A crowd gathered outside a Liverpool Tesco to bid farewell to a “local legend.” For more than a decade, security guard Frank has been a familiar face on the door of Tesco Express in Waterloo, greeting shoppers and passers by with a warm smile and a friendly hello.
But after 12 years he’s bid farewell to the Crosby Road North store and its customers because he’s being moved to another Tesco shop. To show just how grateful they are for his services, a crowd of Tesco regulars gathered outside the shop at 3pm yesterday, Sunday, April 26 to say their goodbyes.
Speaking to the ECHO, mum Saoirse Crean said the community wanted to give Frank a proper send-off.
She said: “For years, Frank has been much more than a security guard. He has been a symbol of our community, a face we are so used to seeing nearly every day.
“Frank is always there with a smile on his face, whether you’re just nipping to the local shop for a loaf of bread or for big life moments, like buying flowers for Mother’s Day or champagne for a special occasion, he means a lot to a lot of people.
“He’s been a part of a lot of people’s personal stories and he doesn’t have a clue how much he means to people. There’s just something about him that’s touched so many people, and he doesn’t know, he just stands there with a smile and says hello.”
Saoirse said people are very sad Frank’s moving on. She continued: “Some of our kids, like mine, have known Frank their whole lives. He’s an important person and a constant in people’s lives. My kids are sad.”
Hundreds of people feel the same. In fact, over 500 hundred people replied to a Facebook post about Frank leaving, sharing stories about the “local legend.”
Dot Rogers said: “Frank made me feel a bit more human after I’d had my third baby. I was run ragged and feeling a bit ropey. Frank just said hello and gave me a smile. He won’t have realised it, but that small thing was important.”
For Barney McGuigan, Frank was one of the first people he told life-changing news to. Barney said: “Frank was the third person I told that I was going to be a father nearly five years ago.
“My mum, brother and then frank. Admittedly, he had no choice but was also an absolute star in basically calming me down. He’s met my two beautiful girls since. Frank is a legend.”
Jennifer Warren also said: “We love frank. He is such a friendly face. He’s such a key part of this community. When my children became old enough to start going to the shop alone, Tesco was the first shop they were allowed to because they knew a friendly, familiar face at the other end.
“Or, when they’re walking home alone I always say to them ‘if you ever feel unsafe and you’re near Tesco then wait there with Frank and I’ll come get you.”
Donna Johnston added: “Frank is on my lottery list, every time I put it on I say ‘we’re going to win tonight Frank.’ We love Frank, he’s witnessed our boys grow up, he’s witnessed me and my weight go up and down.
“He knows what we’re having for tea, and over the years he’s genuinely asked if we’re alright, especially about my husband. Frank is the salt of the earth, we don’t want him to go.”
Source – Liverpool Echo
