****** Goods and Bad Service

So this afternoon around 17:20 I walked into your store, before entering I first visited the parcel counter to leave my plastic bag that had cosmetics inside that I had purchased earlier at Dischem in Pine Crest, because I know that if you have anything that is sold at the store you’re visiting they request you to leave yours at their parcel counter and collect after you’re done shopping, so when I requested to leave the bag at the parcel counter the person working there said they don’t take plastic bags like those and I should just walk in and seal them at the security checkpoint and I requested the young man there to please take them and he insisted that I go to security for a seal. I then proceeded and did as I was told. I was there with my colleague who also had a plastic bag from Spar in her hand which had a brand new cellphone, after sealing we walked in and took a shopping basket. After shopping we headed over to checkout and paid, this was at 17:37, we then took a walk to the security to check but forgot the bags that we came in with. The walk to security was less than 10 seconds after paying and we remembered before reaching the security that we forgot our bags inside the basket, so I personally rushed to check and get our things but when I got there the shopping basket was empty, so I asked the cashier who said she didn’t notice anything and some people who were behind us said they didn’t see anything as well. So we rushed back to security and asked him to search everyone who left after us. After waiting for 20+ minutes we finally received feedback, and we were told that the person who stole our goods was indeed behind us so we asked them to describe what the person was wearing because we might be able to identify them as usually meet them in our way home, and we know where to find him, they then told us they can’t help us with that, I then went further to request the footage then security said they can’t help but we can request that from management. So I requested to see the store manager. After 5 to 10 minutes a young man by the name of SIYA came to us and requested to hear our side of the story, so I explained to him and he said the store policy is that if a customer lost their goods in store the store is liable to pay for the goods lost, but we said can we first see the footage, and he said the customer identification act denies them access to do so. So I further requested for the manager but still NO ONE CAME, so after a few minutes the young man who was at the parcel counter passes by and I tell him what happened after he insisted that I go in store with the plastic bag I requested him to leave at the counter, he then apologized and had the guts to tell me that they are also not allowed to keep bags that has goods that I had in that bag, he then left me, mind you I’m still waiting with the security guy at the exit. After sometime a young lady by the name of LUCIA came to assist, I then asked her if she was the manager and she said no but she can gladly assist. So I explain to her what happened, and also include what SIYA had said about the compensation policy that says if a customer lost anything the store is liable to pay for what the customer lost,and this like the 4th time I’m repeating myself, so she says she can’t help us regarding the phone in the plastic bag issue unless we go to the SAPS and open a case so they can hand over the footage to the police, and she says this with ATTITUDE, so I politely asked her “If you guys can’t help us with anything, why did we have to wait here for 30+ minutes? Did we wait for you guys to say YES, YOUR GOODS HAVE INDEED BEEN ****** AT OUR SHOP BUT WE CAN’T HELP YOU WITH ANYTHING?” She fails to answer the question and says it’s not the shops fault that we forgot our goods at the till inside the store, I then said to her “ I am aware that it’s not the supermarkets fault that WE forgot our bags, but in the case where the customer requested to leave their bags at the parcel counter but was told to go inside with the bag, how do you deal with that?” She still failed to understand and she says she’s not in management but the store manager will be available tomorrow at 10am. I then asked about the compensation policy and she says there’s no such thing, and now SIYA agrees with her, meaning SIYA gave me misleading information. I get so frustrated now and asked them to explain to me why I had to wait for so long only for them to tell me they can’t assist me with anything and that I should come tomorrow morning for the manager, they failed to explain and apologize and said I should take my time tomorrow morning to see the manager if I want to complain about the waiting but they were also doing their job.

So my question is, for a customer like me who requested to leave their stuff at the parcel counter and was denied the option to do so by someone who is employed by your company by telling me to go inside the store and finish my shopping, what happens? Because I lost things that I bought with my hard earned money and spoke to rude people who didn’t even apologize and show any remorse, except for the friendly cashier that helped me, the Cashiers name was Nokulunga if I’m not mistaken. Is this the customer service that your store should trend about? I am very disappointed with SPAR, never have I thought I’d experience such service from such a big company. What agitates me the most is the fact that I personally went to the parcel counter and requested them to keep my bag whilst shopping, because in a case where you forget something at the store you can always go back and produce the cabinet number and get your goods back, and this kept ringing in my mind as I was going back home because I would’ve remembered and rushed back to Parcel and found my bag.