Roller service
(Roller service: Au Chan, Suzhou)
When we saw it advertised next to the ATM machines, we were somewhat confused; along with ‘cash machines’, home delivery’ and ‘in store bakery’ there was ‘roller service’. We certainly didn’t expect the managers to be scooting across the floor in rollerblades, but that is exactly what happens. I was lucky to get this shot as ironically whilst I was staring at this gentleman in his skates, passers by were staring at the pale girl taking a picture of him. It transpires that when cashiers ring for assistance, a skate clad, key wielding manager swings by and solves the problem like a super hero but with a touch less glamour. They are fantastic movers; the shop is colossal and so is the number of shoppers inside. It’s a case of duck, glide, shuffle, reel and turn in various orders. I’d be interested to see British supermarkets offering a similar service, or perhaps allowing customers to speed through and collect their weekly shop in 58.2 seconds. There’s a game show in there somewhere.
Right now (as this post appears) I must be in the air over Siberia or North Western China on my way back to Pudong airport, there I’ll meet Ying off his flight from Singapore – then home to Suzhou. Hopefully there’ll be time enough to slide in another post by Sunday morning. I’ll have to assess the jet lag damage on arrival at home. Last time we both ended up being awake at 4am and spent the rest of the night watching the news and eating the dragonfruit from the hotel fruit bowl.
