Do you remember

Do you remember when department stores had sort of pipes running round, when

BunnyHare...

Oh yes! Used to love watching those and listening for the pings

you bought something they put your money in a cylinder and popped it in the
pipe and that carried your money presumably to a cash office , where
someone popped your change back in and sent it whizzing back to the sales

BoyPete...

There is just such a system in my local B & Q. Obviously not used like the
old days, so I don't know what they do use it for.

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

Yep certainly do.

Pam the goose...

Yes:)
The Co-op at the bottom of our road was posh enough to have one of those. I
didn't mind waiting in the queue to be served cos I spent waiting time
watching the lady in the room above the back of the counter as she picked up
the cylinders, opened them and saw to putting the change in. Then, after
screwing them tight, she'd put them back in the pipe thing and off they'd go
back to where they came from. She never got it wrong, whichever dept it came
from was the one it went back to.

I was sorry when they got those big tills and the counter ladies gave
change. The windows of the Cashier's office were blanked off and we couldn't
see in any more.

Shame cos it was like another world to us children!

shaz...

We had 2 shops in Grantham which had that systems. I always wondered how it
worked.
We still have Coop divi here. If you collect it between Sept and Jan in
vouchers you get double the amount. Comes in useful for Christmas. I shall a
fair bit to get this year as we bought a new 3 piece suite from AHF which is
part of the chain. I can use the voucher in the Coop or in Rainbow ( the
supermarket). And I can still remember my Nanna's divi number lol

Ali...

Yes.

My local Co-op had a different system to move the money about. The cylinders
hung from pulleys which ran on overhead wires, given an inital push by a
spring-loaded thing which was released by pulling a handle hanging by a
chain - just like the other sort of chain that got pulled.

Oh, and I still remember my mother's Co-op divi number - I've even used it
as a password.

JoeH...

So do I (my mother's that is, not yours)

Tickettyboo...

LOL, that's me off to bed giggling :-)

Wally...

When I wus a littleun our local Co-op had a similar system but instead
of pipes we had wires running all over the store.
They used to put the money and a ticket into a metal cup, attach it to
the wire, pull a handle and it went to the cash office via the wires.
Mmmmm, memories. :o))

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

Our Co-op did too, so I suppose most, if not all, Co-ops used them then.

Jackie...

I remember them, used to love watching them when I was a little one!

assistant.

MCC...

Where I grew didn't have a big enough store to need one of those devices.
What I do remember was the butcher's shop where the butcher didn't take
your money, but called out the price to a lady sat in a glass-fronted box
who either took your money or put what you owed into a great big ledger.

My first experience of those tubes was at Admiralty (Whitehall W/T) where
they were used for distributing signals (amongst other things!) all over
the building.

Foxy at home...

Yes It always amazed me a a child . Lewises had that system

Ponder...

Our Tesco still has them.