30 years at the Coles face

Not many people can say they’ve stayed in a job for 30 years, but Gloria Hawser has done exactly that.

The third-generation Hedland resident has been working at Coles South Hedland for three decades, working her way through the store’s roles from checkout to point of sale, and loving almost every minute of it.

“Some days it’s hard, but I love it, I really do,” she said.

“I love what I do.”

Mrs Hawser started at the store in 1986, and she said since then big changes had happened, not just in the store, but around town too.

“It was pretty bare back then,” she said.

“We’ve had a lot of building go up since. There’s been big changes in the whole town.

“It’s a very transient town, there’s a lot of people that fly-in, fly-out and come and go ... so you don’t get to make a lot of lifetime friends as in in the town itself.

“They only stay a couple of years and they go.”

Mrs Hawser said she was passionate about her job.

“I can be really bossy, but I’m very passionate about my job and I follow policy and procedure so I suppose when you keep those in mind you get along,” she said.

“And you learn to get along with your peers and management.”

Assistant store manager Matt Lodge said Mrs Hawser had been reliable and it was good to have her on board, adding her best attribute was definitely her bossiness.

While she eventually plans to move to Albany with her husband, where the pair have recently bought a house, Mrs Hawser said she would like to keep working, and to remain with Coles if possible.