Talk:St. Cuthbert's Co-operative Society

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St Cuthbert Co-op Stores in Edinburgh appears to have been quite an advanced business for its time; The apprentice staff received quality training in their respecyive trades at nightschool three nights per week. The stores were separate units in a group (or cluster). Unlike a modern Department store each group amy have a shoe and boot shop, a grocer,a bucher,a newsagent and other trades all linked to a central accounts branch to record the shareholders (customer's)purcheses and their entitlementto their half-year dividendEach customer/shareholder had a identifying number which they had to quote, with their name, when making a purchase. The central accounts section received this information via means of a high speed "vacuum" systen where the money and sales chit was placed in a small cylinder and positioned in an extensive pressurised tube system to be propelled to and from the remote accounts section. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.168.0.42 (talk) 10:39, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the information. To include it in the article we really need to cite a reliable source so that it's attributed not what we call original research. The Scotmid site linked in the article might be good place to search, or any newspapers or books you can find. You're certainly right about everyone having a Coop number and the tubes carrying sales chits and money – they also had them in Leith Provident stores, though some had the cylinder going about under a wee trolly running on wires stretched from the sales position to the accounts. ...dave souza, talk 14:45, 6 September 2007 (UTC)