Profiles Gary, Bakery Operative
"My lovely father-in-law introduced me to the company over 10 years ago now and I
haven't looked back since.
"Before I came to Greggs, I was a forklift truck driver and a warehouse man. And I
never, ever dreamt of being a baker or working in a bakery. But I'm really glad I
did because I really, really enjoy it and I've made lots of friends and there're
lots of opportunities here as well.
"A typical day for me is waking up at a quarter to three in the morning; driving to
work; putting my uniform on; opening the doors; coming in; switching on the two
scales and the extractor fan; and then I get the ingredients together and away we go.
"I've had lots of training from Jan Moy. I've done Dust Awareness and Manual Handling,
which is very important in this job as we lift flour bags and sugar bags etc.
"My best friend at Greggs is Stuart Flower, who I've been with well over 10 years
now and we work together really, really well. We play pool together nearly every
day. And they have a pool table up in the canteen. So when we have our breaks we
can have a couple of games.
"It's so easy here to make lots of friends and when you have any problems, there's
lots of people here who want to come and see that you're ok and if they can help out,
they will.
"A bad thing at Greggs would be the start time for some people. It's very, very
early in the morning sometimes. I start at four AM, but I love it. A good thing for
me personally is finishing at half past 12, leaving work, going home and getting my
running gear on and getting out on that road because I'm so passionate about my
running. So the times that I do start; they really are good for me because of my
outdoor life.
"My favourite thing on the Greggs menu would be the chicken and bacon in a nice oval
bite and also the mini doughnuts which are quite tasty as well."