Alex Wilks, from Medowie, marked two decades with Coles in March while Andrew Gibson, of Tea Gardens, will celebrate the anniversary later this year.

Both Ms Wilks, who does a ‘‘bit of everything’’ in the store, and Mr Gibson, who works in the meat department, said they had experienced a lot of change in 20 years.

That included the re-branding from Bi-Lo to Coles, countless uniform updates, the move to touch-screen registers and changes in what the supermarket offered  in the form of pre-packaged meat.

Ms Wilks began her career with Coles as a 19-year-old university student working as a checkout operator at Nelson Bay Coles.

Finding university was not for her, she dropped her studies but continued working at Coles.

She has held a variety of different roles in her 20 years including night service supervisor, dairy in charge, administrative assistance and has worked in the state office.

In 2002, she helped open the Tea Gardens store, beginning as point of sale manager and now working as the officer in charge.

Mr Wilks left high school at 16 to become a qualified butcher.

He started working at Maitland Coles in 1995.

In the role as relief manager, Mr Gibson worked in many Coles stores across NSW.

He worked as the meat manager in Raymond Terrace before being transferred to Tea Gardens in 2004.