'My voice annoys thousands of people every day, that makes me laugh'
'My voice annoys thousands of people every day, that makes me laugh'
Alison Parsons was paid to record 26 phrases that regularly wind people up
The woman behind the voice of the Sainsbury's self-checkout tills has explained how she got the gig - and exactly what she was paid to do. Alison Parsons, 36, says it's amusing to her people getting frustrated at "her" while doing their shopping.
She first heard about the quirky role through her modelling agent. After self-taping her voice at her home studio in, Alison made it through the "long process" and was offered the job. She had to record phrases such as 'Would you like a receipt' and 'Have you scanned your Nectar card?'.
She will remain the voice of the tills until 2028 - after the supermarket chain paid to use her voice for five years. Alison now regularly sees people getting frustrated at the tills when listening to her voice. Alison, a performer, from Kent, said: "It was such a long process.
"I had to record 26 lines. They included things like 'would you like a receipt?' and 'have you scanned your Nectar card?'. 'Thank you' is actually a line I had a record three times as they weren't happy with it.
"I was trying to neutralise my accent as I've got quite a strong Kent accent. Even now when I go in [to Sainsbury's] I can hear people getting annoyed with it and I just sit there and laugh. If I'm with any friends in the shop they're like 'that's her voice' to other.
"And I think they don't believe us."
Article continues below
Alison had previously modelled for Argos, which is connected to Sainsbury's, along with homeware brand Habitat. It was through this job she was told about the voiceover gig. She said: "I'd done some modelling for the website, and catalogue and an advert for Argos insurance.
"I already knew the company liked my voice. I had to do a self-tape. They sent me a few lines to read through in my home set-up. There were months in between where I was told I was shortlisted, but they were testing a voice in Sainsbury's.
"They tested the voices that were shortlisted in store, and asked customers, and apparently my voice was their favourite and most relatable. I got picked from there. I can't say the exact figures, but I was paid a day rate over a total of five days.
"Then they paid buy out fees, so they buy my voice for a certain length of time. This time it was five years."
Alison has worked in the performing industry as a dancer since 2012, but as one of her first voiceover jobs, she felt "really proud". She said: "It was surreal to be honest. I was quite new to voiceover then and I was proud of it and telling a lot of people.
"A friend messaged me in December 2023 saying 'I think your voice is on the tills now'. I was coming back from a job in Scotland, so it was in the store in London that I heard it for the first time. One of my best friends shops in Sainsbury's all the time and she'll message me every time saying 'aw I feel like I've seen you today'.
Article continues below
"Since I've done the job, I've moved house. Where I was before I didn't have a Sainsbury's anywhere near me. Now I've moved house I've got a local Sainsbury's so I'm in there a lot more."
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