Help yourself

[tikay]

I suppose younger sorts wont get this at all, but retailing has completely changed in the last 50 to 75 years.

As a young man, there was no such thing - anywhere - as "self-service".

Stuff was displayed on or behind counters, & you stood in a queue to get served your groceries. The man - always wearing a white or brown coat - then totted up the damage on a piece of white wrapping paper, using a pencil he stored behind his ear. They used scales with lead weights to weigh stuff.

Here's a 1930 Sainsbury.

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This was a typical Woolworths in the 1950's.....I'm a little ashamed to admit, but I liked Woolies because I could pilfer - a nicer word than steal - loose biscuits from the open topped counters. Everything was loose, & in little compartments.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

The big treat was Christmas - go to Woolies to buy the Christmas decorations.                                             

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Whatever happened to crepe paper? I remember it well, but I'm buggered if I  can recall what we used it for.   

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Then, as the years rolled by, a new fangled thing arrived - proper scales.

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Today?

They've upsized a bit.

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And of course, we still queue, but we go to self-service checkouts. Not sure I like that work - checkout.

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[tikay]

In Petrol Stations we were served by a man in a brown overall with greasy hands. Money was short, so we generally got one gallon & a shot of Redex. If we were loaded, we might buy two gallons at once.

The pumps were achingly slow - it would take nearly a minute to pump a gallon.

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Then, suddenly, some bright spark invented self service.

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[tikay]

Nothing to do with self-service, but I bet it's 40 or 50 years since I last saw these, but I can still taste the glue from when we got home & patiently stuck then in our little book.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Save 23 books of stamps, which might take 9 months, & you could get something really special - a new iron, or a Black & Dekker drill.

Or best of all - a carriage clock. Yuk. If anyone ever buys me a carriage clock, they might just need to bend over backwards to tell the time.


Carriage clocks define who & what we are as a person. I'd bet good money nirvana has a house full of them.

[david3103]

My first after school job was at a petrol station. We'd fill the tank and wash the windows for people in the hope of a tip. We'd also offer to check the oil and, because there was a bonus for selling oil, often only put the dipstick part way in to boost sales.

I loved Green Shield Stamps. I had a company car from when I was 22 and would drive out of my way to get a Triple Stamps offer on petrol. I was married at 23 and a lot of the DIY kit that I acquired to help with fixing up our first home came from the Green Shield Catalogue. I still have some of it (this is more a reflection on the tiny amounts of DIY I had done until recently than a tribute to the quality)

[tikay]

My first after school job was at a petrol station. We'd fill the tank and wash the windows for people in the hope of a tip. We'd also offer to check the oil and, because there was a bonus for selling oil, often only put the dipstick part way in to boost sales.

I loved Green Shield Stamps. I had a company car from when I was 22 and would drive out of my way to get a Triple Stamps offer on petrol. I was married at 23 and a lot of the DIY kit that I acquired to help with fixing up our first home came from the Green Shield Catalogue. I still have some of it (this is more a reflection on the tiny amounts of DIY I had done until recently than a tribute to the quality)

When the man checked your oil, he always showed the driver the dipstick, as if to say "see, you DO need oil".

It's odd to think, but we used a pint of oil or so every thousand miles.

Now, my car goes 25,000 or more miles between services, & never needs the oil checking or topping up. I don't even know how to open the bonnet. 

[david3103]

My first after school job was at a petrol station. We'd fill the tank and wash the windows for people in the hope of a tip. We'd also offer to check the oil and, because there was a bonus for selling oil, often only put the dipstick part way in to boost sales.

I loved Green Shield Stamps. I had a company car from when I was 22 and would drive out of my way to get a Triple Stamps offer on petrol. I was married at 23 and a lot of the DIY kit that I acquired to help with fixing up our first home came from the Green Shield Catalogue. I still have some of it (this is more a reflection on the tiny amounts of DIY I had done until recently than a tribute to the quality)

When the man checked your oil, he always showed the driver the dipstick, as if to say "see, you DO need oil".

It's odd to think, but we used a pint of oil or so every thousand miles.

Now, my car goes 25,000 or more miles between services, & never needs the oil checking or topping up. I don't even know how to open the bonnet. 

[EvilPie]

My Dad used to let me have his greenshield stamps. I remember loving sticking them in the book and wondering what I could get with them.

I'd guess 30 to 35 years ago rather than 40 to 50........

[tikay]

My Dad used to let me have his greenshield stamps. I remember loving sticking them in the book and wondering what I could get with them.

I'd guess 30 to 35 years ago rather than 40 to 50........

You may be right - on this occasion - they sort of fell out of favour after Tesco dropped them in 1977.

[Graham C]

My Dad used to let me have his greenshield stamps. I remember loving sticking them in the book and wondering what I could get with them.

I'd guess 30 to 35 years ago rather than 40 to 50........

This.  Mentioned it to my Dad the other day funnily enough.  He had loads of books lying around the place.  He can't remember what he did with them all in the end, probably a toaster or a kettle!

[RED-DOG]

My local Shell station, (One of those ultra modern jobbies that do Red Letter days and meal deals) now has two attendants who pump your fuel for you.

It's true. I shit you not.