When Jagoda Mitrevska applied for a job at Coles’ Keilor Downs supermarket in 1990 she knew if given the opportunity, she’d be there for the long haul. So it should come as no surprise she’s still there, 27 years later.
“I’ve got another 12 years in me left,” she says with a laugh.
The grandmother was previously a teacher’s aid, but when the school she was working for was forced to tighten its belt, her position was cut. She and her husband were building a house in Keilor Downs at the time so she decided she needed stability, so off to Coles she went.
Ms Mitrevska, 55, describes her Coles colleagues as family members: “This is such a fabulous store, we’re all family.”
Earlier this month she welcomed customers back to a new-look store.
The store, which first opened its doors in 1989, has been extensively refurbished and now has a deli, a meat counter, a “scoop and weigh” station and an in-store bakery.
There are also four new manned checkouts to make shoppers’ experienced much quicker.
Ms Mitrevska says it’s the best store upgrade she’s seen in her almost three decades at the store.
The supermarket has also hired another 40 staff members, bringing the number of employees at Keilor Downs to more than 170.
Alexandra Laskie
