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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Clouds of mould dust and no service or help at till

46 replies

NearTheWindmill · 09/12/2013 08:04

I posted this on the poor service thread but am still wondering if this is unreasonable. Here goes and sorry it's long.

In Sainsburys this afternoon I knocked something in the trolley and there was a cloud of dust; I thought it was the flour leaking. Then a funny smell. Kept unloading and realised that a pineapple jelly pot with fruit in had a tiny tear in the lid and had gone almost completely mouldy inside and the dust had been the mould whooshing out as it was knocked. Really nasty.

Explained to the man on the till who more or less shrugged and said if you have a problem take it to customer services; I said why should I queue up for customer services when he could put it at the till and report it. He started arguing and procrastinating and generally being unhelpful and I had to ask him to please get on with putting the shopping through the till. He did so very grumpily and then sat with his arms folded whilst watching me pack the last two bags and in the middle of that asked me for my nectar card whilst I was still packing whilst he watched; then got a bit more stroppy looking when I said "you can have the nectar when I've finished what I am doing". Then suddenly got all please and thank you on me.

I queued at customer services afterwards to report the matter not least because I think the item I drew to his attention was potentially a serious health and safety issue and his rudeness had really irked me. The manager said it was unacceptable and told the till captain to close his till because he needed to talk to him. He was an elderly asian man and I spent the afternoon worrying he would lose his job after that but he really was unbelievably unhelpful and at the end of the day I could just have left the 47p tub of mouldy jelly on the side by the magazines but I didn't I politely tried to draw it to the store's attention.

I think the episode was really sad; he clearly didn't like serving people but perhaps had been out of work and that was all he could get and was taking his bitterness out on others and now I feel unchristian for making a fuss.

OP posts:

intitgrand · 09/12/2013 08:09

The person on the check out has a procedure he has to follow for complaints.No amount of you arguing is going to change that.I really hate it when customers take their anger out on the front line person, (whose fault it almost never is) and whose hands are tied.

formerbabe · 09/12/2013 08:11

Or he's just a rude sod...

nancy75 · 09/12/2013 08:14

Clouds of mould from a little pot of fruit?
I dont understand what you wanted the man on the till to do?

whatshallwedo · 09/12/2013 08:18

Yanbu, I would have expected him to call over his supervisor at some point during his shift and tell them about the mouldy product. They should then check the other stock nearby in case there were anymore or if any were ood.

It is not upto the customer to queue up again and have to tell more than one person. If the op had been Trading Standards I would have loved to have seen their reaction at being told to take it to customer services after finishing their shopping.

I have spent years working in retail and whilst I generally dislike people I would have thanked them for bringing it to my attention and resolved it later even if that meant at the end of my shift. There was no need for the cashier to argue with the op.

Morgause · 09/12/2013 08:18

YABU - not sure what you expected him to do. Customer services was the right place to go.

Seems to me you were quite rude.

TidyDancer · 09/12/2013 08:19

Did you make a complaint about the man then? Seems as though if you felt guilty, maybe you should've just handed them the pot of jelly and walked away. It does actually sound as if you were ruder to him than he was to you tbh, although maybe it's just the way you've explained it.

Punkatheart · 09/12/2013 08:19

Holding up a queue of people to talk to a person who is trying to put food through the tills, is unreasonable. People are also not paid well in supermarkets either. You should go to customer services or ask a member of floor staff to find the manager.

LELoupee · 09/12/2013 08:20

So the checkout employee pointed in the right direction to make a proper complaint and this has grieved you? Would you expect to be able to close his till after you left so he could report the problem higher up the chain? Workers in the checkouts often have item/person targets they are meant to be trying to meet, why should he miss these targets when the customer service staff have not restrictions set on them as such. Also customer services is generally where the official complaint documents are kept.
Yes, maybe his general attitude neededtobe addressed, but it is honestly hellon earth working in retail this time of year.
FWIW a while back I opened a tub of hartley's jelly, it was covered in mould I complained to the manufacturer and received £20 worth of vouchers.

LELoupee · 09/12/2013 08:22

If the jelly was producing clouds of mould dust, why should the checkout operator have to have it next to him until he has time to sort it?

DragonMamma · 09/12/2013 08:22

Things happened to me, it was a Toy Story jelly pot. The checkout assistant just whipped it away and got another.

YANBU though.

whatshallwedo · 09/12/2013 08:23

But why would you need to traipse around the store with a mouldy item looking for someone else when you are going to be having contact with a member of staff anyway?

Customer services queues can be huge and the op thought she was being helpful, she didn't deserve him being rude to her.

MidniteScribbler · 09/12/2013 08:25

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by Mumsnet for breaking our Talk Guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

fluffyraggies · 09/12/2013 08:27

[I] Explained to the man on the till who more or less shrugged and said if you have a problem take it to customer services

I don't think the OP sounded rude here

Surely the cashier should have at least appologised, taken the item and called for someone to get a replacement? It sounds like he did nothing at all and allowed OP to stand there with the mouldy product while he carried on scanning the shopping. I think even my youngest DD (15) would have the nouse to realise that a customer deserves a basic 'oh god, look at that! i'm sorry let's replace that for you'. It's not rocket science.

pudseypie · 09/12/2013 08:29

I work in retail head offices running stores and I would have expected the staff member to apologise on behalf of the company, take the item from the customer and say he would report it to his supervisor and ask someone to check the stock, thanking the op for bringing it to their attention. No need to leave his post and he could then carry on putting the items through.
Really simple, would have satisfied op I think and there was no need for the attitude from him. He could have dealt with it a lot better.

17leftfeet · 09/12/2013 08:32

What is the relevance to this story that he was Asian op?

grumpyoldbat · 09/12/2013 08:32

I agree with fluffy that's what I'd have done when I worked on tills.

PuppyMonkey · 09/12/2013 08:32

I wouldn't have expected the till person to stop and launch a full scale investigation but I'd have expected him to put product to one side and call a staff member to get you a replacement.

Screamqueen · 09/12/2013 08:38

So you said "you can have the nectar card when Im finished what Im doing"?? Omg how rude and over something that would would actually benefit you by getting reward points, anyone would think you were doing him a favour by handing it over!!

TobyLerone · 09/12/2013 08:39

Sounds to me like you were the rude one, OP.

I agree with the others in not being sure what you wanted him to do. Did he offer to get someone to get you a replacement? He should have done that, but otherwise it's definitely a customer services issue.

I always think that customers who are this arsey in shops ought to spend a few days working in one. I guarantee you wouldn't be so uppity or superior after that.

Also not sure of the relevance of the man's ethnic background

LadyBeagleEyes · 09/12/2013 08:48

Are you one of those people that starts looking for their cards after the shopping is all packed away.
If you'd given him the nectar card you when he asked you wouldn't have held up anyone in the queue.
And I'd have reported the jelly to shop floor staff, as that's their job.
As for him being Asian .

YouAreMyFavouriteWasteOfTime · 09/12/2013 08:52

the dust had been the mould whooshing out as it was knocked. Really nasty.

really check needed.

OhYouMerryLittleKitten · 09/12/2013 08:55

some people are really allergic to breathing in mould spores.

Original poster

NearTheWindmill · 09/12/2013 09:00

Interesting, so the people who think I was rude think it was apppropriate for him to sit there with his arms folded whilst I finished packing and at the same time say nectar card. I don't I thought it was rather aggressive and I had not at any time been rude to him. This also was a very large and bust London store where one has to keep one's wits about you and eyes on one's handbag at all times, so no, I don't focus on two things at once in those circumstances with my purse out when I could be otherwise distracted.

OP posts:

TSSDNCOP · 09/12/2013 09:02

Hand on heart OP. is it possible you made a mountain out of a molehill and that's why you're feeling guilty?

Screamqueen · 09/12/2013 09:02

What you said to him about waiting was rude though!!

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