Tweet
Hi
Am hoping someone can advise whether anything can be done. I and some friends are regular Asda shoppers. We do our main grocery shopping there and spend quite a lot but we also look for final markdowns a few evenings every week. Tonight 4 of us were banned in the most shocking and humiliating way. Two of my friends bought grapes that were marked down. The man doing the markdowns did it at the end of the aisle and shoppers took them from the shelf afterwards. On the way out my two friends were stopped. Security looked through their bags and found nothing wrong, so then honed in on the grapes saying they should not have them. One of them came to me and another friend who was putting things through the auto checkout trying to show the manager that my friend also had the same grapes at the same price but the manager and security man refused to look at them. Shortly afterwards I learned they had been banned. Sounds unbelievable and it is. They got marked down grapes for the same price as others, did not have them in their trolley or ask to have them marked down, but simply took them off the shelf when the markdown was done, as did others.
I saw and heard some of this but did not know all the details until I left the store where they were waiting for me. My other friend and I paid for our groceries and went to walk out of the store when the security guy asked us to step aside to where the manager was standing. We were accused of theft and informed we were banned. We were totally shocked. Their reasoning was, my friend and I had both put a pie in our trolleys which was reduced. We later saw an Asda staff member doing final markdowns so took the pies to her and she did the final markdown. The security guy said if we had not had the pies in our trolleys someone else may have bought them at the first reduction price. He then added that since there was a CHANCE someone else might have bought them at a higher price it was theft. I questioned the logic, saying if there was only a chance someone else may have paid more, there was a chance they would not have and no certaintly about theft, which is what they accused my friend and I of doing. I took things very calmly despite being shocked but knew there was no reasoning with them. I got a refund on the pies as I would have choked on them after what happened. I told the manager that I realised there was no point arguing about his decision but said I just wanted to point out that I had picked up reduced pies fully intending to buy them at that price but that when I saw someone was doing final markdowns and saw people handing her things, I did the same. The manager said I could return to the store in 6 months and apply to be allowed back in. I told him I would prefer to give my money to another supermarket.
This particular store gets some rough and pushy people grabbing the bargains. I see many of them doing things they shouldn't. This particular evening there was a mob around the chilled counter so I did not even attempt to try and get anything and yet these same pushy people who often caused trouble and injuries to other shoppers and had tons of stuff in their trolleys which they took to the final markdowns woman, walked out of the store without a problem. It seems like Asda picked on the most polite shoppers to ban. I have never stolen anything in my life. My friends and I are all polite and educated people. I do understand that if people take stuff around in trolleys and then get them marked down it prevents others from paying full price, but how often do people pay full price a couple of hours before store closure on sell by dates! Nonetheless I take on board them premise. However, the pies my friend and I had were already marked down. I believe that since they said there was only a chance someone else could have purchased the pies and no certainty, a warning would have been a more suitable option but not an immediate ban and being accused of theft.. My friends and I did not steal anything and our actions were hardly criminal.
Is there any action we can take on this? I am just devasted by this and the fact this store is in walking distance of my home makes this ban very inconvenient. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks, fluffy
Am hoping someone can advise whether anything can be done. I and some friends are regular Asda shoppers. We do our main grocery shopping there and spend quite a lot but we also look for final markdowns a few evenings every week. Tonight 4 of us were banned in the most shocking and humiliating way. Two of my friends bought grapes that were marked down. The man doing the markdowns did it at the end of the aisle and shoppers took them from the shelf afterwards. On the way out my two friends were stopped. Security looked through their bags and found nothing wrong, so then honed in on the grapes saying they should not have them. One of them came to me and another friend who was putting things through the auto checkout trying to show the manager that my friend also had the same grapes at the same price but the manager and security man refused to look at them. Shortly afterwards I learned they had been banned. Sounds unbelievable and it is. They got marked down grapes for the same price as others, did not have them in their trolley or ask to have them marked down, but simply took them off the shelf when the markdown was done, as did others.
I saw and heard some of this but did not know all the details until I left the store where they were waiting for me. My other friend and I paid for our groceries and went to walk out of the store when the security guy asked us to step aside to where the manager was standing. We were accused of theft and informed we were banned. We were totally shocked. Their reasoning was, my friend and I had both put a pie in our trolleys which was reduced. We later saw an Asda staff member doing final markdowns so took the pies to her and she did the final markdown. The security guy said if we had not had the pies in our trolleys someone else may have bought them at the first reduction price. He then added that since there was a CHANCE someone else might have bought them at a higher price it was theft. I questioned the logic, saying if there was only a chance someone else may have paid more, there was a chance they would not have and no certaintly about theft, which is what they accused my friend and I of doing. I took things very calmly despite being shocked but knew there was no reasoning with them. I got a refund on the pies as I would have choked on them after what happened. I told the manager that I realised there was no point arguing about his decision but said I just wanted to point out that I had picked up reduced pies fully intending to buy them at that price but that when I saw someone was doing final markdowns and saw people handing her things, I did the same. The manager said I could return to the store in 6 months and apply to be allowed back in. I told him I would prefer to give my money to another supermarket.
This particular store gets some rough and pushy people grabbing the bargains. I see many of them doing things they shouldn't. This particular evening there was a mob around the chilled counter so I did not even attempt to try and get anything and yet these same pushy people who often caused trouble and injuries to other shoppers and had tons of stuff in their trolleys which they took to the final markdowns woman, walked out of the store without a problem. It seems like Asda picked on the most polite shoppers to ban. I have never stolen anything in my life. My friends and I are all polite and educated people. I do understand that if people take stuff around in trolleys and then get them marked down it prevents others from paying full price, but how often do people pay full price a couple of hours before store closure on sell by dates! Nonetheless I take on board them premise. However, the pies my friend and I had were already marked down. I believe that since they said there was only a chance someone else could have purchased the pies and no certainty, a warning would have been a more suitable option but not an immediate ban and being accused of theft.. My friends and I did not steal anything and our actions were hardly criminal.
Is there any action we can take on this? I am just devasted by this and the fact this store is in walking distance of my home makes this ban very inconvenient. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks, fluffy
Comment