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Former Primark employee explains ‘store secrets’ and why staff ask for ‘Mr Brown’

Poleighh Soper's video, titled 'Secrets of an ex primark employee', has been viewed, liked and shared thousands of times since appearing on the social media platform.

The Manc The Manc - 9th November 2020
Wikimedia Commons

A TikTok user claiming to be a former Primark employee has shared some of the store’s biggest secrets online.

Poleighh Soper’s video, titled ‘Secrets of an ex primark employee’, has been viewed, liked and shared thousands of times since appearing on the social media platform – with the original poster passing on some of the mos intriguing info she learnt during her time working in the budget store.

This week, she published a ‘Part 2’ – which has also gone viral.

Here are the secrets she shared…

Mr Brown

According to Poleighh Soper, hearing a request for ‘Mr Brown’ on the tannoy in a Primark store is in fact a call for security.

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“Say your security company that stands by the door and makes sure nobody is stealing…say their name is like ‘Brown Security Services’, that’s who they’re calling,” explained the TikTok user.

“So, when they say ‘Can Mr Brown please come to the customer service checkout’, they’re actually calling for security – they just don’t want the customers to know that,” she added.

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Theft checks

The TikTok user also shared the cheeky theft checks apparently in place at the Primark tills.

“You know when you go to the till and you’ve got like a makeup bag or something, they’ll always open it up and take out the tissue? That’s to check that you’re not stealing,” Poleighh Soper explained.

“So, we have to take the tissue out to check there’s nothing else in the bag, however, we’re not actually allowed to accuse you of stealing.

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“We could open that bag and find ten pieces of jewellery and three pairs of socks in there – [but] can’t accuse you of stealing it.

“We simply have to say: ‘Would you like that as well?'”

Mark Waugh / Flickr

Call bell rings

Another secret the user shared was that the number of call bell rings actually mean different things.

According to Poleighh Soper, one ring means ‘we need extra staff’, two rings means ‘we want supervisor or a manager’s help’, whereas three rings is apparently the signal for an ’emergency’.

Also, staff can seemingly select whether they want their till voice (which you hear saying “till number one, please”) to be male or female by pressing a button below.

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Staff discount

One frequently asked question has been whether Primark employees get money off purchases in store.

“No, staff do not get staff discount,” Poleighh Soper emphasised during Part 2 of her video.

She did however say that employees enjoy a 10% discount at Christmas.

The TikTok user also added: “Any staff member that actually wants to buy something from Primark has to take it to the customer service desk and hand over their ID number when they buy it.

“That includes any store – not just the one you’re working in.”

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Apparently the user is set to share more secrets in the future, promising a ‘Part 3’ of her series and urging followers to “stay tuned”.

View the original videos online here.