Clouds of mould dust and no service or help at till

[NearTheWindmill]

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.

And midnitescribbler that was exceptionally rude, yet you have the cheek to tell other people they have been so.

I doubt the mould was "whooshing out". Yes, mouldy products are nasty but I highly doubt it was that bad.

So, you tell the guy on the till (fine), and he told you to go to customer service if you had a complaint.What's wrong with that? It's standard procedure. Checkout staff have to work to a certain speed and have targets to be met each day. They also don't have the paperwork necessary to deal with customer complaints, whereas customer service do.

You argued with it, of course he got a bit arsy - he can't do anything about your complaint at the till, so in his eyes, you were getting huffy at him over something that's a) not his fault and b) not something he can solve or do anything about. He directed you to customer service, you should have gone there afterwards if you were so keen to make a complaint.

I don't think you are U. If I'd have noticed it I would have simply shoved it at the side of the till and said I don't want this anymore as it is mouldy. I would not have given them the chance to direct me to customer services. I have done this in the past, the till operators have never batted an eyelid, and mostly they ask if I want a replacement, and they then ring the bell for someone to get it. I would also have looked very carefully to check that no other items had been showered in mould dust, and rejected them if necessary. It really is not you job to queue up a second time, just to inform the store that one of their products is mouldy.

Sounds a bit like you were being unreasonable but it's hard to tell.

What exactly did he say and do when he was "arguing and procrastinating and generally being unhelpful"?

What sort of 'procrastinating'? And what did he say to you when he was 'arguing' with you?

Apart from him directing you to customer services you've not explained anythin that he did or said to you which is sort of important in an AIBU. But you've thought it important enough to explain that he was 'elderly' and 'Asian'.

Complaints are handled at customer services. The man on the till is stuck at his till and has a specific job to do, he doesn't have the paperwork or procedures to action your complaint. He could have fobbed you off by telling you he would look into it or report it when he can't. Instead he gave you the correct information to make a complaint and you basically said your time was more important than his. He shouldn't have been rude but you were BU. And his race has nothing to do with it.

One of the reasons I stopped shopping at Sainsburys is it seems to be their policy to scan everything as fast as they possibly can, even if the shopping is piling up and then as soon as the last item is through demand payment. I always have my card ready but didn't offer it until I had finished packing. This is because if l paid before I'd finished they then started to scan the next customer even although I was still packing. Waitrose and M&S don't do this, they adjust the speed they put items through to the speed you pack or offer to help. So I sympathise with you on this point.

As for sending you to customer services he should have taken the item and reported it. You found it but it's not up to you as a customer to deal with it thereafter.

He won't get sacked for this unless there have been other incidents and he has been warned.

It's not clear that OP wanted to 'complain' about the product though. As i read it she found the mouldy thing in her trolly as she unpacked onto the conveyer,told the cashier, and the cashier did bugger all except shrug and say if you've got a problem take it to customer services.

Surely he should have called someone to replace the item? It's what happens usually when packaging is damaged, or it's a 2 for 1 and you havn't noticed or whatever? Someone comes to the till and deals with it ...

I don't think you were rude OP, but I most certainly think some people on here are.
He should have rung a bell and got someone to go and get you another jelly pot.
And I bet it was whooshing out, why would the OP need to lie about that?

Yes it did whoosh out - a cloud of mould and it smelled too - a cloying, sticky smell.

I simply tried to hand the pot to him "I'm awfullly sorry, I don't want this now, you probably need to know it's damaged and badly off"
Him: "it's nothing to do with me, take it to customer services"
Me: "I'm sorry but I don't think I should have to queue again to hand this back"
Him: "it's nothing to do with me"
Me: "I'm sorry, I don't want it please could you take it"
Him "what for"
Me: to put by your till and mention later"
Him: "what do ou want me to do - get you another one"
Me: no I'd like you to take it and please get on with puTting my shopping through

He then more or less threw the shopping down the belt much faster than anyone can reasonably pack and folded his arms and watched me finish off whilst starting to ask for nectar's etc before I had finished. I don't think it's unreasonable to be allowed reasonable time to pack before completing he transation and if he was in a hurry he could have helped pack and needn't have wanted a debate about a 47p jelly in the first place. The item was actually fairly horrendous.

All I wanted him to do was put it to one side, I didn't even want or expect someone to get a replacement.

IMO he was so rude I did in fact go to customer services to complain but about him, not the jelly.

I am pretty amazed that many of you think I was out of order here, especially when I later worried about the chap. And no, I don't think I made a mountain out of a molehill; I think the service was dreadful and not what I usually receive in a supermarket. This wasn't my usual branch and I won't be returning to it.

Huh, I don't get why the OP is getting a hard time.

Whenever I've been in Tescos or Sainburys and have accidentally picked up a damaged item, the cashier at the very least takes the item from me.

In most cases they also ring for a manager/floor walker to replace it. Sometimes, I'll offer to get it myself if they look really busy.

That's normal isn't it?

I am surprised that the till operator didn't call his supervisor over and offer her a replacement item.

I've always been offered a replacement when I've noticed damage at the till.

Yadnbu after reading your last post. Maybe he hadn't come accross this situation before and so didn't really understand what you expected of him. Hopefully he will get some more training.

He was totally wrong op that's why tge customer services were going to take it forward.

He was wrong and rude.

I've worked on a till in a supermarket, and I would have been expected to take that pot, offer you another, and I would have called a runner to grab that pot who would have taken it to the relevant department to sort out.

I would then have offered to help you pack.

That's what I was expected to do, and make polite conversation, and as much as I hated it, that's what I was paid to do.

Now the customers who'd come up and complain that we were out of lamb legs and tell me I needed to do something about it while I was serving someone else, they were BU.. they needed to grab someone actually on the floor, not someone who'd been sat on a till scanning bags of potatoes for 4 hours.

op yanbu, i used to work in retail at the checkouts. If that had happened to me, id have apologised, offered a replacement but also had to close my till down and wait for a cleaner to come over if need be.

To sit there and tell a customer to just go to customer services as it was nothing to do with me would have been my way of asking for a telling off from my boss. Obviously customer service felt the same way which is why they would have had a word with him.

Your last post sounds a little different to your OP. Going on the last post alone, YANBU.

I have had similar things happen & the cashier has always taken the item off me & offered to fetch a replacement (or given me a couple of minutes to get one myself).

I understand that if you wanted to make an actual complaint, Customer Services would have been the place to go but there is no need for the cashier to be rude about telling you that.

YANBU. He was definitely the rude one here. He had a very bad attitude and sounds unsuitable to be working in a customer facing role. I think you did the company a favour by reporting him.

I've been pondering OP's post for a while now and have read the OP several times over.

I honestly think customer service is lacking in this situation and regardless of whether the OP is making a 'mountain out of a molehill' and regardless of questions about what the till operator should have/could have done, this response was simply not acceptable from a huge name like Sainsbury's who are quick enough to rake in the profits.

It is not on to expect a customer to queue again at another location (customer services or wherever). I would not like to be inconvenienced in this way and would have stood my ground politely. Standard procedure or not.

'Holding up the queue' seems to be a concern of some posters and to be avoided at all costs. This should not be an issue. It was OP's turn at the till and she is entitled to have her concerns addressed, pack as quickly or slowly as able and expect supervisory help. Them's the breaks, queuer-uppers.

Spores and mould is definitely a health issue and one I would expect to be addressed fairly urgently. Some people are very susceptible to problems in this area.

It bothers me that people have low expectations of customer service. What the hell is wrong with people? I am quiet, polite and insistent and I usually get things done my way very nicely. I'm the paying customer after all. So maybe the OP could have handled things a bit calmer?

I think I was calm and polite. Perhaps at the end over the nectar when the arms were folded I was a bit terse but it was only at that point that he started to act more politely.

You last couple of posts clarify things a bit better... I now think Y were NBU. He sounded rude.

(You were still being 'U' about mentioning that he was Asian )