Marlene Tolley – My first day

Simon: When you arrived on the first day, were they quite gentle with you?

Marlene: I would think so, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have gone back the next day. I don’t know really. It’s a long time ago.

Simon: Yeah. And sort of showed you gently … ‘cos you’d turn up with no retail skill I guess.

Marlene: No, none at all.

Simon: What were you told that your role would be there?

Marlene: Well, you stand there or you do this and you do that. You were just a Junior, as Juniors were in those days. You did as you were told. You never answered back, and you were polite to the customers really.

Simon: So, it would be things like what? Fetching stock from the Cellar or …

Marlene: Yes if necessary or going up to the Work Room if somebody wanted something taken up. The Work Room was right on the top floor, and that was almost a retreat ‘cos you went up to the Work Room and you could have a chat with the others, whereas you weren’t allowed to talk amongst yourselves in the shop. You had to be busy.

Simon: So, somebody comes in and tries a bit of clothing on and needs some alteration. Were you the one that took the sizes?

Marlene: No, you rang the Work Shop and the Seamstress whoever came down, took the whatever and then it was taken up to … either you took it up or the Seamstress took it back up. No lift, up all the stairs. Took longer.