Woolworths - Woodlands - Pretoria

I was disappointed by the poor service and appalling attitude received from a cashier, Lebogang Khumalo, at Woolworths Woodlands on 21/12/2020 at 10h39.

Woolworths Holdings Limited claims they are committed to promoting diversity in all forms through building a culture of inclusion that embraces the differences that exist across their organisation and community, yet they are fast to discriminate against us disabled individuals! Woolworths is keen to employ and uplift disabled individuals, yet in the same breath they treat their disabled customers as insignificant individuals! Why does Woolworths Woodlands not have a dedicated till lane for disabled individuals in wheelchairs? I am disabled with no use of my left arm and hand and my wife is in a wheelchair and we were rudely reprimanded by the Woolworths cashier for using the express till lane, with its straight and wide lanes, because we had 22 items, more than the permitted 10 items.

I asked to speak Danny, the manager and he agreed the express lane was not there for the use by disabled individuals and that if he knew he would have escorted us to the front of the que. Ironically he pasted me and my wife no less than 3 times in the 15 minutes were in his store, and I even greeted him, so how could he not know both of use with clearly visible disabilities would not need assistance? In all other Woolworths stores, Parkview, Menlyn or Brooklyn, I have never been reprimanded for using the express till lane as a clearly disabled individual. I find it disturbing that other retailers like Pick n Pay, Checkers and Spar have dedicated lanes for disabled individuals yet the management of Woolworths Woodlands is adamant their express lane is not for disabled customers! This tells a clear story of how much Woolworths Holdings Limited values their disabled customers!

This attitude from a cashier, and response from a sore manager is not what I ever would have expected from Woolwoths!