But on her first proper day, she was told that she was shadowing a picker.“What’s that?” Opal said.“It was in the induction,” the team leader said (like anyone had listened). “Picking” turned out be the Tesco word for shopping—they had to have a special word for it. Doing the shopping for all those people who sat at home at their computers instead of coming out and doing their own. Pat, the picker Opal was shadowing to see if she was any good, had been in it since the beginning.“Twelve years,” she said. “Started when there were only two of us and one van. You stick wi’ me, love.”“Like a shadow,” said Opal.“Charlotte’s got you in here,” Pat said. “Put in a word for you. So let’s crack on.” Opal turned to look at the device clamped to the edge of the trolley, concentrated hard on the buttons and the little screen. “You scan the team pad, scan your own badge, scan the customer’s badge, and then you’re ready to start the pick,” said Pat. “It goes frozen, ambient, and then chilled.
