Oh, I meant to talk about the elimination of the staff canteen too.

If the elimation of their jobs, or the low pay, or the zero hour contracts wasn't enough proof that Tesco management has absolutely no regard for their staff, eliminating the staff canteens will certainly convince even the most naive.

I've had a few jobs that have staff canteens. Just about any large employer will have them. The casinos had them. Actually, maybe that was the only place. But that was the only large company that I worked for. I suppose that the courts have them. Some of the courts, at least. I'm not sure if it's really a staff canteen but they definitely serve hot food at my local court. I'm not sure if it's open to the public or just for staff and lawyers or what. I'm pretty that I can go but I don't. There's the whole school dilema of who do you sit with? And if you sit by yourself, you're a big loser.

I remember I went to the school counselor once in high school. I think he was a psychiatrist. Really talked down to me. I was there because my father died. What a weird thing that was. Why would I see this guy? Nobody told me. Just one day, I got a note in class telling me to go to the counselor. How did he even know my father died? Who told him? My mother, presumably. Why didn't she tell me? And why did she tell them? So many questions.

Anyway, this guy asked who I sit with in the cafeteria. I didn't understand the question. Why is he asking this? So I thought for a minute and then I said, "Do you want names?" So he said, "Oh, so you do sit with people."

What an asshole. Why would he assume that I don't sit with anyone at lunch?

Actually, maybe I saw that guy because of an academic issue. But there was definitely another sort of counselor there who I saw because my father died. There were a few of us who were there in some sort of group therapy session. All of us had parents who died. On the first day, some guy said, "I don't know why I'm here. I never signed up for this. Nobody told me about this." So he was told that he can go.

He was expressing my sentiments exactly. But when he left, this counselor said, "He's a very angry boy. Both of his parents died in a murder-suicide." That's very sad but not everything can be explained by that. Maybe he was, rightly, upset because he's given a note in class to attend this counseling session with absolutely no warning or explanation.

So staff canteens. There was one at the casino that I worked at. The food was pretty good. You read reviews online and the one thing everybody mentions about that place that's positive is the food. Although, in reviews of the past few years, they note that the quality of the food has declined sharply.

But yeah, in places like that, where the pay is very low, things like good, free food are a real benefit. I'd imagine that it's much the same at Tesco.

So to take this away is completely outrageous. I read that it's going to be replaced with vending machines and self-serve kitchens. So not only are they eliminating the free food AT A GROCERY STORE, they're now going to make staff pay for food. And vending machines? Wow, you can get some sweets, maybe a little bag of crisps, and a Coke. There's a healthy meal.

But yeah, that casino canteen. I think it was all you can eat. You could only go up once but fill your plate. Buffet-style dining. I suppose that's the only way you could do it. You're not going to have people ordering meals.

Is that all that I wanted to say on this topic? Well, I can mention that it was a lot of Chinese food. A lot of Chinese people worked there. Those people built the railroads, you know.