John Curran
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 10, 2007

TUKTOYAKTUK - When it comes to working in the North, there's no disputing that one of the busiest jobs going is that of a cashier at a grocery store and that suits Angela Sayers just fine.

Now a resident of Tuktoyaktuk, she relocated from Aklavik earlier this year.

Angela Sayers, right, takes a quick break from work at Stanton Tuk to visit with her eldest daughter Alexandria, 7. She has been a cashier at the store for almost nine months now and said she enjoys it a great deal. - John Curran/NNSL photo

"I worked at the Aklavik General Store before I moved here," she said. "I've been at Stanton Tuk for almost nine months now."

She said she really enjoys the job, especially the social aspect of her work environment.

"I get to see and talk to all of the people who live here in the community as well as the visitors," she said. "It's good, it's lots of fun."

A full-timer at the store, Sayers said her job involves more than just working the cash register.

"I have to keep the candy section stocked, get people their food orders and serve the Slush Puppies and soft ice cream," she said. "I really like working here, there's a lot to do."

Her boss Marius Driscoll, store manager, said he's glad to have Sayers on his team.

"She's a great worker," he said. "But then again I'm lucky - all of the staff here is very good."

Stanton Tuk and its sister store in Inuvik are owned by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, he said, adding his outlet is open seven days a week, 11 hours a day.

"We've got 10 people on the staff here and everyone other than me is Inuvialuit," he said.

"They're all very hard workers and we have almost no turnover."

When it comes to sales trends in the community, both Sayers and Driscoll said one of the biggest sellers is a made-in-Tuk treat.

Earlier this year, after the store got its ice cream machine, people started ordering mixtures of vanilla soft serve and Slush Puppies.

"Even now with the winter here they're still really popular," he said.