The lantern hunt

Good day

I was recently in PnP Hyper situated at the Moffett retail park, William Moffett in Port Elizabeth.

I currently work at an adjacent store and was informed the electricity in our area (William Moffett) will be switched off on Sunday, 18th March.

Hearing this, the store decides we will still be trading and we will simply buy lanterns in order for customers to see. Entering PnP, I firstly needed to locate said lanterns, which was a task on its own as there is nobody in sight to assist me.

20 minutes in, my search finally comes to an end, and upon discovery I find they have many different types of lanterns and few with instructions on how they work.

15 minutes of being baffled by what little information the packaging gives me, and assistance completely absent, I decide to go and call a fellow staff member.

On return we find a suitable lantern, with the price (assuming it's the amount situated directly under said lamp) being R34,95 and after a long wait at customer care get the last information that we need on said lantern.

Arrive at the till I am now told the price of the lantern is R109,95. Confused and now assuming I made a mistake, return to the lantern aisle with (would you believe it) someone who can actually assist me.

Infront of these lanterns, first she informs me that the original 39,95 price, I was looking at, was for the light bulbs underneath, and that there is no price for the lantern.

Baffled again, and slowly getting upset, I request a manager. After they ordered a "departmental manager" and putting him threw a production period of 20 minutes, a one Luigi Mostert finally arrives. Again he informed me what the above mentioned lady has said, and then tells me he will not give it to me for the marked price. After a long "discussion" and him trying to use his tone to make me feel inferior I finally storm off and leave the store.

Now this is my issue:

Firstly, in all respectable retail stores across South Africa, the marked price is the price the customer pays. It's not the customers fault the store staff hasn't done there job. In all other stores I've seen them mark the price.

Secondly, this is not the first time I witness this kind of incident in PnP Hyper. Just that last time the white couple, had their item marked down for them. I'm not sure if it's my skin color or just that Mr Mostert felt like a superior being with his condescending attitude.

Finally I spent almost an hour and a half on a search for a lantern that, with literally any kind of assistance could have been a 15 minute trip. The staff in store is none existent, and when you get a rare moment that you do actually see them they are moving between isle heading straight to the back.

Thank you Chrissie Booysen