FROM RAGS TO FILTH

On Friday 14th January 2022, I bought a few items, including a garlic bread at your Empangeni 5 Ways Mall Empangeni Spar shop.

Pack date : 13th January 2022 Sell by date :18th January 2022 Barcode : *** Price: R21-99

Take note, we live in Melmoth, a distance of +- 80km away, & it is very convenient for us to visit a SPAR Shop better equipped, better stocked & presenting a much larger variety of products other than the very poorly managed Melmoth SPAR which looks like a rural tuckshop. (Long Discussion for another day!!!)

So all info checked on the garlic bread & other items, experienced some very customer unfriendly service from your merchandisers who do not know the difference between a visiting paying customer, & a co colleague.

Back to my 1st reason to complain.....the Oh so Fresh Garlic bread !!! So, get home, & on Saturday we prepare for a small braai enjoying the garlic bread.

As customary & habit, my wife opens the foil to check the garlic quantity & the freshness of the item. To her & my surprise I heard her laughing hysterically & walked over to the kitchen where the SPAR good & Freshness was lying looking me straight in the eye as if to say "eat me... eat me "!!

There was this Wholesome goodness fresh garlic bread full of mold spots as can be seen in the 2 images.

Not only was there lotsa mold present on the bread, the bread was clearly manhandled by the look & shape of it. Our initial thought was that someone in your bakery section & not forgetting a supervisor or manager's "money saving policy" is to "recycle" old stale bread like garlic bread with new wrapping & new lable. If not opened to be pre-checked & merely prepared over heat, the problem will be very difficult to detect.

So what an easy way to recycle old stock & not to loose possible income !!??

Now, how can mold on a bread with a pack date as 13th January 2022 & sell by date of 18th January 2022 have been so badly molded, old, stale, hard & clearly a "old garlic bread" be on the shelves for customer's purchase ?

Are you aware what is Mold ? Do you know there are various types of mold & all types are not necessarily good or healthy but could be toxic ? Do you know how mold grows on bread ? Do yourself a favour a do a research & not a basic readup on mold on food stuff.

If it is on your bread, chances are 80% to find it on your other food items in your very shop. This is not an isolated nor once off incident, this is a clear 8ndication of the poor management quality has gone to in this shop. Question is Why is it there ? My realistic answer is simple - The supervision, the quality checks, the management, the customer care, the customer's satisfaction is not prioritized no longer & has flown out the back door.

Everyone is chasing the money factor, the salary, the profits, the gains, the production, & the most important strategy in the industry has lost its true mojo in any shopping.....nl the happy customer.

It brings me to the rest of the SPAR shop. We have been shopping at this specific SPAR for years since its opening.

Yes, I must admit, it was, not anymore a "breath of fresh air" to walk into, buy your goods & leave with a very happy feeling. Reason being simple..... A very clean shop Well stocked No price confusion. Well trained & informative staff. Freshness throughout the shop, from Fruit & veggies, Deli, bakery, butcher, cold stuff, biltong section, drinks section etc.

None of that can be said anymore. Old fruit, some almost rotting, poor quality fruit & veggies, really not a joy to shop in that section. Poorly maintained. The bakery section used to be so fresh, nice smelling, you wanted to load your trolley.....nagh.....old, manhandled bread & buns all over. Floors are filthy, packers & merchandisers mind their own business while customers must mind them & shop around them. Where has pride, honesty, service delivery in the true sense of the word, caring, customer satisfaction go to ? It will seem SPAR shops has lost its mojo it had years gone by & is now nothing more than a rural tuckshop with an upgraded status.

There is absolutely nothing than a great feeling walking into a grocershop, find freshness, cleanliness, friendliness, helpfulness, & a shop where one can see the management is involved & walk out completely with a huge big smile on yr dial.

Those are becoming less by the day.......sorry SPAR 5 Ways Mall, you disgusted me.

Are people tired, overworked, underpayed or frustrated in your employ ? That is not the client's problem at all, none of it.

And know what, I never hesitate to go random with such negative issues to social media, it is the only way either SPAR takes note & do something positive or sit back & laugh.