Staff at the store, who will leave work on Wednesday wearing their Somerfield uniforms for the last time, will arrive on Thursday in their new Co-operative uniforms.

Sources have said that the forecourt will close at around 8pm on Wednesday night and re-open early Thursday morning, although workers may need Thursday night as well to link the tills up to the Co-operative system.

The Somerfield petrol forecourt in Cornwallis Avenue, Twydall, looks set to undergo its re-fit within weeks, AlanWCollins has learned.

Although, at present, the?time frame?is only a rumour, it is one which has come from a trusted source, and is believed to be true.

Originally, the Co-operative Group looked set to sell the forecourt after its acquisition of Somerfield Stores. Now, however, they have decided to keep the shop, which, at present, also contains a free-to-use ATM from Nationwide and an in-store bakery.

Rumours are that the petrol station will be displaying the unmissable green fascia (like the one at Princess Parkway, in Manchester, above) by Christmas, although the refit could be completed as early as the end of November.

If you’re looking to open a new bank account, or indeed move your existing account, then might I suggest (without trying to shamelessly plug the Co-operative once again) smile, ‘the internet [sic] bank’ from the Co-operative.

Not only because smile is part of The Co-operative Financial Services, running with a customer-led ethical policy (which includes their pyramid headquarters (above) being run by ‘electricity from gas generated by digested sewage from a plant in Bournemouth’) and extra security by not floating on the Stock Exchange, but because their customer service skills are some of the best I’ve ever seen as well.

For example, last night, I (in a moment of madness) lost my smile debit card whilst at work. Having searched frantically around the store for it several times (it later transpired I had forgotten to take it when the cash machine tried to give it back to me, which meant that it was taken in again as a security measure to prevent anyone from taking it), I decided that I couldn’t risk losing the little funds I have available in there (especially as my PIN was clearly visible to anyone who has seen Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story – although this obscure fact was only known to one person, who never discovered my PIN).

As soon as I got home, I proceeded to phone the smile helpdesk, expecting to wait an obscene amount of time (losing me more of my hard-earned money) to be put through to a call centre in India and, eventually, some form of help.

Instead, after less than twenty seconds on hold, I was put through to an English operator who quickly took me through my security details before asking what had happened. Explaining to her my moment of stupidity, she declared that she was cancelling the card and sending a replacement, to arrive within five to seven working days.

Total time on the phone? Two minutes and twelve seconds (including going through the simple automatic menu (‘press * if you have lost your card), which took about twenty-five seconds, being on hold, which was probably less than twenty seconds, and speaking to the English operator, which was likely about one-and-a-half minutes).

In other words, my problem was dealt with quickly and efficiently by a friendly operator within a matter of a little over two minutes.

It’s not just the fact that I work for them that I like them, the Co-operative Group, in particular smile, are a well-run outfit providing value for money, with a far greater chance of successfully riding out the recession if only for the fact that they do not float on the stock market.

If you’ve not looked at smile before, I would thoroughly advise you to check them out now. I was being screwed by my previous bank, and I am so glad I made the change!

A unique digital TV channel that offers instant access to video content about The Co-operative and its ethical projects was officially launched on Tuesday.

The Co-operative.tv is a global online website that will contain videos and TV programmes which until now were almost impossible for members to access.

Patrick Allen, Director of Marketing for the Co-operative Group, said:

The amount of interest in The Co-operative since we launched the brand campaign in February has been unprecedented and this groundbreaking initiative is a further demonstration of our leadership position on ethical issues. It will contribute enormously to our increasingly active outreach programme enabling those who want to know more to access a host of information.

The Co-operative.tv will show our community activity and highlight issues such as Fairtrade. This will be a great resource that I think will be particularly attractive to schools and colleges that wish to study co-operation as part of the curriculum.

Going forward we will upload other items in order to keep The Co-operative.tv fresh and interesting.

The videos can be found at co-operative.tv.

Somerfield stores are to start rebranding into the Co-operative brand.

Of the first stores to rebrand, Downend, in Bristol, will close on 25th April and re-open on 30th April as a Co-operative Food store.

The rebranding follows the Co-operative’s ?1.565bn acquisition of Somerfield, which was completed last month, and will take approximately two years to complete all 650 stores.

As part of the acquisition, the Office of Fair Trading ruled that the Co-operative Group must sell off around 130 of the Somerfield stores – including the one in Gillingham.

The acquisition places the Co-operative Group fifth in the UK’s grocery market, with 3,000 stores and over ?7bn in annual sales.

The Somerfield Group have produced a Question and Answer guide on the acquisition.

Many of you may have already seen this on the TV – especially on launch on 16th February when it was the only advert shown during the Coronation Street break – but many of you may not know that it is part of a ?70m advertising campaign.

Also passed over by myself this past month was the news on 2nd March that the Co-operative’s acquisition of Somerfield has been completed.

Imagine, if you will, the sight of blood dripping from your face and shattered glass lying across the ground. Imagine, if you will, the pain you are in as you try desperately to stem the bleeding.

I don’t have to imagine – I have been in this situation before, where glass from a shattered bottle of WKD shaved part of my eyebrow (which still hasn’t regrown) and left a lasting scar underneath. For me, it was a careless accident. For someone, it could be a vicious assault with far more serious consequences.

Glass bottles are a health hazard – both in the wrong hands and in the wrong mindset. It could be concentrating on the wrong things, or being in the wrong place in front of the wrong person at the wrong time. Either way, there is a chance, however small, that you, too, could become a victim of the glass bottle.

The Co-operative, however, have started to intoduce, I notice, ‘yob-proof’ bottles – alcohol contained inside a safer cage of plastic. The first candidate, Twydall Green patrons will notice, is The Co-operative Special Dry Imperial Vodka (35cl), retailing at ?5.99 (/shameless advertising).

The new plastic bottles are, admittedly, not a new invention. I came across them all the time in my days working at Priestfield Stadium, where all bottles must be made of plastic for safety resaons. However, it is a brilliant idea which has been met with support from customers.

One customer laughed as it was referred to as a ‘yob-proof’ bottle – before making a serious comment that it is a good – and sadly necessary – idea.

One wonders if WKD will be next in line for plastic bottles…

It seems that, in all the economic gloom and doom, there is some good news afoot for Co-operatvie Group members.

I look forward to my ?18 share of the profits in June…

The Co-operative’s Christmas single hit an impressive 16th – despite not being released as a CD! Today the single also features at number 10 on the iTunes download chart.

This is a fantastic achievement, but if I have to hear that song one more time, I will actually scream!!