Coles shopper mortified by worker's self-checkout accusation: 'Out of control'
Jade Zane is outraged a Coles staffer came right out and accused her of stealing a capsicum while using a self-checkout this week.
A Coles customer is furious after a self-checkout supervisor accused her of stealing from her local store.
Jade Zane, from Sydney, took to social media to explain she had intended to grab "one or two things" from the supermarket and didn't think she needed a basket, but had her arms full when arriving at the self-checkouts, where she headed as no service checkouts were available.
With only a few items left to scan, she placed a capsicum on the in-built scale on the checkout when it suddenly "stopped working". She called the supervisor over for assistance and said video footage flashed up on the machine of what she did, to which the Coles worker said to her: "You just tried to steal".
"I was embarrassed and shocked to be honest," Zane told Yahoo News. "He [the worker] kept saying it when I was trying to explain," Zane told Yahoo News. "Excuse me, I did not try to steal, you motherf***er'. And he goes, 'Yes, you did look'."
Coles worker backtracks after initial accusation
After Zane pleaded her case, she says the worker realised he had made an error and apologised. "When I got annoyed... he realised he was wrong," she said. "Like who the f**k are you to accuse someone of stealing if you haven't seen it first."
She questioned why more worker-manned checkouts weren't being operated if the supermarket "doesn't want people to steal".
"Firstly people make mistakes but if the stealing is that bad open cash registers. I'm assuming people who steal won't be scanning their items in the first place," Zane said.
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Coles shoppers 'sick of being accused' of stealing
After sharing her frustration online, others Aussies shared they had experienced something similar with Coles self-checkouts, with the machines flagging personal belongings as items.
"Coles camera always picks up my handbag as a roast chook," one said, with a parent adding they've had their toddler flagged as a suspected stolen item before.
"We are sick of being stalked and accused while doing your unpaid work of grocery scanner. Open the checkouts if you don't trust us," another shopper said.
A third added that supermarkets are "out of control".
Coles say incident 'not reflective' of usual staff behaviour
After speaking to Zane, Yahoo News reached out to Coles. The supermarket chain said it was "sorry" to hear of her recent experience.
"This is certainly not reflective of how our team usually interact with customers," a Coles spokesperson said. "We encourage our customers to share this type of feedback with us directly, so we can investigate and improve the in-store experience for our customers."
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