Under The Counter has an over-inflated sense of his own worth and likes to think that Scottish Local Retailer would struggle to replace someone with his years (and years) of experience.
But not even the Auld Boy is so self-deluded to think that the magazine would come apart at the staples were he to don his tatty anorak and take a last waltz out of SLR Towers.
So, he was both fascinated and appalled to discover a c-store had to shut up shop when Alex – a quite clearly indispensable member of staff – decided to explore alternative career opportunities.
It should be pointed out that the store is not – as UTC momentarily imagined – part of the Scottish multi-award-winning RaceTrack Pitstop chain but one that trades under the US-based RaceTrac fascia.
Apart from being spelled incorrectly, Racetrac is apparently one of America’s premier forecourt operators. It also likes to claim, in lieu of having anything remotely interesting to brag about, that it was “the pioneer of self-service gasoline in Alabama, Florida and Georgia”.
Under The Counter could only wonder if RaceTrac was forced into pioneering self-service gasoline because the pump attendant had “done an Alex” and flounced off the forecourt.
