Keith
Video transcript
My name’s Keith Gibson. My job title is catering at John Lewis. I’ve been here six years. I started as a kitchen porter and progressed, and now I’m working out front in Customer Services.
To be a Partner in John Lewis - being different from anywhere else - means that what we say gets taken forward. It makes you strive to do better, giving that 150% because you know that you’re just not someone that’s coming in, getting paid and going home.
The qualities you require for catering in John Lewis: you’ve got to be enthusiastic about what you do, be creative and passionate in the food you prepare is what you are working for in the shop, and go that one step further, especially in Customer Service.
The best part of my job is being creative with food. You see it on the plate, but making it look nice just sells the product really. You put it altogether, be creative and see what you can do.
Team work is important, especially one time when the dishwasher went down. We all went down there, just got the gloves on, got on with it and washed it all by hand. That was at Christmas, and that was hectic. Another time was when a chef went off sick. I went out there, completely out of my depth, but I did it and I enjoyed it.
I have different selections of food to sell, so it’s about meeting all the needs of different people and not just having that one thing. It’s got to look right. We’ve got to be different - that’s what it’s all about. There’s always room to progress. I ultimately want to become a chef. I could go to college and train, and John Lewis will help with the fees.
What I think separates John Lewis from any other retailer is the charity work we do each year. We pick a charity, we all work in our different departments and try and raise a lot of money for these people and help people out.
