Since moving to the area, I had been a daily customer of this shop. On my first visit, an older male employee (called JC)- whilst ringing up my order and packing my grocery tote-noticed that it might be a bit heavy, reached over the till, grabbed my arm very hard and told me that I was fat and thick enough to handle the heavy bag.
Despite this incident, I was encouraged to return by the warm and friendly female staff at the grocery. Namely Mona and Lucia, who were always friendly and helpful in creating a safe space for me to shop.
Cut to November 15, as I was paying, I asked for a receipt, as I always did. The woman at the till threw it in the bin. I assume it was an accident, but then she couldn't find it. With the queue getting bigger and approximately 5 minutes of her searching for the receipt, I asked if there was someone available who could reprint my receipt. Enter Zaiyer. The second of two older male employees to harass and (verbally) assault me. He came up to the till, took my bag of groceries, dumped it all out and started the process of ringing my items through again. I expressed that this was not appreciated. I told him that this was extremely inconsiderate and inconvenient. He then proceeded to yell at me. I took the groceries and left, with him aggressively chasing me out of the door and quite a way down the pavement continuously yelling at me. I rounded the corner and decided to go back to the shop to return the items, with Zaiyer's behaviour being completely unacceptable to me. He snatched the bag from me and gave me a cash refund with no receipt, refusing to process the return via my original payment method (card).
I returned home, shaken and upset, and contacted the shop manager, Linda, via their Instagram account. I described the situation and the previous one and expressed hope that there might be a way forward.
Linda responded very quickly and apologized profusely. She ensured me that she was taking the matter very seriously, that this would never happen again. She offered me a variety of solutions, including telling me the employee schedule so that I may avoid the two men on future visits, meeting with me personally to find a solution, having another manager- Michela- accompany me through the shop and assist me at the till, ensuring that the female employees would keep an eye out for me and help me if needed, as well as asking me what if any solution would work best for me. She assured me in no uncertain terms that the two men, JC and Zaiyer would stay away from me, that I was happily welcome back in the shop, and that they valued my business.
Feeling bolstered by Linda's kindness and understanding, I slowly began to go back to the grocery. I would normally avoid the two men, or avoid the shop altogether if I saw either one of them before I entered. I would often ask the female employees to assist me at the till.
On December 12, I was quietly browsing the shop when suddenly from behind me came Zaiyer, he got really physically close to me very quickly and confronted me, telling me in a rude and aggressive manner that I was not welcome in the shop, that he had a witness (he kept repeating this), etc. I have video evidence of the tail end of his verbal assault. Needless to say, I was in complete shock. I left feeling violated, terrified and shaken.
I have considered with filing a formal complaint against this business because of the actions of JC and Zaiyer. The severity of their behaviour should not go unchecked.
I feel it's my responsibility to recount this publicly to make customers aware that they may be harassed or assaulted while shopping there.
I will never return to this previously beloved local shop.
I now order the items I previously regularly purchased from Amazon, and make a point to buy my food items at the many weekend markets in London. read more