Whilst out at the weekend enjoying the summer, which is over now, the family and I were on our way home when the good lady wife suggested that we pop into Tesco and get some bits for dinner - seeing as we had people coming over.
Now it was a Saturday, about 2pm, very hot and the air con in the car had just kicked in good and proper. There was no way that I was going into that rat race with two kids in tow. "Why don't I drop you at the door honey and I'll wait in the car with the girls?" I suggested. "Good idea, I'll be quicker that way" replied Jac.
So I dropped her at the front door and parked in the only space I could find... About 4.5 miles away at the other end of the car park.
Sat in the car, fridge more like at this point, playing music and eye spy with the girls, things were quite chilled - until something got me quite riled.
Opposite me a car pulled in. A pimped up Vauxhall Nova, bright yellow, loads of rust, but thumping stereo and blacked out windows. I expected a 19 year old guy to step out and walk in with one trouser leg rolled up and a limp. Nope. A girl in her mid 20's in a Tesco uniform stepped out. That's what I get for stereotyping.
She was rooting through her handbag on the roof of the car, trying to find a pass or key or something but then threw an empty cigarette packet onto the floor. I wound the window down to point out that she had dropped something hoping to see her pick it up and put it in the bin about 3 meters away from her, but she looked at me, smirked and kicked it under her car so no-one else would see it. She locked her car and walked into the store.
Now I know you need to be a team player when working in an organisation like Tesco, but keeping the cleaner in a job by littering is not on.
Every small thing that any of your employees, partners or contractors do in the name of your brand, as she did in her Tesco uniform, tells you about that brand. Clearly this employee didn't give two hoots and you will find many people like this. But as the cleaner who was sweeping the corridor at NASA who replied when asked what they were doing - "Helping to put man on the moon" tell us that everyone has a part to play in how your brand in perceived by others.
