Furious customer unleashes on Harvey Norman staff with knife demanding $15,000 refund
Terrified shoppers were forced to flee after a knife wielding customer threatened Harvey Norman staff as she demanded a refund for unfinished carpet laying.
Shocking footage shows the disgruntled customer unleash on staff with a knife, as the store manager defends himself with a chair while the woman demands a $15,000 refund.
“No I paid for this, fifteen grand I’m not going to f***ing get back. I paid for this!” the woman was heard in the threatening encounter.
The dispute was then taken further as the woman, wearing a Jurassic Park fan t-shirt, pulled a knife.
She then was seen moving about the store, threatening staff.
“How much is that worth?” How much is it worth! How much!!!!” she demanded.
The shocked staff members watched on in horror as manager Matt Cooper tried to calm her down.
“Put the knife down,” he said.
“No!” she responded.
“Put it down please,” he could be heard asking repeatedly.
“Get me my money back!” she demanded.
Mr Cooper told 7 News he was shocked by what unfolded.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” he said.
Mr Cooper said he spent about ten minutes trying to calm the woman, as he ushered customers to safety through a security door.
He also tried to protect a young colleague who had barricaded himself in a staff room.
“My main concern obviously was to make sure the customers had cleared the area, there were some people in here with children, and that the staff member in the office was safe,” he said.
As the violence unfolded, another staff member Aaron watched it all unfold on camera.
“If the franchisee had dropped the chair, she would have gone very willing to do damage,” he told 7 News.
It’s believed the woman was angry about unfinished carpet laying in her home.
The work was put on hold after the workman’s tools had reportedly been stolen on the job.
“She asked me how to open the til, she helped herself behind the counter, opened the til demanding $15k in cash,” Mr Cooper said.
“We don’t keep that money sitting around in the til.”
Harvey Norman boss Gerry Harvey was shown the photos of the customer outburst and he couldn’t believe what he had seen.
“You can’t come to people with weapons,” he said.
“That’s not the way to solve the problem.”
Mr Harvey praised his staff, who have since been offered counseling.
“They handled it in a good, professional way…I’m proud of them doing it the way they did,” he told 7 News.
Witnesses told 7 News the ordeal was ‘crazy’.
Police arrested the woman, 48, after she received treatment.
She has been released without charge, much to the upset of Harvey Norman staff.
Russell Zimmerman of the Australian Retailers Association told 7 News that while the customer was usually right, in this case the staff were the ones who needed protection.
“It’s a horror to think somebody would come into a retail story, be so upset that they feel they need to use a knife,” Mr Zimmerman said.
NSW Police told 7 news they were still investigating the incident and expect to lay charges.
