We're saying an extra special thank you to our colleagues who've been going above and beyond the call of duty during the lockdown.
There have been hundreds of examples of amazing Asda colleagues shopping for, caring for and supporting elderly and vulnerable people in their local communities, some really touching stories of colleagues who've been parted from their loved ones so they can help feed the nation, and countless examples of colleagues providing brilliant service for customers at their time of need.
To say thank you to some of the wonderful colleagues who've been going out of their way to make a difference during the last few months, our chief executive officer Roger Burnley and our senior leadership team are visiting stores across the UK this week.
Roger said: "During the last three months our colleagues have worked round the clock in unprecedented circumstances to help keep the nation fed. I am incredibly proud of how they have risen to the challenge of this pandemic to support customers and the communities they serve and we want to thank them again for their efforts."
Here are just a few of the colleagues we're saying a big thank you to this week:
Our wonderful colleague Siun Thomas from our Llandudno store spent eight weeks living away from her husband Eirig and two-year old daughter Gaia so she could help to feed the nation.
As Eirig has underlying health issues they decided it would be best for fresh manager Siun to move out to live with a friend so she could carry on working. She initially moved 80 miles away, but after a few weeks Eirig and Gaia moved in with his parents so she could move back home – and now now Siun and her family have finally been reunited. Throughout the time apart Siun did a fantastic job and always with a smile on her face.
Our chief customer officer Anna-Maree Shaw called in at our Ellesmere Port store to say thank you to our wonderful colleague Karen Clarke.
Karen’s been looking out for the Thomas family, who are shielding and whose two young boys have been looking forward to seeing the Asda van bring their shopping each week. The boys, who are autistic, began to send thank you pictures to Karen and her team for continuing to go to work so they could stay safe at home.
After checking with their mum, Karen sent both the boys a toy Asda van and goody bag with colouring books, pencils and magazines to thank them for their pictures. The family have sent a lovely letter with photos of the boys opening the goody bags and telling Karen how she had made a difficult time a bit brighter for them.
What makes this extra special is that Karen herself has an autistic son, James, who has had to shield due to other medical conditions, and he has been living with his dad so that she can keep coming to work, meaning she has spent almost 11 weeks apart from him. Thank you Karen!
Our chief strategy officer Preyash Thakrar called in at our Southampton store to thank home shopping driver Andrew Banach who's been praised by a man he helped after seeing he'd been in an accident on his bike.
Andrew witnessed the accident and could see the gentleman had been hurt, so pulled over and phoned an ambulance before comforting the man until paramedics took him to hospital. The gentleman was so touched by Andrew's kindness that he called the store to thank us for having such a great person as a delivery driver. He called Andrew "his hero" and said that once he's better he wants to thank Andrew in person for helping him in his time of need.
Jacki Simpson, our vice president of people, called in at our Woodseats store in Sheffield to say thank you to our colleague Clare who's been cooking meals for vulnerable people during the lockdown.
Jacki gave Clare a few goodies as a gesture of our appreciation. Thank you Clare!
Asda Dewsbury store manager Tom Parker said a special thank you to the store's community champion Sharon Kingswood for supporting local causes, and helping a customer at her time of need.
He said: "The main reason I wanted to thank her was the brilliant way she has dealt with Mrs Croft, one of our customers. Mrs Croft's husband has been in hospital with leukemia and she's not been able to go out and do her shopping as she's been shielding. Sharon worked with our central team to get a home shopping priority pass and while that was being sorted she delivered Mrs Croft's shopping herself. This was truly amazing care and customer service. Well done, Sharon."
There were lots of colleagues for Paul Gillow, our vice president for own brand and commercial strategy, to thank when he called in at our Kendal store:
Our chief operating officer Anthony Hemmerdinger has been saying thank you to the many different parts of the business who've been doing such a great job during the last few months:
Read more stories about the way our colleagues have been going the extra mile to serve customers and the local community here.
