A TREND THAT SUPPORTS DISCRIMINATING AGAINST CASHBACK CUSTOMERS AT PEP IN THE VAAL AREA.

There is a trend going on in some Pep stores in the Vaal area. I have personally had terrible experiences in 3 of the stores one being Pep clothing at Orange Farm (Eyethu Mall), the other being Pep Cell- Orange Farm (Eyethu Mall) and the last being Pep Cell- Palm Springs mall.

This trend involves amongst other things refusing to execute cash back (cash withdrawal) if the customer is making a purchase of less than a fixed amount determined (as told by the cashier's ) by them.

I have personally shopped at these stores and upon requesting cash back have not been assisted. I requested at one of the stores artime worth less than R20 and cashback but the cashier told me she can't assist because I have made a purchase of less than R20 and won't be boosting their sales. I know it's absurd right? I mean what does a customers affordability have to do with a store's sales problems? I asked her since when has that been a thing and she had the nerve to tell me that "they" (the staff of that particular store) agreed amongst themselves that their minimum amount to spend before withdrawal is R20, now this says to me that Pep is discriminating against the poor and needy customers who have been loyal to them for years. Suddenly their "Five Rands" and "Ten Rands" aren't good enough for their stores.

I often wonder what this means for desperate customers who can only spare R5 in order to withdraw, does this mean they should no longer set foot at Pep? Well the cashier in question couldn't answer that question but I am highly dissatisfied with the service given especially because she couldn't stop arguing with me and giving me attitude.

In Palm Springs Mall, a long line separating cash back customers and other shoppers was created at Pep cell and we therefore had to wait for over 30 minutes while the staff kept selling devices only to several customers making the rest of us stand. When I enquired, the cashier's were very rude to me. This tells me that this is a trend in Vaal and I only wonder how many more customers receive this bad treatment or end up leaving to go home without their desired items as a result of this trend.

With Pep clothing there fortunately isn't any bad attitude displayed by the staff although they too have joined in on discriminating against customers and refusing to do cash back if the customer isn't spending R50 or more.

In conclusion, maybe it is best for PEP to give customers clarity on the cashback service and whether or not it's still available to everyone.