The Pointless Page

There's no need to change jobs now. It's just an option that I could consider after 4 years when I have to consider whether to make the balloon payment and keep the car or give the car back. Tesco checkout operator is an indoor job and being a caravanner, I like the great outdoors! 

Not yet, Grant705. I'm not ready for an indoor job just yet. Not too keen on spending sunny days in artificial light!

I remember once saying to a Tesco checkout operator: Lovely weather outside and she replied saying I wouldn't know about that, I don't get to see it in here. That just about sums it up! 

That's right, Jayess. My wife applied and attended their interview two years ago and then later got an email to say her application was unsuccessful. Also Tesco only have part-time jobs available and even if she had been successful, it would have been less hours and therefore less money than my present job and no tips! So now she's happy to be a housewife instead. It gives her plenty of time to do other things like reduced price shopping.

I prefer to be making deliveries in my own car. The Tesco air-conditioning would not be cool enough for me in the summer, certainly not where the checkout operators sit. Yes I agree it's more comfortable in the frozen food or chilled food aisles, so okay for shopping but not as a place to work. Also, like Jayess said, they might not offer a job. Obviously, their recruitment process is not that easy!

When driving in my own car I have complete control over the temperature and can set it to what is comfortable for me.

Pointless to say that Malcolm and his wife remind me of Jack Sprat and his wife, but not referring to meat/fat.

I worked for tesco for a while, other supermarkets are available 😉, I went for Christmas and stayed for 4 years 😲😲😲. Walking distance from home, my hours suited school hours, reasonable pay, uniform provided, subsidised canteen, paid holiday and sickness plus staff discount.

Wind is blowing crazily here pointless use of Hairspray 😲.  But it's warm. Off to collect grandchildren have to find somewhere secure to entertain them can' have them blown away 😂

But like Jayess has said, it's not that easy! Also I would lose out on the tips!

Don't you think not having to buy and run a second car would more than make up for that?

There's a saying, Kj: 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.'

I've already got a job with Pizza Hut, an internationally renowned company that plays by the rules: minimum wage, holidays, sick leave etc., so why change it for something else that might be less suitable. I worked for Tesco before and I didn't like it.

When my wife and I were in Wuhan, China, we had lunch at Pizza Hut in the city centre there. Yet there was no Tesco there. There's a Tesco in Beijing but not in Wuhan.

Pizza Hut have been good to me. They allowed me six weeks sick leave when I fractured my wrist last year and they also allowed me a total of six weeks holiday last year. Isn't than much better than my previous employer who wanted to get rid of me just because of four days in hospital?

You remember, Kj, how in my previous job, I was on duty 11 hours a day, 7 days a week with no holidays or sick leave. My wife and I had a lot of difficulty managing the work and having time for other caravan activities such as moving sites every 21 days, managing the awning and all the other usual domestic chores. The only advantage was that she was allowed to work together with me but it meant that two of us were working for less the than the minimum wage because of self-employed status.

The only time we had to catch up with domestic tasks were the mornings. However, with working so late at night, some of the morning had to be spent catching up on sleep. There was no time for days out visiting NT, WWT, HHA etc.

Now look at the difference! Only one of us has to work and that too, only 16 hours a week sometimes less. I get at least two days off per week, sometimes three and sometimes four depending on the rota. Yet I'm getting paid just as much, if not more than my previous employer who made both of us work 77 hours a week.  I now get a proper wage paid four weekly through the bank, plus drop money, plus tips. It's not a bad deal, Kj, is it?

Yes, I can see other people's point. If the company provided the vehicle at their own cost, I would be even better off. However, they only provide a company motorbike for bike riders. I wouldn't want to have to do deliveries on a bike. Weather conditions, even in a car, can be treacherous in extreme winter conditions. A huge amount worse when you only have two wheels to get you through snow and ice. So better for me to pay the cost of supplying my own car with the benefit of all the comfort and convenience it gives me.

The other thing, Kj, is that having a second car has proved useful for our own personal usage. The Shogun with the roof box doesn't fit under the height limit barriers of many car parks. So we now use the Smart car which is much more convenient for parking when shopping in town cantres and fitting into the multi storey car park when taking my wife to her dental appointments at Guys Hospital. So it's useful as a run around for those short urban trips, whilst the Shogun is necessary as a tow car. So two different cars to do two very different tasks.