On The Market

Colin Considers His Options for a Full-time Job

- Colin Hogg

Please don’t call me sir,” I felt like telling the supermarket checkout woman when she did just that the other day.

“Please call me Col,” I wanted to say. Being called the “s” word makes me feel ancient – and that’s the last thing I need at my age.

Really, it might be much better if we all wore name tags at the supermarket just like the workers have to, so we can all be on first-name terms.

Calling customers sir or madam just isn’t the casual Kiwi way. In fact, it might be better if we all wore name tags at all times, except maybe at home where, hopefully, we’re already on first-name terms.

While we’re on the topic, one of the other faintly annoying things about supermarkets – apart from all the plastic – is the fact that we spend so much of our lives in them.