Called A ****** By Spar Staff Member

A while ago, after shopping at Aljoes Spar for years and spending at least 1.5k a month, my daughter and I were treated very rudely by a black staff member at a till point, all because of a silly missunderstanding. I got quite upset with the guy because of the way he was shouting at me in front of my daughter. When I told him to stop talking to me like that, he wouldn't back down and continued to argue with me. I left the shop in a rage.

Later, I phoned the shop and asked to speak to a manager. The person said that he was a manager. When I explained what happened and mentioned that I was talking about a particular black staff member, after he asked who I was refering to, the person said that HE was that particular person and that because I was refering to him as black, that made me a ******.

Ten minutes later I was back in the shop and asked to speak to a senior manager, a guy called Greg Gouse, I think (he has often seen me and my daughter shop there). I began explaining to him what had happened (in front of the other guy who had arrived to defend himself) earlier and that he had called me a ****** over the phone.

The manager assured me that they would review the cctv footage and asked for my number. I told him that I expected an appology from the staff member, as he didn't deny that he had called me a ******. The manager assured me that they would investigate the incident and get back to me.

Needlees to say, I never heard from them. A week later I called Spar head office in Durban and lodged a complaint, thinking l would be given a hearing. A few days later I was called by Spar's regional manager and invited to their office in Preller Square. I arrived and was addressed by an extremely arrogant young man who offered me a voucher, which I refused. I explained that I didn't want a voucher but a personal appology from the staff member to me and my daughter. When I asked about the investigation and the cctv footage, he told me that Aljoe's were refusing to make it available. There's SPAR service for you!

The real shocker came when I was told by the arrogant young guy that Aljoe's had banned me from their store (just after offering me a voucher!)

After instructing my lawyer to write Aljoe's a letter asking them to put in writing why I was banned from the shop I recieved an email from Preller Square, saying in a really defensive, conveluted way that I could actually still shop there.

One thing is for sure, I'll never spend any of my hard-earned money at Aljoe's Spar again. And the way SPAR head office dealt with the whole matter, was downright unprofessional and unhelpful.