Woolworths shopper left 'highly embarrassed' by major store change
A Woolworths regular has vowed never to shop at the supermarket again after she was left “highly embarrassed” at one of the company’s new cashless stores.
Disgruntled shopper Claire, from Melbourne, told Yahoo News Australia she nipped into the Caulfied North store this week to buy two dozen eggs only to be turned away for not having her credit card with her.
She said she had previously been a loyal customer, visiting on average three times a week and she was shocked to find they could not make any exceptions for her situation.
Claire said she had lost her bank card and was awaiting her new one in the post but didn’t think this one-off would be an issue.
“I thought how mean that was and left the store upset,” she said.
“I cannot get over knocking me back for the eggs having every week gone into their store and spent approximately $100.”
A Woolworths spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia the store had been chosen to go cashless due to receiving “very few cash transactions”.
“We understand cash remains an important payment option for many of our customers and it continues to be offered in all Woolworths Supermarkets and the majority of our Metro stores.”
Asked whether there was potential for cash to be accepted in cashless stores at the discretion of management, the spokesperson said the supermarket was “closely monitoring the feedback from our customers during this trial”.
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Woolworths’ new trial of cashless stores across several major cities has proved divisive with shoppers, with many saying it unfairly discriminated against those who use cash.
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The Caulfield North store was one of three stores to go cashless on October 12, adding to six Melbourne and Sydney CBD stores already cashless.
A Woolworths spokesperson previously reassured customers that 99 per cent of their stores still accept cash.
The introduction of cashless stores has been to “make shopping as seamless as possible for busy inner-city customers”.
“We want Woolworths Metro to be the easiest place to pick up your next meal, top up your grocery shop or buy your next coffee,” the spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia.
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