Woolworths is the largest supermarket/grocery store chain in Australia, owned by Woolworths Limited. Established and founded in 1924, the first store opened in Sydney's Imperial Arcade. The supermarket giant has expanded their franchise since then and has at least two stores in every major city, and one store in most residential/suburban areas.
In the past to coming years, Woolworths has caused controversy amongst themselves, their own affiliates and the every day battling Aussie. Many companies have gone undercover, to expose the supermarket giant. From these actions we have learnt he following:
• close-to and expired meat - being rolled, glued and sold as premium meats.
• freezer goods are expired.
• dead and live vermin/rodents found.
• nothing is cleaned - above, under and on food shelves.
• fruit and vegetable shelves are unclean - some still hold rotten and old food.
• bad or lack of customer service.
• bad or lack of public relations experience.
These are just a few problems that have been exposed in the past few years and is still occurring til this day. As consumers we expect a certain type of service, especially if we are paying for it. The health and safety of staff and customers, should be Woolworths main goal. Our lives are constantly placed at risk, just for them to make a quick dollar. I'm sure they thought of the consequences, it is quite obvious how they feel about it - they don't care.
When society works together as a whole, they voice their opinions. When things become their hardest, they turn to each other for help and then they turn to the media for more help.
I have recently witnessed and experienced the attitudes and criticism from Woolworths staff members. Like many others who shop locally, I too do my weekly shopping at the same store in Jesmond New South Wales. In the past 2 years since making my first and last purchase from the store, I and many others have encountered countless problems:
• under-aged staff selling alcohol and cigarettes.
• under-aged staff lecturing customers.
• Expired/Out-Of-Date Food - still being sold at full price, on shelves.
• Expired/Out-Of-Date Food Re-Packed - the meat is tenderized, then glued together and sold as high valued premium meat.
• Staff:
a) Unclean Appearance and Attire.
b) Attitude Problems
c) lack of training - needs re-training.
d) Don't Know Everything - shouldn't hold a position without knowing what exactly it is. Eg. Register operator or Packing Shelves.
e) No Knowledge of Goods/Items - especially when it comes to the dietary needs of those who suffer from allergies. Eg. Gluten-Free or Dairy-Free.
f) Bag Checks & Security - Staff are placing their hands inside of customer's bags, touching each and every personal item.
g) Can't Pack Groceries - kitchen cleaning products, laundry products, poisonous and dangerous items/goods are packed with food.
h) No On-Site Managers or Supervisors - can never be found for assistance when requested by a customer.
• Unclean:
a) Floors
b) Aisles
c) All Counters/Shelves - fruit & vegetable, fresh foods, bakery, seafood, butchery and frozen goods.
d) Staff Appearance - some members look like they couldn't be bothered showering or washing their clothes.
e) Overstocked Aisles - goods sit unpacked for many days, some are dangerously high and wide.
On Sunday 11th June 2012, I was quickly shopping with my 5 year old daughter and her father. We were not at Woolworths for long, the night was cold and the store has no heating. All parents know what it's like to go shopping with their young child and then the end result of what happens when paying at the register. My daughter and I left the store and waited to the side. "I need to check that bag" pointing to my daughter's father, "and that bag", pointing to mine. I replied "for a start, I cannot give you permission to look in someone else's bag, but I can let you look inside of my handbag". As I zipped open my handbag to hold it out for inspection, I watched as the staff member placed his hand inside of my bag. He touched my purse, my daughter's iPod Touch, my iPhone 3Gs, a few other personal items, as well as my medication, while also moving personal items. "Since when did you start checking small handbags?" The worker replied "we check all sized bags". My daughter's father had finished paying for the groceries and was still waiting for the receipt to print, when he was told "I wanna check that bag and every pocket in it". The man asked for items to be taken out of the bag, while he placed his hands inside. As this was occurring,two customers were about to leave the store, when I asked and received no reply "why aren't you checking their bags?". After this, two more customers were leaving the store when I repeated the question, he replied "if you don't like it, you can complain" and pointed to the customer service desk. I replied "I'm not stupid, I'm reporting it to the head office". As I said this, an older member of staff approached the young worker, minutes later he was removed from the floor and taken out of sight. There were no apologies, nor reasons why we were targeted by this man. The only explanation I could think of at the time 'I will not dress to the conformities of a supermarket giant, just to go grocery shopping. I am like everyone else, we keep these companies in business. Without our money, they'd have nothing'. Luckily a surveillance camera was nearby, a complaint to the head office is in transit.
I once worked for Woolworths, we were always told the two main rules of common sense "when checking bags, never touch them or place your hand(s) inside of them. If something was damaged or stolen, not only will you but our company would be held responsible". And, "you cannot ask to search or check a customer's bag after they have left the store, as they're no longer in the store. We cannot prove if they have stolen any items or if they were brought from our store or another".
There is no excuse for bad manners, let alone bad attitudes from disgruntled employees. Customer's appearance or dress manner should not affect companies, but it seems they do. No one likes to be singled out for no reason, companies should advise their customers if they would like this to change 'You will be refused service if you are not dressed in business attire. Any other appearance will be classed as those of a criminal or a poor person'. It begins to makes us wonder 'how many people's live have been affected by large corporations and their staff? Is this also why we are abused and criticized?'. Whatever the result may be, I hope those people have been compensated and hope that it doesn't affect the rest of their lives. Companies need to take a big step back and take notice of what their consumers are saying, before letting their staff victimize and abuse customers. It's not the customer's fault that the staff member's knowledge base is very limited, because they don't know what they're doing - it is taken out on customers, it can also be seen in the way the store is managed or operated.
Improvements are needed in every Woolworths store throughout Australia. These are the suggestions given by the public, so far:
• Staff Training & Re-Training - customer service is changing often and a lot of staff do not know how to re-act in general situations
a) addressing the public.
b) addressing the disabled.
c) customer service enquiries.
d) public relations.
e) consumer rights.
f) breach of consumer's rights and privacy.
• The Store:
a) cleaned to health and safety regulations.
b) packing/stocking goods - instead of leaving them sitting in the aisles, pack them into their proper shelves. This will reduce the injuries on staff and the public.
If you or someone you know, has had an unsatisfying experience with a well-known supermarket chain, please share your story here....
Authors/Contributors of This Article: The Hunter and Missxstatic
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