... to complain about a member of staff at our local Aldi?

[InSearchOfMartin]

In Aldi two weeks ago I took five bottles of perfume to the checkout along with my shopping. I wasn't buying the perfume but I noticed they'd ben opened and squirted and one bottle was damaged. They were unsellable, total cost not a great amount about £35-£40. The woman on the checkout said they couldn't provide testers, so I said that it was a shame as they were losing stock. She said I could talk to the manager, who came out and I asked her about testers. She said Aldi didn't provide testers so I said, as the manager, couldn't you make that decision as you are losing sales. She said no, and I said well, then, it's a shame you are losing stock. I asked what would happen to them and she said they would be sent back. End of conversation, neither party was rude to the other.

I posted on the local Facebook forum about it, with the focus being not on the store, but the standard of customers who were entitled to open and spray themselves with perfume as follows.

What is wrong with people? I've been in Aldi today and found five boxes of perfume opened and squirted, two with damaged lids. Not testers. These are now unsaleable, and at about £7 for goodness sake just buy it and give it away if you don't like it. Really bad behaviour.

A few comments followed all agreeing with me, one person saying they had actually seen testers in a different Aldi in our city. Then today, this rant appeared from one of the Aldi members of staff!

I love how u have failed to mention the attitude & horrible, uncalled for comments to 2 members of staff on this post. U conducted ourself in the most awful & embarrassing way. U should be embarrassed, we all know u just wanted the perfume reduced, staff & customers that overheard, we all know what u were after. ok, just mind ur manners next time. It costs nothing to be nice.

So I want to complain about this. A member of their team is accusing me of wanting freebies, being rude, being embarrassing, awful and so on in embarrassing English, too. I was not rude at all. Nobody was rude. I was cross at the customers being so bloody entitled and thought I was doing the store a favour!

Conversely, this Aldi member of staff should be mortified at her level of English, customer service and ranting on a local Facebook forum. She's made herself look thick, and she's lying. Also, if someone at a doctor's surgery, library, local council etc wrote like this on a forum they'd be in trouble at work for it.

So would you complain, leave it or what?

What was the purpose of you bringing this to their attention in the first place ?

What were you expecting?

Nothing better to do with your time? I'd say mind your own business!

As it says in the OP. Because they don't provide perfume testers, people were opening boxes and bottles and spraying themselves with them which meant those bottles of perfume couldn't be sold. I found 5, no doubt there had been others before and after. I wanted to see if they would provide testers to alleviate this and stop themselves losing stock that they would have to throw away.

My FB post was frustration at society and their chavvy behaviour. Not a go at the store.

If you weren’t rude then it sounds like the employees comments about you online were uncalled for and OTT. But to be honest, I think it is a little embarrassing for you to have concerned yourself so much with the branch’s potential loss of stock, so much so that you ended up speaking to a manager about it. It just doesn’t have anything to do with you as a customer. I would never open and spray a bottle of perfume off the shop floor but, those unsaleable bottles have essentially become unofficial testers (well they were until you returned them to the check out I suppose). It’s really not worth a second thought.

That's weird as the Aldi I shop in definitely has testers. I know because I sprayed one the other day.
Personally I would never have posted about it on social media. If you had concerns, you should have written to head office. Facebook is just a cesspit of shit stirrers and plonkers. I'd remove the post and just leave it. It's such a trivial matter.

No good turn goes unpunished.

Perhaps you could get a life?

I would just ignore it and forget about it. It'll be old news by tomorrow.

She's not a teacher or someone in a position that requires a high level of spoken English. Stop being such a snob.

I imagine the staff team found your behaviour a little strange and invasive. I'd just leave it. What good could your complaint do? Do you really think this woman would be subject to disciplinary action, more to the point why would you want her to be? Let it go.

I feel quite embarrassed for you. Let it go.

Delete your Facebook post and let this go.
Seriously.

Their post is rude but why are you trying to help Aldi with stock issues? And it is a bit of an odd thing to post about on social media.

Just delete your post

What outcome do you want OP? Do you want her to lose her job? What will you achieve by complaining?

Hmmm I was already wondering if you added the 'U' just to get people frothing, then when you mentioned her 'embarrassing level of English' it kind of sealed it for me.

You sound like an annoying busybody customer and retail staff will often get a handful of those in the same day.

I think this is a firm case of wind your neck in.

No I have copied the post exactly as it was. Copied and pasted.

Christ. Have you really got nothing better to do with your time? Who takes opened boxes of stock to the checkout FFS?! I’m not surprised they thought it was an odd thing to do. And then, to make it worse, you post about it on Facebook!

I don't understand what you wanted to gain from this?

If you were that passionate about getting testers in store why did you post on a local Facebook group that could do nothing about it... surely you'd have contacted Aldi head office?

You've gone to the completely wrong people and social media to try and sort this 'issue' out.

The opened boxes were effectively acting as testers which you had removed from the shelf so the awful "chavs" will just open more boxes and waste more stock.

I agree that the staff members response was OTT but if their post was true then your post resulted in online abuse of the staff so I can imagine that having dealt with your enquiry in store they were less than pleased you took it on line and that was the result.

Do you know it was a genuine reply and not just some random on the internet claiming to be a member of staff.

'should be mortified at her level of English'
'chavvy behaviour'

OP, are you getting altitude sickness up there on your needlessly high horse?

You were so affected by this that you took it up with the staff and you posted on Facebook and now MN? You probably need more going on in your life.

You have far too much time on your hands.
Are you really criticizing her intelligence? She works in Aldi, not fucking MI5. You’re painting yourself to be a massive busybody and a total snob.
The shop assistant was right, your behaviour is totally embarrassing. If I were you I’d delete your post and mind your own business in future! Don’t complain to Aldi, I’m cringing for you.

@FOJN I do know it is a genuine member of staff, yes.

I don't understand what you wanted to gain from this?

She wanted the cashier and the manager to be ever so grateful that she new what's apparently best in a shop she doesn't work in, yet they do.

Nobody needs to "cringe for [me]" thanks.

I can’t believe you took the open boxes to the till and had that much of a discussion with the manager over it 🙈🙈 I’m dying for you.