Convenience store chain slammed after employees told they must still start at 7am
Co-op, who operate a small number of stores in Portland, have confirmed whether or not they will be open during the Queen’s Funeral.
In an announcement made yesterday, Co-op will close its stores, including those in Weymouth & Portland, until 5pm on September 19.
Disappointed customers will have to wait until 5pm on September 19 to be able to do their essential shopping that day.
In areas such as Portland, Co-op is the only nearby local shop that many residents have access to for their primary needs, namely their Fortuneswell and Weston stores.
Some stores had to wait until today (September 14) to receive information about their opening times, causing confusion and worry.
This announcement isn’t without controversy, however, as customers and employees alike noticed that staff are still required to be inside the shop to accommodate store deliveries during its closure, with one twitter user calling it “A publicity stunt gone wrong”.
This was indeed confirmed by Co-op’s “Colleague Comms”, who are responsible for sending store managers the relevant information about certain situations just like this one. They added that depending on certain stores’ opening times, staff must still come in at their earliest opening times, missing their only opportunity to watch the Queen’s funeral.
Employees also complained that they had to wait longer than those in other companies to wait for official information about opening times.
Some took to Twitter to voice their frustration:
Co-op has yet to respond to the controversy, but says staff need to be in the store to maintain in-store checks and complete vital store deliveries to keep stock at a healthy amount.