Horrible Service And Humiliation
I am appalled and disgusted at the service I received at Sunward Park Spar today. This is a Spar I have been shopping at since I moved to Sunward Park in 2016. I'm still shocked at how I was embarrassed in front of other customers and Spar staff by being called a *****. I came into the shop to buy a few items including a toothbrush for my son. My son was pushing the trolley until we got to the till to pay. At the till I stood on the one side close to the pay-point so I could swipe my card. My son remained on the other side and started off-loading the items from the trolley so that the cashier could scan them one by one. I paid for my stuff and my son loaded everything back onto the trolley. As soon as we stepped out the store a security guard approached us and told me that I had ****** a toothbrush. My son and I then both realised that he had forgotten to take out the toothbrush from the trolley at the till point. I immediately apologised and told them it was an honest mistake and I would pay for it immediately. The security guard told me that this case of theft and I had intentionally ******. I could not believe what was happening to me. All of this was happening while other shoppers were watching.
I approached a lady there who I believed was the manager who knows me and has seen me many times at the store and asked her to intervene. She told me the security guard needs to do his job and she does not intervene in these matters. I again emphasized that this was an honest mistake on my part, and I am willing to pay. The security then informed me that I need to pay double for the toothbrush. I ended up paying R73.98 for a toothbrush that costs R36.99. I was told I could not elect to leave the toothbrush and I could not choose a cheaper one. I had to pay double for the one I was being accused of *****ing.
When I got home, I told my husband what had happened, and he was upset and shocked that a store that we had supported for so many years treated me like this. He suggested that we go speak to the manager again to understand this Spar Policy of charging customers twice for such an incident. When we got there, we went to speak to the same lady again who had walked away from me. The same security guard was also called. The lady told us that she was not the manager and there was no manager or supervisor available to assist us. She told us that this matter can only be attended to the next day. We asked her for the policy of double charging customers, and she could not produce it. She told us she does not get involved in these matters and we should ask the security guard. My husband asked the security guard for this policy and he could not produce it and yet I was told this was a policy.
What hurt me the most is being called a ***** in front of my son, the Spar staff and other shoppers. Spar has ****** and humiliated me. They had an option of calling the police, but they decided to take the law into their own hands. They did not do any investigation before calling me a *****. No manager was available to assist me. No CCTV footage was pulled to verify what I was telling them. Just earlier today, I was at the Sunward Park Tops to make a purchase (Slip number 5806) and I am really upset that Spar treats loyal customers in this way.