I was trying to think back and I think the grapes at my local Aldi are sealed.When I shopped at Aldi (before I moved to Tasmania - we don't have Aldis here) the grapes were in sealed bags which I thought was a good idea to keep the thieving, dirty hands out of them.
I haven't seen grapes in sealed bags. Are they all the same weight? I don't usually buy prepacked produce because the packs are far too big for one person, so I hope this idea doesn't catch on.I was trying to think back and I think the grapes at my local Aldi are sealed.
I take it you have perfect eyesight? Not everyone does. Green grapes, and especially their juice, are hard to spot against a neutral colour like a supermarket floor.
shame she didn't watch where she was going, had her nose in a mobile maybeAussie mum slams Aldi after slipping over littered grapes, resulting in SERIOUS injuries – “This is NOT okay.”
An every day, run of the mill grocery run turned into a complete nightmare as one mum sustained painful injuries after slipping over several scattered grapes on the floor.
The mum-of-two, Jenny, explained that she dropped by her local Aldi store to do her grocery run on the evening of April 27 when the unexpected event occurred.
As she walked toward the produce section to grab a basket, she accidentally slipped on several pieces of grapes which had fallen on the floor – leading to a painful sprained ankle, a lower back injury, swelling, and bruising.
“I had gone into the store to buy some groceries. After a while I realised that I needed a basket - because you always wind up buying more than you think,” she explained.
“And as I was walking towards the stack of baskets, I just slipped and fell really hard. I was in shock – it happened in a split second.”
Image Credit: news.com.au
The shopper said that she had only realised that she slipped on the grapes - which were located just next to the stack of baskets until a couple of onlookers came over to assist her.
“My daughter came to my rescue. Another customer saw me and tried to catch me,” she said.
“And they said ‘You’ve fallen on some grapes.’ When I looked, there were grapes on the side and under my boots. You could see them, shredded on the floor. I don’t know how many grapes were on the floor but there were obviously multiple.”
Jenny mentioned that the shift manager admitted later on that this isn’t the first time they’ve heard about the issue, explaining to her that the grapes spilling over was a common occurrence.
“The shift manager actually admitted to me that it was really hard for them to control the issue because plenty of customers come in, open the bags, and the grapes fall onto the floor.”
“She said that the customers take some of the grapes out because they don’t want the full measured bag and put a reduced amount into another bag resulting in some pieces falling out.”
“But she said it’s always happening. So they are aware of it. This is her saying, ‘Yeah we have a problem and we know about it.’”
After the accident, the customer was rushed to the hospital by an ambulance and stayed under the care of medical professionals for the rest of the night as her injuries were assessed.
Ever since the incident, she has been unable to work and is still struggling to walk and sit comfortably. And on top of that, she had to undergo a series of costly MRI scans.
Although the mum understands that these sorts of things do happen, she divulged that she had been terribly upset and frustrated by the slow and limited response from the supermarket giant despite numerous attempts to make contact with them.
“The shift manager said to me on the night I fell that the area manager would call me the next day, but I heard nothing,” she said. “I tried so many ways to contact the store and ALDI, but it’s impossible to call them or email them.
“At the end of the day, I was really upset… I expected a phone call, just to say that they are looking into it, are you OK?”
“I totally understand businesses and if they worded it precisely, didn’t take ownership of it, and had to be quite legal about it – I would understand that.”
“But failing to communicate with me just as a way to touch base was upsetting.”
When Jenny did eventually make contact through ALDI’s website, she revealed that the process was complicated, only discovering the link through an external site called ‘JustAnswers.com’ which had a live chat function.
She even claimed that they allegedly charged her $2 (which would be refunded later on) while she was filing a complaint about the incident.
Screenshot of the $2 charge. Image Credit: news.com.au
“After I said what the problem was, they said they were sending me through to a secure web page to pay $2 (fully refundable) before going any further,” she said. “It could be a con, but I have the screenshot. I just ended the chat.”
“I really did just walk in to spend money in ALDI to buy groceries and feed my kids for the night, and the next minute I’m on my backside,” she continued. “I spent two hours on the cold floor and didn’t leave the hospital until the next day.”
“The shift manager and several customers told me that grapes were always falling on the floor, that they knew about the problem.”
“I’m not an opportunist, I’m quite a passive person - but I just think this is not okay.”
Jenny went on to express her concern about the treatment she had received from ALDI workers following her fall.
“I was mainly assisted by customers,” she said.
“My concern is that the shift manager, as lovely as she was, didn’t seem to have the training to deal with instances like mine. It was an hour before she asked my name, and then she wrote it down on a scrap piece of paper.”
“She left me on the floor for over an hour – even though the paramedic, over the phone, had asked for me to be taken off the cold floor. She said, ‘I don’t want to move her and we’re responsible for her.’”
“Then a second paramedic, because the ambulance was going to be a long time, said they wanted me off the floor. They said from the sound of it, I could catch a taxi as the ambulance is so far away.”
“And the manager said ‘Well, we’re responsible for her and we would like for her to go in an ambulance’. She just didn’t seem to have any idea, that concerned me.”
Jenny said the manager left “for quite a while” to review the CCTV footage and see if the cameras caught the fall.
“But the cameras were faced towards the checkout and the alcohol section,” she continued.
“Where I fell, the cameras were pointing the other way so there was no footage of me falling. I do have a fantastic witness though.”
Jenny added that numerous ALDI regulars and the shift manager told her that grapes on the floor was a “known issue” at the store in question.
“People kept on coming in and saying ‘What happened?’ And after I said I had fallen on some grapes, so many people said to me ‘Oh there are always grapes on this floor,’” she said.
“They need to look after their customers. If grapes falling on the floor is an ongoing issue, it needs to be brought to their attention so they can address it. It’s pretty simple. And we’re human beings who need to be treated respectfully.”
Nine days after the incident, Jenny was finally contacted by an area manager.
“It was only a five-minute phone call, he was pretty dismissive,” she shared. “He didn’t ask me how I was, didn’t ask me about my injuries.
“He just said, ‘I understand you had a fall, just send us all your out-of-pocket expenses’. I told him that I was a bit upset that no one had contacted me and was this the first time he’d heard of it? And he said, ‘No, I knew straight after the incident.’”
“And when I asked why he had taken so long, he just said: ‘I just received instruction to call.’”
The injuries sustained from the fall. Image Credit: news.com.au
Jenny added that she had since forwarded the details of the expenses she had incurred so far but is worried that they won’t be addressed in time.
“I’m a single mum, I’m on a low income. I live week-to-week and any big bill out-of-pocket for me is hard. It’s hard,” she said. “Yesterday, I sent through copies of my out of pocket expenses including medication, physiotherapy, and a taxi ride home from the hospital.”
“And then in another email, I’ve said that the doctor has given me paperwork to get MRI exams which will cost $640. Before I pay for them, I want to have a commitment from ALDI that they will be reimbursing these costs.”
“I was asked for that yesterday. It’s fair and reasonable that I haven’t heard back yet. But this is a pressing injury and I need a diagnosis.”
The single mum-of-two confirmed that she is currently in contact with an independent claims investigator who is looking into her case in hopes of a positive outcome. Looking back, Jenny revealed that the fall has affected her drastically.
“I’ve been a mess since it happened,” she said.
“I love my job and I love the kids that I work with. A lot of the kids I work with have ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) or have been through trauma and have a lot of trust issues. So, me suddenly disappearing for two weeks on sick leave is hard for them.”
“There’s a whole other world that this has affected. I don’t think I’ve been treated very nicely. I don’t think I’ve been treated in a compassionate way. I know it’s a corporation we are talking about, but I still expect to be treated like a human.”
What are your thoughts on how Aldi handled this situation? Share them with us in the comments!
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