Shocking service, bad management, rotten food

I live very close to Food *****'s Market in Stoneridge, Johannesburg and I shop there almost every day.

I have found recently that there are several issues with their service as well as the quality of the products they are selling.

The worst thing is that, upon complaining to management, I realised that their attitude towards customers isn't any better than that of their staff and also, either they are uninformed in terms of consumer law or they simply choose to ignore it.

Incidents: SERVICE 1. On one visit to the store, I wanted to order meat from the meat counter. There was one other customer waiting and 5 staff behind the counter who saw us, but simply ignored us. We stood waiting for around 10 minutes for service while the staff behind the counter were chatting. I complained to the manager at the meat counter who assured me that he would speak to his staff. However, I have had the same problem since then and when you complain to the staff they argue back and have a very bad attitude.

2. On a subsequent visit, I again was ignored by staff at the meat counter. I then went to the bread counter where I waited while staff took ages to serve one set of customers (there were 2 ladies serving behind the counter and only one customer). I then went to the cold meat counter and there was nobody serving there. I went to look at the cheese counter and saw 2 staff members chatting. I asked who was supposed to be at the cold meat counter and she then came to serve me.

3. On 17 August (last week Thursday), I went to the fish counter to buy kingklip fillets. The price displayed for the fish fillets was R119.99 per kilogram. When the serving lady weighed my order and attached the price, it was R179.99 per kilogram. I said that she had to charge me the price displayed for the item. She refused. I asked her to call her manager. She walked as slowly as she could all around the store and then came back to tell me that she couldn't find him. I said I would find him. I found another manager and he directed me to the fish manager. At the counter, I showed him the displayed price and said that they had to charge me this price. He said that they are not subject to the price guarantee but that he could do me a favour and give me a lower price. Eventually I got it at the right price, however, after much trouble and bad attitude from both the staff and the manager. Moreover, they may not have a price guarantee policy, but they operate under South African law, which makes them subject to the Consumer Protection Act, which stipulates that prices must be correctly displayed and that consumers cannot be charged more than the price displayed for the item.

This kind of thing happens regularly and every time you complain to management they say that they have many such complaints and are "having a staff meeting to sort it out" but it never changes.

QUALITY OF PRODUCTS 4. I have often noticed when buying fresh produce that is on special offer, that the sell by and use by dates have been removed. While selling produce that expires soon or on the day is okay if sold at a discounted price, selling expired products is not legal. Fresh produce and perishables must ALWAYS have a sell by and or use by date on them.

5. Last week Thursday, I bought castor sugar from the store. Upon opening it over the weekend, I realised that it was rock hard and unusable. I did not check the sell by date when I bought it, but upon checking, I saw that the expiry date was 7 February 2015. I bought it on 17 August 2017.

6. Today, I bought gorgonzola cheese (Simonzola) brand from the store. Upon opening it, I realised that, even though blue cheese smells and has blue mould on it, this cheese smelled completely rotten and also had orange slimy mould on it. The expiry date is 24 August 2017.

I am really tired of having to return items and having to complain. Though it is convenient for me to shop at this store (and I spend a lot of money there), I will no longer shop there.

I find the service, produce and attitudes at this store shocking. Service in South Africa in general is pretty shocking and businesses get a way with it because South Africans don't like to complain, but this is no excuse for this level of service and poor quality of goods which we pay a lot of money for.

Very unhappy customer