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AIBU?

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Original poster

I witnessed a retail employee being absolutely vile to an elderly man today

389 replies

Greenfinc · 06/07/2023 14:54

This afternoon in a small branch of Lidl at the self service checkouts. Nobody was on the actual tills so no option to use them instead.

An elderly man needed some help scanning his shopping and was explaining to the employee overseeing the checkouts that he was partially sighted and was struggling to find the bar codes.

The employee was absolutely horrible to him saying being partially sighted doesn't mean he can't see and that there's a difference between being partially sighted and blind. Her attitude was vile.

She begrudgingly scanned his remaining items, as though he'd asked her to pay for them herself, and as he was collecting his change from the machine she sarcastically said "oh you managed to see that well enough did you"

I asked him if he needed any help and if he was ok and he explained that he'd had two surgeries on his eyes and couldn't see very well, and that he was only able to get about to the shop on his own as he knew and was used to it but struggled with the bar codes.

I told him I'd heard everything that woman had said to him and that I'm going to contact the head office about her and report exactly what I'd heard. He said he didn't want to make a fuss and that she was clearly just looking for an argument.

WIBU to report her to her employer regardless? I feel really sad about it and don't think somebody like that should be in a customer facing role working with members of the public. Horrible bully.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
Cirice · 07/07/2023 23:41

My friend was treated horribly in Aldi the other week by an employee because she’d had the audacity to put her shopping on the belt rather than go to self scan. The employee was incredibly rude, asking if she had issues and that’s why she couldn’t scan her own shopping. She moaned her way through the transaction and ended it with ‘what the hell will you do when it’s all self serve eh?’
my friend is quite small and feisty and very much fired back, but she said to me as she was relaying the story anyone older or more fragile could have been really upset. I encouraged her to complain to Aldi. I don’t think she’s heard back yet.

Just no need for it at all.

Caelan2018 · 07/07/2023 23:48

Definitely report the horrible cow imagine what she like at home if she is like that at work

Lupiemumof1 · 07/07/2023 23:58

This ⬆️ 💯

Original poster
Greenfinc · 08/07/2023 00:09

This reply has been deleted

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Yes I make a habit of taking photographs of random retail employees during my shopping trips for nothing.

Jog on you wet lettuce. I hope you never have to deal with disability in old age.

OP posts:
MustWeDoThis · 08/07/2023 00:31

Greenfinc · 06/07/2023 14:54

This afternoon in a small branch of Lidl at the self service checkouts. Nobody was on the actual tills so no option to use them instead.

An elderly man needed some help scanning his shopping and was explaining to the employee overseeing the checkouts that he was partially sighted and was struggling to find the bar codes.

The employee was absolutely horrible to him saying being partially sighted doesn't mean he can't see and that there's a difference between being partially sighted and blind. Her attitude was vile.

She begrudgingly scanned his remaining items, as though he'd asked her to pay for them herself, and as he was collecting his change from the machine she sarcastically said "oh you managed to see that well enough did you"

I asked him if he needed any help and if he was ok and he explained that he'd had two surgeries on his eyes and couldn't see very well, and that he was only able to get about to the shop on his own as he knew and was used to it but struggled with the bar codes.

I told him I'd heard everything that woman had said to him and that I'm going to contact the head office about her and report exactly what I'd heard. He said he didn't want to make a fuss and that she was clearly just looking for an argument.

WIBU to report her to her employer regardless? I feel really sad about it and don't think somebody like that should be in a customer facing role working with members of the public. Horrible bully.

Hi, I hope you reported her. I work on a team protecting the most vulnerable in public and part of my job is investigating disability hate crimes and discrimination. I do a lot of things with vulnerable people.

This is a clear case of disability discrimination. She needs to be suspended pending further investigation. There will be cameras which picked this up.

frenchfancy81 · 08/07/2023 00:32

Did you sat anything there and then?

MustWeDoThis · 08/07/2023 00:34

Glad you reported them, but I wouldn't leave it at just the generic template letter from Lidl. She should be suspended and made to write a letter of apology.

WandaWonder · 08/07/2023 00:38

I would report

Original poster
Greenfinc · 08/07/2023 00:44

I followed up with Lidl via email after their initial generic response and said I wasn't satisfied with the copy and paste style of their response. They got back to me again and explained that due to data protection they wouldn't be able to share any finer details about the investigation or what would happen next, just that it has been escalated and sent to the regional manager.

OP posts:
ErniesGhostlyGoldTops · 08/07/2023 02:14

SuperFi · 07/07/2023 22:14

@ErniesGhostlyGoldTops god that’s horrific.

OP, glad you reported this particular employee. They are a shit company, you might get a response to avoid the bad publicity, but this ain’t an organisation that cares about people. That poor man needs to go shopping elsewhere

I worked for Lidl and I left after 3 months, worst place I ever worked. The branch I worked in had a high staff turnover as they basically worked staff into the ground. In my experience the few staff that stayed because they wouldn’t get a job anywhere else.

My manager was a bully, I did once stand up to her though, as I refused to serve a customer who had previously been aggressive and used racist language to me. The manager still expected me to serve him! I stood my ground that time.
You had to beg for a break, and if the tills were slow you had to run in the back warehouse stack a pallet and shelf fill, not allowed to sit done at tills( so customers can’t sneak things through in trollies, )and when shop closed we had to do all the cleaning. I once went 10 days without a day off.

I was very very down at the time. I still am a bit as I am struggling to get my health back post surgery. I sat in my car and cried as I was shocked at how he was needling me and how I had responded to it. I had no bandwidth basically and just wanted to say please and thankyou, get my shopping and leave.

He was harassing me for his own pleasure. I probably had victim written all over me.

JennyJenny8675309 · 08/07/2023 03:12

jc12689 · 06/07/2023 14:57

I would have called here out there and then while she was doing it.

Absolutely. I’d shame her right there. She deserved it.

JennyJenny8675309 · 08/07/2023 03:20

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If that employee can’t afford to lose her job then she ought to be more courteous toward customers. Her behaviour was truly vile and I would have called her out on the spot and reported her to management.

LookingforMaryPoppins · 08/07/2023 03:32

absolutely report her

Noangelbuthavingfun · 08/07/2023 09:37

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Really? Actions have consequences daahling.... she should have thought of that before. And she not fit for retail so if she hever gets a job again in thst field its probably a good thing she looks to a different field. Not feeding her children is a bit dramatic isn't it? This type of behaviour is deep rooted and a values issue. But my guess is you won't see that.

Heyhoitsme · 08/07/2023 09:54

Yes report her. Your receipt will have the accurate time on it. I dont think you should have confronted her at the time. The man didn't want a fuss.

euff · 08/07/2023 09:59

Thank you for reporting her. Makes my blood boil that someone could treat another person this way particularly if the eye are elderly or vulnerable. She's a nasty piece of work and I doubt the consequences will be all that severe this time but even if they were she has it coming. People should stop using any children she may or may not have as a shield for her behaviour.

Wenfy · 08/07/2023 10:00

My colleague saw the posts and has also reported for the same branch. She thinks the same woman called her disabled son names a few weeks ago. Thanks for raising this.

Havaina · 08/07/2023 10:01

Lots of anger on this thread (rightfully), I wonder if it’s going to make people speak up when they see such behaviour in future?

Because that’s not my experience, mostly I see people stand around and gawk when things like this happen.

Ponderosamum · 08/07/2023 10:48

jc12689 · 06/07/2023 14:57

I would have called here out there and then while she was doing it.

This. And I would have got her name nasty vile cow and reported her

ToWhitToWhoo · 08/07/2023 10:50

KarmaStar · 07/07/2023 22:11

Why did you just stand there and allow her to upset him??ffs!!

Confronting her at the time might have caused more embarrassment to the man, or might have caused the employee to become even nastier to him.

Nofreshstarthere22 · 08/07/2023 10:52

Please report her and Thank you for being so kind.

NickyT64 · 08/07/2023 12:49

Greenfinc · 06/07/2023 14:54

This afternoon in a small branch of Lidl at the self service checkouts. Nobody was on the actual tills so no option to use them instead.

An elderly man needed some help scanning his shopping and was explaining to the employee overseeing the checkouts that he was partially sighted and was struggling to find the bar codes.

The employee was absolutely horrible to him saying being partially sighted doesn't mean he can't see and that there's a difference between being partially sighted and blind. Her attitude was vile.

She begrudgingly scanned his remaining items, as though he'd asked her to pay for them herself, and as he was collecting his change from the machine she sarcastically said "oh you managed to see that well enough did you"

I asked him if he needed any help and if he was ok and he explained that he'd had two surgeries on his eyes and couldn't see very well, and that he was only able to get about to the shop on his own as he knew and was used to it but struggled with the bar codes.

I told him I'd heard everything that woman had said to him and that I'm going to contact the head office about her and report exactly what I'd heard. He said he didn't want to make a fuss and that she was clearly just looking for an argument.

WIBU to report her to her employer regardless? I feel really sad about it and don't think somebody like that should be in a customer facing role working with members of the public. Horrible bully.

What on earth is there to ask????? Report report report!
I can understand you wanting to get the story out there but surely there is only one course of action??!!!!

Original poster
Greenfinc · 08/07/2023 13:12

Wenfy · 08/07/2023 10:00

My colleague saw the posts and has also reported for the same branch. She thinks the same woman called her disabled son names a few weeks ago. Thanks for raising this.

Oh wow, thats awful. I'm so sorry to hear that. You are the second person I've heard from in the past few days about other incidents at this particular store. They need to completely overhaul their staff. What the hell is going on there?

OP posts:
SK20772M · 08/07/2023 14:00

Wenfy · 08/07/2023 10:00

My colleague saw the posts and has also reported for the same branch. She thinks the same woman called her disabled son names a few weeks ago. Thanks for raising this.

Oh no, I could cry when reading things like this. Some people are just VILE

MrsGrumpyKnickers · 08/07/2023 14:28

Report her asap. Give all the information you can - day, time, description of her, what she said. Talking to anyone like this is unforgivable and she should not keep her job.