Leipzig – Early shift at Lidl in the Höfe am Brühl. Prof. Jörg Junhold (58), Leipzig Zoo boss, sits at checkout 3 with a friendly greeting but is highly concentrated. He quickly pushes one product after the other over the scanner. After 20 minutes, work is over and he is handed a check for 3,000 euros. Cashiers otherwise earn 14 euros an hour.
Of course, the amount is a donation for the animals, his work is a joke on the occasion of the opening of the largest Lidl in East Germany (1700 square meters). He was still tense beforehand.
“I’ve really done a lot, I’ve driven trams and excavators, used the bricklayer’s trowel, but actually never cashed in. I always had to play the customer when I played the grocer’s game with my daughters,” reveals the zoo boss. “I am amazed at how automated everything is. I would only have to memorize the numbers for fruit and vegetables (note: around 300 digits). Branch manager reveals: “On average, it takes a week.”
By the way, Junhold likes to go private shopping. “Food better than clothes,” he says, “We have a shopping list on the fridge, which I always stick to. However, there are one or two extras that also end up in the car.”