ARROGANT AND *********** BRANCH MANAGER :PICK N PAY FAMILY STORE, PHOENIX, DURBAN

To whom it may concern:

On the 22nd of May 2020 I visited my local Pick n pay (family store: phoenix branch, Durban) to purchase some goods. At the end of my shopping I naturally joined a queue to pay for my goods. Bearing in mind that we as a country are in lock-down there are social distancing procedures in place. My family and I kept the required distance and waited till it was our turn be served. The queue continued to grow. Upon our turn, there was a notice placed by the cashier that the till is closed. This really frustrated me as I now had to look for another till that was open. My father-in law, whom was with us, became frustrated as well. In a frustrated state he threw the “closed” sign on the floor requesting to see the manager. Upon arrival the manager was hostile at a situation that was already heated. My father-in law, in my presence, began to explain to him that someone should have taken the sign to the last person in the queue and informed all further patrons that no more customers will be served beyond the last customer (who will have some sort of sign etc on their trolley). The manager (Mr Logan) began shouting and threatened to call security. I personally interjected at this time. I firstly told him to calm down. I repeatedly told him to calm down at least 5 times. He continued to raise his voice and stated that the other man should calm down (referencing my father-in law). My father-in law obliged. I then took over the conversation and reiterated our frustration to the manager in a diplomatic manner. I explained to him that given the long queues common sense would dictate that a sign or notice be given to the last person in a queue thereby preventing further people from joining the queue only to be told, after some time, that the till is closed or will be closing. This is certainly not an unrealistic request. He proceeded to talk over me in an angry manner. I informed him that that behavior was rude as I was speaking. I became angry as his disrespectful tone provoked me. I proceeded to tell him that I will speak to Pick n Pay management about this ordeal. He proceeded to jeer me by informing me “that he has no time for this” and I can do whatever I want. I responded to him stating that he should not speak to me in that manner and that he should speak that way to his wife and friends. At this moment I had become upset as I felt that as a customer my grievances were trivialized and I was dealt with in a hostile manner even though I approached the situation diplomatically. He responded to me by stating that his wife was not there and that I should not refer to her but rather him and that I should not use hand gestures. This was hypocritical as he began the whole hostile situation using hand gestures an raising his voice initially. He proceeded to call another man. During this time another customer in the store also became frustrated as the exact same situation happened to him. Another man proceeded to come from an office and stated that " This is his store" and we should leave. THIS MAN WORE NO FACE MASK AND WAS RAISNG HIS VOICE IN THE STORE. At this time my father- in law asked him why we should leave when we did not do anything wrong. The manager proceeded to call security. A man from security arrived and seemed confused. I informed them that I would be taking up the matter and we proceeded to the till as our turn was next. The manager that came from the office wore no face mask and was raising his voice uncontrollably. It is appalling that managers at Pick n Pay have no conflict resolution training. They choose instead to behave in a rude and ****gish manner. A simple, " Sir we are sorry for what happened at the queue, how can I help you? ". Instead of the above I was confronted by men who are hostile and have no training whatsoever in how to deal with customers. Screaming at your customers and telling them that they can leave the store does not leave one with a favorable reputation. Where are the owners of this store? That was my initial thought. They are certainly tarnishing the reputation of the Pick n Pay franchise by having uncouth individuals manage their branches. It should be noted that I do not intend on revisiting this branch and I sincerely hope that my grievances be given the attention they deserve. It is one thing to be upset and another to deal with the situation unprofessionally. The onus is and ALWAYS should be on MANAGEMENT to carry themselves with the utmost professionalism and courtesy. It is sad that I had to educate a manager on how to behave. Arrogance and ****gery should not triumph over professionalism towards customers.