Peculiar Woolworths sign raises eyebrows: 'Doesn't look right'
Shoppers have spotted a peculiar sign at a Woolworths store which has caused a stir on social media.
A Queensland shopper posted a photo of the find in the satirical Facebook group called "A group where we all work at the same Woolworths", which is not affiliated with the grocery store giant, earlier this week.
“Something doesn’t look right here,” the shopper wrote.
The photo shows a Woolworths-branded paper sign which is hanging amid an almost fully stocked knife section.
“We’ve temporarily removed knives and scissors from sale, we apologise for any inconvenience,” the surprising sign says.
Group members were quick to spot that many of the Woolworths Mint brand knives, at a lesser price point, are still displayed for sale.
“Only the sharp ones were removed,” joked one group member.
“Was Blind Freddy in charge of removing the knives?” asked another.
“I saw this sign last week - scissors still on the shelf,” wrote a third.
Other group members are not convinced the sign was hung in error, with many confirming that their local Woolworths also features the sign amid partially removed knife products.
“People can use the big ones as weapons,” commented one Facebook user.
“Someone was stabbed,” wrote another.
Yahoo News Australia understands that many knives were removed from sale on October 20 due to safety concerns.
Woolworths ‘reviewing safety controls’
A Woolworths spokesperson has confirmed that there is a more sinister reason behind the knife removal sign spotted in their supermarkets.
“Following a distressing incident at one of our Victorian stores last month, we took the precautionary step of temporarily withdrawing knives and scissors from sale nationwide,” the spokesperson said.
“We also conducted a risk assessment on our store safety controls and made the decision to remove a number of knives from sale.
“Customers will have noticed a number of knives in high-grade, clamshell packaging have returned to our shelves in recent weeks.
“The safety of our team and customers is our top priority, so we’ll continue to closely review our safety controls on this range of products.”
Existing knife protocols in Woolworths stores, according to their delivery terms and conditions, state that persons that appear under the age of 25 will be ID checked when purchasing the items.
“If you are under 18 years of age, you may not use the App to place an order for sharp objects such as knives, blades, saws or any related sharp objects,” the website says.
“It is our policy to check ID upon delivery of anyone who appears under 25.”
Knives removed from sale following in-store attack
The removal of knives from shelves was sparked by an incident in a Woolworths store in Brunswick, Victoria when a man inflicted injuries to himself and two others.
Ambulance Victoria said that one man suffered an upper-body injury, another man believed to be aged in his 50s had upper and lower-body injuries and the third man had lower-body injuries.
A man was arrested at the scene and was taken to hospital with self-inflicted wounds. All were reported to be in a stable condition.
None of the injured persons were Woolworths team members.
Woolworths Supermarkets Victorian General Manager Sarah Gooding commended the team’s response to the attack in a previous statement to Yahoo News Australia.
"The team reacted calmly to the incident in line with our established safety procedures, and we thank them for doing so in trying circumstances,” she said.
The store remained closed for a forensic clean following the incident.
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