As we celebrate this milestone, we invite you to join us in reminiscing with our Otter teams as they share their cherished memories, reflections, and emotions from their time at Otter Garden Centres.
I’ve been here for 21 years – I first took a job working on tills.
It suited me as a young Mum, I live close by and the hours worked well for me. Then I went up to four days a week.
When an opening came up in the clothing department I was pleased to be offered the job.
I do a bit of everything; checking in stock, merchandising, prepping, hanging, displays and dressing the mannequins.
The department used to be in a small corner of the store. Now it’s a really big department.
We have lots of great new brands, with something to suit every age group. My own favourites are Skechers and Joules, and our newer brand, Joe Browns which is proving popular.
With lots of free parking and our big restaurant, customers like to come to make a day of it, browsing the department and enjoying lunch.
It’s changed massively; always improving, always moving forward. There’s not a lot of space free, we all fight for it, especially at Christmas.
Every year I dress up as a Christmas tree. The outfit was here when I first started, it’s the same one!
It’s been stitched up many times, sometimes I walk around the department shedding baubles! I like that it brings a smile to everyone’s faces.
One year the team netted me like a real tree and tied me on top of a car!
Once, when I was wearing the Christmas tree outfit, I was standing absolutely still in the department. When I moved, a customer was totally in shock!
I love my job; I find it really interesting. Things are always changing and the staff and the customers are all great.
If I’ve ever thought of going anywhere else, I realise how much I love it here.
In fact my daughter worked here for a while too. She came on work experience and started working in clothing on Saturdays – my day off!
A huge thank you goes out to Tracey for sharing her memories and funny moments with us!
Her stories truly bring the spirit of Otter Garden Centres to life!
Keep an eye out for more heartwarming tales from our amazing team as we continue our 60th Anniversary celebrations!
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