Busted! Why are Checkers Sixty60 drivers eating lunch at Spar?
Picture this: Checkers Sixty60 delivery drivers, resplendent in their turquoise uniforms, enjoying lunch outside a KwikSpar on Kloof Street. The retail rivalry made flesh. Is this corporate espionage, a pricing revelation, or simply mates grabbing a bite? We investigate.
I was out from London recently, enjoying a few weeks back home in Cape Town, when I found myself doing what every South African expat does on their return – walking the streets and soaking up the familiar sights and sounds.
There’s something about Kloof Street that always draws you in, isn’t there?
The buzz, the energy, the distinctly Cape Town vibe that no amount of time abroad can quite erase from your memory.
‘Made me stop in my tracks’
It was during one of these nostalgic strolls, on route to Workshop 17 for a meeting, that I spotted something that made me stop in my tracks and reach for my phone.
There, standing outside the KwikSpar, were several Checkers Sixty60 delivery drivers in their unmistakable turquoise uniforms, tucking into their lunch.
The irony was too delicious to ignore.
These are the very people who spend their days delivering groceries for one of South Africa’s biggest retailers, yet here they were, bold as brass, eating takeaway from the competition.
The scene was nothing short of scandalous.
It’s the retail equivalent of catching a Coca-Cola truck driver sipping a Pepsi, or spotting a McDonald’s employee tucking into a Burger King Whopper.
Naturally, this called for investigation.
Do they know something we don’t about prices?
Hold on a minute. These drivers spend their entire day zooming around delivering groceries, so surely they’ve got the inside track on pricing?
Maybe they’ve cracked the code on South Africa’s great supermarket price wars. Perhaps that R25 beef burger special is the deal of the century, and we’ve all been shopping at the wrong place this whole time.
Should we be following their lead? Is Spar secretly the thrifty shopper’s paradise?
Is Spar’s selection simply superior?
Or maybe, just maybe, after delivering hundreds of Checkers orders a week, they’ve simply had enough of the same old selection.
Could it be that Spar’s hot food counter offers something so irresistibly delicious that even rival employees can’t stay away?
That boerewors roll must be absolutely legendary. We’re imagining some sort of secret Spar sauce that’s turning competitors’ staff into loyal customers.
Are they just coincidentally parked nearby?
Of course, there’s always the boring explanation.
They might have simply found themselves on Kloof Street at lunchtime, spotted a convenient 24-hour takeaway, and thought “why not?”
When hunger strikes and there’s hot food within arm’s reach, corporate loyalty goes straight out the window. Can’t blame them, really.
Meeting friends for lunch
But let’s be honest, they’re probably just mates meeting up for lunch during their breaks.
Delivery drivers need to eat too, and coordinating lunch with your buddies beats eating alone in your car any day.
The fact that it makes for comedy gold? Just a happy accident.
Both proudly South African
At the end of the day, whether they’re grabbing lunch at Spar or delivering for Checkers, both retailers are proudly South African institutions.
As far as we’re concerned, supporting either one means supporting local business, and that’s something worth celebrating regardless of which uniform you’re wearing.