Woolworths deli counter rant sparks heated debate—whose side are you on?
- Replies 21
In this fast-paced world, convenience reigns supreme, and nowhere is this more evident than in the aisles of supermarkets.
As the demand for convenience continues to shape the retail landscape, supermarkets find themselves navigating a delicate balance between meeting the needs of their customers and maintaining a competitive edge in the ever-evolving market.
However, a controversial decision by Woolworths from a couple of years ago reignited a debate among shoppers after a disgruntled customer’s social media post.
The decision by Woolworths to close its deli counters earlier than the store's closing hours began in 2022.
The customer's post criticised the supermarket giant's decision to close its deli, meat, and seafood departments at either 7 pm or 8 pm, regardless of the store's trading times.
The customer described the decision as frustrating and questioned the logic behind it.
'Whose s***id idea was it to close service delis before the shop closes?' the shopper asked.
'I can’t be alone in saying how frustrating it is to call in after work to get a few things, including sliced meats, to find the entire deli department is closed.'
The customer suggested a more customer-friendly solution could be to have a button or bell to push where another team member can come [and] serve.
The post quickly gained traction, with many social media users chiming in with their own opinions, sparking a heated debate.
While some agreed with the shopper's complaint, others defended Woolworths.
‘They won’t put the staff on, so they need time to pack up and clock off with the little staff they have. And you need to be deli trained to work there; not everyone is,’ one said.
‘They have to clean the slicers/machinery. Not all businesses operate like that. Our local closes the deli one hour prior to store closure so that the staff can leave on time,’ another replied.
‘I don’t have a problem with it because I understand they have families, too, that they want to get home to.’
The debate took a personal turn when the original poster fired back.
‘That has nothing to do with it! So you’re saying that the checkout staff, fruit and veg people and everyone else that works till 9 pm when the shop closes to the public don’t need to go home to their families?’
‘The equipment is cleaned while the deli is open, always has been. Back in the day before Sunday trading, it used to get a full clean [on] Saturdays after close, but now they clean everything while trading,’ the shopper explained.
‘My complaint is [that] the whole thing was closed.’
However, this viewpoint was met with resistance, with social media users arguing that cleaning the deli and equipment takes hours, hence the need for early closure.
The customer remained adamant, arguing that there was no excuse for closing a section of the shop early.
When Woolworths decided on this move in 2022, a spokesperson stated that the changes were made after careful consideration of customer shopping behaviour.
‘Customers can still purchase similar products, such as chicken breast fillets and salmon, within our packed Fresh Convenience range located in-store.’
'We’ve also moved to standardise our overall operating hours so we can offer a consistent customer experience across our store network,' the spokesperson added.
‘Select stores across the country will open one hour later or close one hour earlier to align with other stores and better match customer shopping patterns.’ You can read more on this story here.
This is not the first time that Woolworths has been in hot waters due to a controversial decision on its deli counters.
Just last year, a customer also complained about Woolworths replacing its service counter with a ‘Deli Express’ section in some of their Queensland stores where popular meat and smallgoods products were sold in pre-packaged plastic packs instead of by specific weight. You can read more about it here.
Where do you stand in this debate? Do you think Woolworths should keep their deli counters open until store closing time, or do you understand the need for early closure? Let us know in the comments below.
As the demand for convenience continues to shape the retail landscape, supermarkets find themselves navigating a delicate balance between meeting the needs of their customers and maintaining a competitive edge in the ever-evolving market.
However, a controversial decision by Woolworths from a couple of years ago reignited a debate among shoppers after a disgruntled customer’s social media post.
The decision by Woolworths to close its deli counters earlier than the store's closing hours began in 2022.
The customer's post criticised the supermarket giant's decision to close its deli, meat, and seafood departments at either 7 pm or 8 pm, regardless of the store's trading times.
The customer described the decision as frustrating and questioned the logic behind it.
In 2022, Woolworths decided to close its deli, meat, and seafood sections earlier than the store’s closing hours. Credits: Shutterstock
'Whose s***id idea was it to close service delis before the shop closes?' the shopper asked.
'I can’t be alone in saying how frustrating it is to call in after work to get a few things, including sliced meats, to find the entire deli department is closed.'
The customer suggested a more customer-friendly solution could be to have a button or bell to push where another team member can come [and] serve.
The post quickly gained traction, with many social media users chiming in with their own opinions, sparking a heated debate.
While some agreed with the shopper's complaint, others defended Woolworths.
‘They won’t put the staff on, so they need time to pack up and clock off with the little staff they have. And you need to be deli trained to work there; not everyone is,’ one said.
‘They have to clean the slicers/machinery. Not all businesses operate like that. Our local closes the deli one hour prior to store closure so that the staff can leave on time,’ another replied.
‘I don’t have a problem with it because I understand they have families, too, that they want to get home to.’
The debate took a personal turn when the original poster fired back.
‘That has nothing to do with it! So you’re saying that the checkout staff, fruit and veg people and everyone else that works till 9 pm when the shop closes to the public don’t need to go home to their families?’
‘The equipment is cleaned while the deli is open, always has been. Back in the day before Sunday trading, it used to get a full clean [on] Saturdays after close, but now they clean everything while trading,’ the shopper explained.
‘My complaint is [that] the whole thing was closed.’
However, this viewpoint was met with resistance, with social media users arguing that cleaning the deli and equipment takes hours, hence the need for early closure.
The customer remained adamant, arguing that there was no excuse for closing a section of the shop early.
When Woolworths decided on this move in 2022, a spokesperson stated that the changes were made after careful consideration of customer shopping behaviour.
‘Customers can still purchase similar products, such as chicken breast fillets and salmon, within our packed Fresh Convenience range located in-store.’
'We’ve also moved to standardise our overall operating hours so we can offer a consistent customer experience across our store network,' the spokesperson added.
‘Select stores across the country will open one hour later or close one hour earlier to align with other stores and better match customer shopping patterns.’ You can read more on this story here.
This is not the first time that Woolworths has been in hot waters due to a controversial decision on its deli counters.
Just last year, a customer also complained about Woolworths replacing its service counter with a ‘Deli Express’ section in some of their Queensland stores where popular meat and smallgoods products were sold in pre-packaged plastic packs instead of by specific weight. You can read more about it here.
Where do you stand in this debate? Do you think Woolworths should keep their deli counters open until store closing time, or do you understand the need for early closure? Let us know in the comments below.
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