Asda staff give Gladys a helping hand

90-year-old Gladys Dixon has said staff at Blackpool's Asda store make her weekly shopping trip the highlight of the week, after they gave her extra help.

Gladys Dixon, who suffers from both dizzy spells and problems with her eyesight, is no longer able to shop independently.

After being a regular customer at Asda’s Blackpool store for many years, staff noticed Gladys was struggling to walk and becoming short of breath during her shop, so they organised a wheelchair and extra help for her whenever she arrives.

Colleagues at the supermarket, including community champion James Phelan and customer service colleagues Jennifer Dutton and Angie Morris, describe Gladys as a ‘lovely lady’ and are more than happy to meet with her every Saturday morning.

Arriving at the store early before the busy period of the day, Gladys is joined by James, Jennifer or Angie and Gladys has hailed the weekly meetings as the highlight of her week.

James said: “We’ve all got to know Gladys well and she’s a really lovely lady.

“At first, she didn’t want to cause a fuss or inconvenience anyone, but we told her it wasn’t a problem and that we really wanted to help her.

“She loves it here and knows she can take her time with myself, Jennifer or Angie.”

Gladys said: “Asda’s absolutely wonderful – everyone’s so very kind to me. I get in at 8.30am so they can get someone who’s there to take me around.

“They explain everything to me as we go around.

“They don’t just pick something up and put it in the trolley, they show it to me.

“They are ever so kind, and I can’t praise them enough.”