Favourite Shop Staff on SGR
  • Tallboy
    Mine would include:

    Pharmacy - on the north west side of SGR. The older man with a mop of white hair. Always very polite and courteous.

    Sparks - the guy who runs it is always very helpful and full of advice.

    Tesco - although 90% of the check out crew are at the best dis-interested and at worst rude, I do like the white haired lady with glasses who tends to work a morning shift. Always smiles, wishes me well and calls me "luv". I think she might be called Brenda. If she isn't, she should be.
  • Misscara
    Convenience shop next to Nando's. The man (curly hair, 30's) is always really happy and smily and helpful. I've even had parcels delivered there as I'm not home when the postman comes.

    Does anyone know his name? I feel a bit silly asking him as I've been going there years.
  • emine

    I really like the man you mentioned in the chemist.

    I don't know Flicks - did you mean Sparks? In which case, he's a lovely man too, always says hello when I walk past.

    Also like the man in X-It. And Jacks. And the people in the fishmonger (esp the woman), and the people who run the newsagent on Tollington. I could go on, there are loads...

    The man from Christos hardware shop is dearly missed. I liked him a lot.

  • Tallboy
    Sorry, I did mean Sparks. Have made the edit.
  • Jenowl
    The smiley tallish man in the Turkish shop nextdoor to Nando's. He gives out free sweets at the counter and always says hello when he's smoking oustide.
  • Misscara
    Jenowl: I think we might be talking about the same guy. He gave me an orange and a little bottle of gin at Christmas!
  • checkski
    She's called Liz, actually. She and another old hand (in years at Tesco's, not years on this earth), Karen, are models of how to treat customers. I couldn't imagine any customer wanting to have a go at them, although Karen says some do.

    At the other end of the spectrum, there are some right b******s on the tills, and I cheerfully complain to the manager whenever necessary. Well, not cheerfully, actually: I really see red when I meet rudeness, arrogance or carelessness and indifference from the staff, which I reckon we have done far too often. I know there are 2 sides to the story, as I worked in several shops when I was young, but some people ask for it. I am thinking of 1 or 2 characters in particular, although perhaps it would be unfair to describe them; I bet they have run-ins with the public every 5 minutes.

    Barbara, the manageress with the long blonde hair, takes complaints very seriously, but is also interested to hear praise for her staff, so I do a bit of both, from time to time. Actually, I get the impression that some of the inbetween characters have been trying a bit harder recently, so perhaps she is making a difference. I hope so; politeness and friendliness make life in Tesco's much pleasanter, for everyone.

    Apart from Tesco's, I suppose I know the cafe people in SGR best. They're nearly all lovely - but there are already enough cafe threads on SG.org, so I'll leave it there, for now.
  • Jenowl
    Misscara, he does sound like the same one, except the one I mean doesn't have curly hair! It's very short and straight.
  • checkski
    Blimey, it's all happening, on SGR, this morning! My post above, about Tesco's, was in response to Tallboy's description of 'Brenda', in his first post.
  • JungleFaceJake
    I like the man who takes your basket if you put it down for more than a second, even if it is full of shopping.

    He's the best.

    Oh and the young kid at Tesco who is often on the self service tills. He's a ninja when the machines get stuck...

    The rest of the staff in Tesco ar droids.

    Service around the rest of SGR is pretty special.. never just right, it's either really really shit.. or very very full on.. and almost always laced with mental health issues..

    I LOVE N4
  • Marquis
    It's saddening nobody has so far mentioned the Turkish gents hairdresser opposite the Costcutters. He's a lovely, good-humoured quiet man with a business that doesn't seem to be going too well. And a great hairdresser.

    I am also a fan of Brenda/Liz at Tesco, and the owner of the newsagents next to Nando's (although now that I know that he gives gifts to other customers my affection is waning a bit). We had a great conversation about the pros and cons of Whisky v Raki once. I still think he underprices the Jura. And the older man at Jai Krishna's, and the guy in X-It. I nearly forgot the guy who runs Venezia.
  • Tallboy
    @Marquis. The little bottle of gin is nice. But an orange? An orange for Christmas?!
  • Marquis
    Cue Busby?
  • Misscara
    I was buying the orange anyway... on my way home from the pub on Christmas Eve. Not quite sure why.
  • chuckles
    I am also a fan of the man in the shop next to Nandos although i dont think you can call it a newsagent Marquis as it doesn't sell newspapers. I too have had a conversation with him about the merits of Raki. He seems to prefer to give his gifts to women and he usually has a selection of sweets to give out to them. I have occasionally been given some although i don't really want them.

    I also really like the self-service ninja in Tesco, he is very efficient and serious about his job.

    Least favourite has to be grumpy man in Mind
  • Marquis
    Sorry about the newsagent/shop mix-up. Must definitely concentrate more.
  • Misscara
    My least favourite is the Tesco till tart who is always chewing something with her mouth open and makes sighing noises if you haven't finished packing your shopping before she is ready for the next customer. She just sits there sighing and picking stuff out from under her nails, rather than helping you to pack.

    I like the guy who wears the hi-viz jacket in Tesco, he is usually collecting the trolleys and baskets but sometimes stacks the shelves or cleans up as well. He is the only person who seems to take pride in his job and I never see him slacking.

    The staff in The Lion are also really professional and quite cheerful, considering the amount of time they have to spend in there.

    Actually, now that I come to think of it, the best customer service I have received recently has to be from the young barman in The Dairy who told my friend and I, before he poured our 2 doubles and mixers, that it was going to cost £14. We promptly left and went and and had the same thing in The Lion for under a fiver (3 times)- cheers!
  • katiejane
    Great story Misscara. A similar thing happened to me yesterday in Pain Quotidien near the Royal Free. I asked how much the bag of granola was (which would have done me three breakfasts, maybe four). She grimaced, shook her head, and said: '£6.80. Too expensive.'
  • JaneDoe
    The gentlemen in the shop next to Nando's always gives me sweets too but always explains they are for ladies only (much to the disappointment of my other half).

    I also vote for high-vis man in Tesco. He should be running the place.
  • tosscat

    Granola gets on my nerves, what's wrong with muesli?

  • Gemz
    Lol the guy in the shop by Nando's give's me sweets too! My other half asked where his was and was upset when he got the same response as JaneDoe's boyfriend which was "they are only for ladies". Great guy.
  • slats
    Shop by Nando's = Istanbul Supermarket

    And yes the staff are legendary..
  • N4Matt
    I'm new here, well, long time listener first time calller and all that.

    I find the service great in these places,

    Jack's - incredibly friendly, always keen to have a chat about various subjects and must have the patience of a saint as some of the customers there must be very hard work 'Just getting some beer, I'll pay you tomorrow, yeah?'. One of the brothers is considerably friendlier than the other though.

    Old Dairy - one of the lads in there in particular, on requesting a bottle of Pinot Noir he answered, 'Don't bother mate, it's no good, try this instead' - that was a cheaper bottle and a good one. The manager in there is alright too and has the patience of a saint when dealing with the two drunken charged up mockneys who are always at his quiz, I would have chucked them out ages ago.

    Dry Cleaners next to Woody's - always very friendly and often offers discounts and has even mended things without being asked.


    At the other end of the scale, about a year or two ago Woody's had a late teens/early twenties female shop assistant who must be THE most unfriendly sales assistant in local history.
  • Donna

    I agree about the grumpy man in Mind, but as he's a volunteer I try to forgive him.

    I like the guy in the dry cleaners, next to Woody's. He's friendly and gave me a discount when I tried to negotiate with him about the price of a lot of dry cleaning, which was cool

  • Jenowl

    Another vote for the white-haired man in the chemist. Very efficient, polite and quietly confident.

  • WillM
    Big vote for Keiron who runs the Snow White Dry Cleaners - great guy, and real interest in the community / SGR area.
  • ADGS
    The pharmacist himself in the chemist up by Sainsbury's is great, both efficient and friendly. Moving off SGR ever so slightly, I'm also a big fan of everyone in the Tollington newsagent's.
  • Emma
    Given that Mind is a mental health charity, I would not be surprised if the people who volunteer there have different levels of mental health issues. Not that I would make judgements on any individuals in there of course!

    I like a lot of the staff in Tesco - there's a couple of young guys who do the self service tills who are always really cheerful and helpful, and a black lady with freckles who works on the tills who is super-friendly, always has a joke, and remembers who we are. Never really get any rude service there.

    The bald guy in the Nandos-Turkish shop likes to tell my boyfriend that they both belong to the "Baldy Men's Club", much to my boyfriend's mock-horror. I love the guy in there who used to look like an 80s Scouser but has since shaved the tache and cut the hair :( They're all dead friendly. I also like the guy and young girl who work in the shop up by the florist on the other side of the road.
  • Emma
    Oh and also the Pharmacy up by 157 Medical Centre is great - the staff are friendly and sympathetic and the pharmacist is helpful.
  • Ali

    Santas is great as well !

  • Marquis

    My latest favourites are the elderly couple who run that small off licence just a bit up from Woodstock Road, sort of opposite the World's End. I try to get all my offy needs from there, even though the beer is 1.10 a can and the owner of one of the off licences on Hornsey Road has told me I was 'very handsome' last weekend. Does he do that often?

  • ArkadyArkady

    The two Sikh guys who run Jack's are legendary. I suspect neither of them are called Jack. The younger one always recommends good ale and cider - ignore his warnings at your peril. I bought a brandy-cider there against his express advice and it was one of the most horrible things I have ever tasted. No amount of mulling could make that filth palatable.

  • Kaz
    Free sweets and gin? Must visit that shop more often. I had a really pleasant experience in Tesco once when I couldn't find any organic eggs, there was a teenager stocking the shelves, I asked him and he said it didn't look like they had any. I went up to the tills and a few minutes after he came up to me, organic eggs in hand, and said they had some out the back. (I am aware now though, as per previous thread that they might not have been organic eggs at all.) I thought that was sweet. I feel sorry for the people who work there, it really is a bit of a shit store, esp with all the crappy self service tills.

    Love the pharmacy man too. Used to like the guy with a mullett in Woodys, more for his mad hair than anything else. Don't think I've ever really come across anyone really rude around here. And I think the staff at Sugar Lounge are lovely.
  • Eliz

    Completely agree with AGDS, the couple who run the newsagents on Tollington are really lovely.

    In a bizarre sort of way I also like the older man who works at Jai Krishna, he tends to stand behind the counter endlessly totting up bills while the younger man runs ragged doing the rest of the work.

  • Emma
    This is a lovely thread by the way, thanks Tallboy. [Almost] everyone has managed to find great things to say about the locals and not used it as an excuse to criticise. Hooray!
  • Ali

    I can remember when the older man who works at Jai Krishna was actually the younger one that was in the days that Annie used to frequent the place

  • miss annie

    Are there two Annie's in SG?

    Another vote for the lovely folk in Tollington newsagents.

  • Siolae

    Liz is lovely and says hello even in the street on her way to work

  • drowner
    Marquis, i've also been told i was very handsome by the really friendly man in the Hornsey Road off license many times. Actually he scared me quite a lot once. Asking lots of questions, telling me i had the most beautiful eyes etc. I think he'll try it on with most young men!
    I vote for the youngish guy that serves in Budget supermarket. Always friendly and sometimes gives discounts if you buy spirits.
  • ADGS
    Which Budget, the SGR one or base of Crouch Hill? I assume the former, they're much friendlier generally. And cheaper, for that matter.
  • pie eater
    The guys from Rishin Too on Hornsey Road are just lovely. When you couple that with the gang from Hamlet caf on a saturday morning you start the day off with a big smile.
  • Siolae

    The Turkish guys in the Supersave on Hornsey Road are also really nice and used to give my daughter free sweets when she was little. Its been a long time since I was in Steve's newsagent on SGR as I don't live that side any more but the elderly owner was always absolutely lovely. Is he still there? @Emma, I agree lovely thread. Nice to be positive. Spring must be on the way!

  • kreuzkav
    The freckly woman at Tesco and the grey haired woman with glasses (on the till in the morning) are so lovely. The guys at Jacks too. The manager at Porchetta who always greets me on the street. The staff at Jai Krishna (providing Stroud Green with lovely veggie food for decades).

    I miss the couple who ran the newsagent that used to be where the Convenience Store is now, next to Dream River cafe. I used to have chats with them. They're living in a the countryside now after many decades of long hours.
  • WillM
    Oh, and the staff at the Front Room, who I think do a great job with a lot of heart and all the kindness in the world.
  • Marquis

    Drowner, that's what I thought. I couldn't really stop for a conversation because I was on my way to the cinema, but he also confirmed that I had chosen the best product in the shop (extra sour Haribos). Still it made my afternoon. I wonder if he ever scores with this strategy? The elderly owner is still in Steve's. I hope he can afford retire one day, unless running a newsagent is his great passion.

  • Emma
    Wait - you can get EXTRA sour Haribo? Tangfastics are my favourite sweets ever but if a higher plane of sour exists, I MUST BE TOLD.
  • Marquis

    Yes, Emma. It has light green packaging, but can't remember the name now. Also I think Sour Strawbs are higher up on the sourness scale than Tangfastics. Have you ever tried the own-brand strawberry strips from Sainsbury's? Seriously toxic!

  • ADGS
    Those are excellent, but not that sour. For full-on toxic, you want Toxic Waste. It even comes in little plastic oil drums.
  • azurejax
    The staff in Nisa at the wells terrace exit of Finsbury P tube are always lovely whenever I venture in there (usually for post work wine tragically) The shop across the road must be really suffering as their staff are bloody awful.

    Also that weird little home shop, think it's called essential stop shop who sell really good and cheap kilner jars are really friendly.

    Agree on the tescos staff but it really must be a lot of a chore to work there, it's always so busy...
  • ArkadyArkady

    Also, the middle-aged fellah in Kebabilicious. He's never patronising when I try to engage him on the Kurdish question at one in the morning.

  • Emma
    Oh yeah, the Nisa staff are really friendly! I also like the way Nisa smells of holiday camp convenience shops. Walking past makes me think of Pontins in the 80s.
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