Lavender supermarket employees allegedly scold woman with mobility issues, claim she was rude
Employees from supermarket chain Ace Marketplace have been accused of scolding and chasing out a customer with mobility issues.
In a Facebook post published on Feb 9, user Salwah Baharudin claimed that her mother was mistreated by staff members after the elderly woman asked for assistance to retrieve a packet of sugar.
According to the post, the incident occurred at about 7.30am on Feb 9 at Ace Marketplace's outlet at Block 456 North Bridge Road.
Ms Salwah explained that due to the store's narrow aisles, 65-year-old Madam Jaharah would park her Personal Mobility Device (PMD) outside and walk a short distance into the shop. However, she was unable to do so on the day of the incident as one of her legs was swollen.
When she asked a staff member to retrieve a pack of sugar, the employee allegedly responded: "You can walk. I know you can walk. Take it yourself."
Madam Jaharah was "taken aback" by the comment, Ms Salwah told Stomp. She added that her mother was the only customer in the store at that time.
"A supervisor came and said she cannot force people to help and spoke harshly to her. She was chased out while trying to explain her condition," Ms Salwah said on her post.
Ms Salwah also claimed that the supervisor told Madam Jaharah to get out and not patronise the supermarket anymore.
Angry and embarrassed, Madam Jaharah called the police.
Store supervisor shares different account of incident
Stomp visited the outlet on the afternoon of Feb 11 and observed that the store's aisles were less than a metre wide, with boxes and products lining the sides.
The only sugar product was placed on a high shelf, which was about two metres tall.
Speaking to Stomp, the supervisor present during the incident refuted Ms Salwah's version of events.
The supervisor, who asked to remain anonymous, said Madam Jaharah had arrived at 8.30am during the store's peak hour, and not 7.30am as mentioned in the Facebook post.
At that time, two staff members were in the supermarket's outdoor area unloading goods while a cashier tended to a line of customers. The cashier was originally scheduled to get off work at 7am, but ended up working overtime.
The supervisor told Stomp that Madam Jaharah had parked her PMD nearby and shouted "Hello" repeatedly while waving her arm and gesticulating. As the staff were busy, they did not come to her assistance immediately.
The cashier eventually lost her temper and raised her voice at Madam Jaharah, saying she knew the older lady could walk — the staff had previously seen her walk into nearby stores.
The supervisor added that staff members have helped her in the past and recognised Madam Jaharah. However, he said she was impatient and rude on that day, which caused the cashier to snap.
He also denied Ms Salwah's claims that he had told Madam Jaharah to get out.
Advised not to patronise shop anymore
Ms Salwah told Stomp that she had advised her mother to stop visiting the supermarket after the incident.
She added that even though her family usually orders groceries online, her mother had decided to head down to purchase a packet of sugar.
Ms Salwah claims she has reached out to the supermarket chain via email and its social media platforms, but has not received any response.
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