to get into plus of course extra competition now. Good luck.

FioFio · 07/01/2009 17:21

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expatinscotland · 07/01/2009 21:34

it just feels so weird, walking down our town's high street and no more Woolie's.

Ponders · 08/01/2009 12:43

Thank you

Hope you will find something soon, fio

sb6699 · 08/01/2009 13:08

There's an article on the front page of our local newspaper about how Woolies has left a huge shop space empty. There are 2 other units empty on the high street as well as 2 which have closed recently on the high street. 6 Estate Agents have also closed in our area.

That's alot of folk made redundant given that our town is quite small.

The Management of the shopping centre have said they don't expect any of the empty units to be filled any time soon.

Anyone any ideas how I can get off a security tag from Woolies. Bought dd2 upsy daisy's bed but they left the tag on. Shop had closed before I realised!