Slang guide for Tesco's silver staff

2:01pm Wednesday 30th May 2007

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Older workers at a supermarket have been given a guide to street slang to help them communicate with younger colleagues.

The pamphlet has been introduced at the Tesco Extra store in Lottbridge Drove, Eastbourne, to help its employees over retirement age learn phrases commonly used by teenagers.

The Eastbourne store is the first in the country to get the guide because of its high proportion of older workers.

The pamphlet lists more than 30 of the most common phrases spoken by young people on the streets today.

Alongside each expression is a translation so older folk can understand exactly what they mean.

It was drawn up by a panel of teenagers recruited by Tesco's head office and then put to the test on some more mature members of the office before getting the go-ahead for use in Eastbourne.

Val Plant, 62, has eight grandchildren and works in the store's grocery department.

She said: "We had great fun trying this out with the younger lads in the store.

"It's a good - or should I say 'bad' - idea and will certainly help me get what my grand children are actually talking about over Sunday lunch."

Ruth Bevilacqua, 67, who works in the clothing department, said: "I get on fine with the youngsters because they are all nice.

"It's nice to work with them because you get to know about their lives and interests.

"If you only mix with people your own age you sometimes lose touch with what's going on with the younger generation."

Ashley Coley, 18, who works in the pricing department, said the new brochure has helped bridge the generation gap between workers.

He said: "It's a nice idea because obviously youngsters today frequently speak slang and older people don't understand it.

"It is interesting to work with older people because they tell stories about their lives and what they did in the past."

The store's customer service manager Gill Fountain said: "We have staff here aged 16 to mid-70s so the guide will help. The older generation get on well with the kids."

The guide was created as part of the Everyone Welcome at Tesco programme.

Programme manager Juliet Crisp said: "We want to make Tesco an enjoyable place to work as well as to shop so we try to make life a little easier and more fun for our staff.

"This guide is a good example and will help our older staff feel supported and some of our younger colleagues better understood."