There was sunshine in store for these Hartlepool Co-op workers

Sunshine beckoned for these four store staff.
Janette Cook, Shirley Lines,Doris O'Dell and Janice Sanderson who were the stars of the Co-op world in 1984.Janette Cook, Shirley Lines,Doris O'Dell and Janice Sanderson who were the stars of the Co-op world in 1984.
Janette Cook, Shirley Lines,Doris O'Dell and Janice Sanderson who were the stars of the Co-op world in 1984.

They were the best team from more than 400 Co-op stores across the country.

And the ladies – Doris O’Dell, Janice Sanderson, Shirley Lines and Janette Cook who all worked at the King Oswy Drive branch – were heading off on holiday as their reward.

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The fab four Co-op workers beat rivals from supermarkets, garages and offices across the North to win the 1984 Supreme Service award.

Their prize was a trophy as well as £300 in holiday vouchers as well as making front page headlines in the Hartlepool Mail.

The formula for winning was in the way Doris, Janice, Shirley and Janette all displayed a pleasant manner when they dealt with customers.

Doris, who was the store manageress at the time, put the success of her and the three assistants down to ‘good customer relationships’. She added: “It costs nothing to be pleasant with the customer.”

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This was no one-off fluke for the King Oswy store either as Doris won a diploma in the same contest a year earlier. And Doris said she and her staff would be going all out to try and win an honour in 1985 to make it a hat-trick of successes. Email [email protected] and share your memories.