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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Me or Sainsburys staff member?

278 replies

HouseofSkullduggery · 21/02/2022 14:31

My local Sainsburys is in a shopping centre with chargeable parking. You usually have to spend £10 or more to get free parking unless you are also using the pharmacy or Argos which is also inside.
So this morning I had to return some items to Argos that I bought yesterday. I did that no problem and never asked them to validate the ticket as I had a few other things to get from Sainsburys and thought it's quicker to go to the self service tills and do it myself.
I bought items which were just over £7. Paid and started to walk to the machine to validate my ticket. The staff member immediately saw me approaching and stood blocking the machine. She actually had to walk backwards to make sure I didn't go round her.
She then said have you spent £10? Where's your receipt? In a really snotty tone. I explained I'd just been to Argos too but needed other things hence why I was there. But no that wasn't good enough. She said no I would have to pay to park because I hadn't spent the £10.
She was really off and I felt like a naughty child! I just said again I'd been to Argos, I was in a rush and as it made no difference to her please could I use the machine on this occasion. But no she wouldn't back down.
I left and just felt quite bewildered at her attitude. Nobody normally mans the machine. I go in there all the time. Never had any issue. Even going through the normal tills staff have been happy to validate the ticket as long as youve bought something. I feel she was rude and a jobsworth. Aibu?

OP posts:
Hoppinggreen · 21/02/2022 15:12

So she needed Argos to validate her parking then

Butitsnotfunnyisititsserious · 21/02/2022 15:13

@SNUG2022

Op said its free to park if you use Argos, which she did.
Then the OP should have shown the receipt with the refund on it or gone back to Argos. It's not this woman's fault OP failed to do that.
SweetFelicityArkright · 21/02/2022 15:14

She was right, you didn't spend enough to validate the parking. You should have either got it validated in Argos, spent the £10 in Sainsbury's or paid for the parking.
And isn't it amazing how many customer facing staff are 'rude' and 'a jobsworth' when the customer has been told no to something they want, but aren't actually entitled to.........

romany4 · 21/02/2022 15:16

Wakefield by any chance?

Exactly what I thought.
Those ticket machines are a bloody nightmare!

Cissyandflora · 21/02/2022 15:23

Why is everyone on ops side? You were being cheeky. You didn’t qualify for the free parking. But you feel annoyed and cross about that. The staff member was correct. And she knew what you were up to. She even had to walk backwards to stop you dishonesty stamping your card. Haha.
I would have done the same cheeky trick too I’m sure- but I wouldn’t then think I can get the manager onto her.

dementedpixie · 21/02/2022 15:24

@SNUG2022

Op said its free to park if you use Argos, which she did.
OP said she didn't get Argos to validate her ticket so she had no proof she was exempt from parking charges
Pluvia · 21/02/2022 15:25

You didn't spend £10 and you didn't bother to go back to Argos to get your receipt validated.

The rules apply to you, just like everyone else. Why do you think you're entitled to have them bent for you?

I'd have been furious at myself, not at some poor woman on minimum wage who's been instructed not to let anyone get away with parking for free — possibly with her job on the line if she's caught bending the rules.

UniversalAunt · 21/02/2022 15:26

Sainsbury’s employee is doing the task that she has been given.
She does that so she gets paid.

You could have had the tickets correctly endorsed in Argos, but chose not to. You did not meet the spend criteria in Sainsbury’s to get the free parking.

YABU

Bunty55 · 21/02/2022 15:26

Its petty. I would complain to the Argos manager and let them deal with it.

It does make you wonder what makes some people tick though..

Pixiedust1234 · 21/02/2022 15:27

Don't complain as the manager or even area manager would have told her to do this. Minimum wage staff don't do this by themselves as shelf stacking etc are the priority jobs, not guarding the ticket machine.

Next time get it validated properly or spend the £10. You will always need toilet rolls so you could have added that go you shopping to bump it up. Its you, not her, thats BU.

JuergenSchwarzwald · 21/02/2022 15:27

Why didn't she just get you to go back to Argos to get whatever you needed to prove you qualified for free parking. I think you were technically in the wrong OP, but she wasn't doing her job properly.

Anyway you could have waited for her to walk away and then jumped on the machine - that's what I would have done if I was in a bolshy mood and ignore any scowling from her.

And I doubt very much she would have been disciplined - the car park probably isn't owned by Sainsburys. We have a council car park where you have to spend £15 in Sainsburys to get free parking.

Lordamighty · 21/02/2022 15:27

You didn’t spend the minimum for the free parking so you were the one in the wrong.

PriamFarrl · 21/02/2022 15:28

@SweetFelicityArkright

She was right, you didn't spend enough to validate the parking. You should have either got it validated in Argos, spent the £10 in Sainsbury's or paid for the parking. And isn't it amazing how many customer facing staff are 'rude' and 'a jobsworth' when the customer has been told no to something they want, but aren't actually entitled to.........
I quite agree. People only use the term ‘jobsworth’ when it means someone won’t do what they want when they think the rules don’t apply to them.
JuergenSchwarzwald · 21/02/2022 15:28

Sainsbury pay over the minimum wage by the way, hence why they get lots of job applications and rarely have jobsworth staff because they can pick and choose.

KaptainKaveman · 21/02/2022 15:28

You didn't spend a tenner though, did you? suck it up.

Crunchymum · 21/02/2022 15:29

YABU @HouseofSkullduggery

How are the staff meant to know you had been to Argos, if you didn't get them to validate your ticket?

@SNUG2022

Op said its free to park if you use Argos, which she did the OP also said she didn't get them validate her ticket and then she didn't spend enough at self service.

Sorry but the OP was at fault here.

dollymuchymuchness · 21/02/2022 15:30

Personally I'm thoroughly sick of Sainsbury's particularly their customer service. We've spent hundreds and hundreds of pounds there over the years but they've lost us as customers. Their click and collect is a shambles. If you refuse items, sometimes you still get charged. I've spent hours on their helpline trying to sort things out. It's useless.

Scianel · 21/02/2022 15:31

Seriously fuck being treated like that in any place where I part with my money.

CeeceeBloomingdale · 21/02/2022 15:33

Sorry OP, you didn’t follow the correct procedure to waive the parking fee so you have to pay. It’s like getting a fine after buying a parking ticket but not displaying it correctly. The onus is on you to validate in Argos if you’re spending less than the required amount in Sainsbury’s. The woman was just doing her job.

Butitsnotfunnyisititsserious · 21/02/2022 15:33

@JuergenSchwarzwald

Why didn't she just get you to go back to Argos to get whatever you needed to prove you qualified for free parking. I think you were technically in the wrong OP, but she wasn't doing her job properly.

Anyway you could have waited for her to walk away and then jumped on the machine - that's what I would have done if I was in a bolshy mood and ignore any scowling from her.

And I doubt very much she would have been disciplined - the car park probably isn't owned by Sainsburys. We have a council car park where you have to spend £15 in Sainsburys to get free parking.

Why should she have to get OP to go back? OP should have said they would go back to Argos to get it validated. It's not up to the worker to do it for her.
Thursa · 21/02/2022 15:33

You should have had Argos validate the ticket, you didn’t spend enough in the other shop to get free parking.

Hoppinggreen · 21/02/2022 15:35

Jobsworth =didn’t do what I wanted despite it being against policy

Wavypurple · 21/02/2022 15:37

You didn’t spend £10 so you’re not entitled to the free parking.

AllAmericanGirl · 21/02/2022 15:38

I thought it had to be Sainsbury's shopping. Does the Argos count?

vivainsomnia · 21/02/2022 15:38

I hope you were not rude to her and showing attitude.

You: were in the wrong and didn't follow the rules.

Her: doing the job she was tasked to do.