Fire And Bullets At Robbs Department Store
“FIRE!” There’s a fire at Robbs store, in the Northumberland market town of Hexham.
The fire alarm is ringing. No time to waste. Shut the till and save yourselves. The well-trained staff know the drill.
They assemble outside the premises. They are in the car park. They stand in line. They are safe. For now.
The management appears. There is to be “an announcement”. The 100,000ft department store in business for nearly 190 years is in trouble. The store is to close within a fortnight.
The fire means “You’re Fired!”
Staff douse the non-existent fire with tears.
“It was a desperate situation that must have needed desperate measures. I gather the alarm was set off to gather staff in one place, but it is a brutal end to a long history,” says local Conservative MP Peter Atkinson.
“It came as a complete shock to everyone. It’s a rather brutal way of doing things, especially when you consider that many of the staff have given many years of loyal service to the store.”
“Rather brutal” indeed.
A spokeswoman for the store tells us: “It is at the discretion of the store management how the staff are given the news. The fire alarm was set off to clear the store of members of the public and gather staff together at a designated area.”
Where they were given the bullet.
Posted: 5th, May 2007 | In: Strange But True Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
