Woolworths shopper calls out 'lazy' staff over neglected trolley bay, car park, and rubbish bins: "Absolutely NO urgency at all!"

After finding the car park littered, trolleys left unattended, and the plastic returns bin brimming over, an irate Woolworths customer in Queensland lambasted the staff in a scathing post on social media.

Ms McDonald vented her frustrations online by posting a complaint directly to the Woolworths Facebook page. The incident occurred on Saturday night at the Woolworths location in Warner, which is in the Moreton Bay region of Queensland.



As the nation struggles to overcome a particularly severe flu season, the enraged shopper began her rant by admitting that she was aware that "many people are away with sickness," hence the staff shortage.

However, she went on to say that the store in the MarketPlace shopping centre was "relatively quiet," except for the store staffers who were simply standing around, talking and laughing even though there were trolleys "absolutely everywhere" in the car park and "rubbish and squished-up boxes" near the service desk.

JJBzirhG4_pb9GB_kxGArqZNhdOG9ny__TTBc2TvEadCPPGh6oRhT89LRSC-wuREBFz0s32vCnaGyFul7SkD0rB40xEVYwpP8-dvEfWjlsh4WR7Zf3hazICyMmWkzcfgTVeVrenQ_MQNwoJ-DKkDhtQ

A Woolworths customer criticises the store's "lazy" employees for not taking care of the trolley bay and parking lot. Credit: Facebook.

"Not a single trolley in the trolley bay with rubbish everywhere in the bay," Ms McDonald wrote in her Facebook post.

"Making the customers walk back out and get a trolley from the car park sort of doesn't live up to your 'superior customer service' Woolworths prides themselves on…"

She approached the staff after observing the rather "unhygienic" state in which the store was in and requested that they tidy up the area a bit because many customers were coming in and going by.

But she was taken aback when all they said in response was "Okay," and then they continued with their previous conversation. "There is absolutely NO sense of urgency at all!" exclaimed the deeply concerned mum.



After finishing her shopping about 30 minutes later, Ms McDonald noticed the trolley bay was still empty and the plastic return bin was stuffed full of bundles of bags on the floor, which she feared would be a "trip hazard" for other shoppers.

Because of this, she decided to take care of cleaning the bags herself, moving them as close as she could get to the rubbish bin so that no one would trip over them and hurt themselves.

And throughout it all, the employees of the store didn't even bother to move from where they were standing. "When I looked at your service desk, the staff was once again talking and not doing much," she said.

4uY-HYb-zhzIQ7jqz6N_fav8wUe2cqjgLx1AycIJHJdksk0XuKVnO4uePQr1X0VZwlhKbZwCN-sYBkL1y5mQ_7-BfsEJfKYHi4AD_Ar6X4Tt8GkB6su_N6yl9qgta4QdG9534jWNLwZDE1ARavEk73E

Ms McDonald had to clean up the rubbish herself so that no one would trip over them. Credit: Facebook.

"I know no one really wants to work on a Saturday but this is literally taking 'not working' to the next level," the Woolies shopper went on to say. "I understand that trolleys are a privilege rather than a right, but their accessibility makes the difference between spending $10 and $100."

She concluded her post by saying, "Hopefully, Woolworths Warner QLD will take this constructive criticism and find a way to avoid similar situations in the future."

Several fellow Woolies shoppers in the area commended Ms McDonald for speaking out.

One man agreed with her and even took the time to comment on her post, saying: "Hey, well said, and the store manager should be aware of how lazy some of his staff members are so that they pick up their games; otherwise, give a job to those who truly want to work."



In a swift online response, Woolworths expressed gratitude to Ms McDonald for raising her valid concerns and getting in touch with the company.

"We're sorry to hear about your experience at our Warner store; we appreciate you bringing this to our attention," a supermarket representative said, requesting more information about her visit.

Yahoo News received confirmation from a spokesperson for Woolworths that the retailer had attempted to get in touch with the customer. "The customer's feedback has been shared directly with the store operations team, who have since followed up with the store," according to the spokesperson.

Hopefully, the messy situation has been resolved by now…

What are your thoughts, folks? Was it reasonable for Ms McDonald to call out the supermarket location and the employees working there on social media?

And if you had been in her place, what do you think you would have done? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
 
Sponsored
After finding the car park littered, trolleys left unattended, and the plastic returns bin brimming over, an irate Woolworths customer in Queensland lambasted the staff in a scathing post on social media.

Ms McDonald vented her frustrations online by posting a complaint directly to the Woolworths Facebook page. The incident occurred on Saturday night at the Woolworths location in Warner, which is in the Moreton Bay region of Queensland.



As the nation struggles to overcome a particularly severe flu season, the enraged shopper began her rant by admitting that she was aware that "many people are away with sickness," hence the staff shortage.

However, she went on to say that the store in the MarketPlace shopping centre was "relatively quiet," except for the store staffers who were simply standing around, talking and laughing even though there were trolleys "absolutely everywhere" in the car park and "rubbish and squished-up boxes" near the service desk.

JJBzirhG4_pb9GB_kxGArqZNhdOG9ny__TTBc2TvEadCPPGh6oRhT89LRSC-wuREBFz0s32vCnaGyFul7SkD0rB40xEVYwpP8-dvEfWjlsh4WR7Zf3hazICyMmWkzcfgTVeVrenQ_MQNwoJ-DKkDhtQ

A Woolworths customer criticises the store's "lazy" employees for not taking care of the trolley bay and parking lot. Credit: Facebook.

"Not a single trolley in the trolley bay with rubbish everywhere in the bay," Ms McDonald wrote in her Facebook post.

"Making the customers walk back out and get a trolley from the car park sort of doesn't live up to your 'superior customer service' Woolworths prides themselves on…"

She approached the staff after observing the rather "unhygienic" state in which the store was in and requested that they tidy up the area a bit because many customers were coming in and going by.

But she was taken aback when all they said in response was "Okay," and then they continued with their previous conversation. "There is absolutely NO sense of urgency at all!" exclaimed the deeply concerned mum.



After finishing her shopping about 30 minutes later, Ms McDonald noticed the trolley bay was still empty and the plastic return bin was stuffed full of bundles of bags on the floor, which she feared would be a "trip hazard" for other shoppers.

Because of this, she decided to take care of cleaning the bags herself, moving them as close as she could get to the rubbish bin so that no one would trip over them and hurt themselves.

And throughout it all, the employees of the store didn't even bother to move from where they were standing. "When I looked at your service desk, the staff was once again talking and not doing much," she said.

4uY-HYb-zhzIQ7jqz6N_fav8wUe2cqjgLx1AycIJHJdksk0XuKVnO4uePQr1X0VZwlhKbZwCN-sYBkL1y5mQ_7-BfsEJfKYHi4AD_Ar6X4Tt8GkB6su_N6yl9qgta4QdG9534jWNLwZDE1ARavEk73E

Ms McDonald had to clean up the rubbish herself so that no one would trip over them. Credit: Facebook.

"I know no one really wants to work on a Saturday but this is literally taking 'not working' to the next level," the Woolies shopper went on to say. "I understand that trolleys are a privilege rather than a right, but their accessibility makes the difference between spending $10 and $100."

She concluded her post by saying, "Hopefully, Woolworths Warner QLD will take this constructive criticism and find a way to avoid similar situations in the future."

Several fellow Woolies shoppers in the area commended Ms McDonald for speaking out.

One man agreed with her and even took the time to comment on her post, saying: "Hey, well said, and the store manager should be aware of how lazy some of his staff members are so that they pick up their games; otherwise, give a job to those who truly want to work."



In a swift online response, Woolworths expressed gratitude to Ms McDonald for raising her valid concerns and getting in touch with the company.

"We're sorry to hear about your experience at our Warner store; we appreciate you bringing this to our attention," a supermarket representative said, requesting more information about her visit.

Yahoo News received confirmation from a spokesperson for Woolworths that the retailer had attempted to get in touch with the customer. "The customer's feedback has been shared directly with the store operations team, who have since followed up with the store," according to the spokesperson.

Hopefully, the messy situation has been resolved by now…

What are your thoughts, folks? Was it reasonable for Ms McDonald to call out the supermarket location and the employees working there on social media?

And if you had been in her place, what do you think you would have done? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
I would have done the same thing as Ms McDonald. It really frustrates me seeing staff standing around and also what irritates me is when you are being served and the checkout person is too busy talking to another staff or person rather that paying attention to who they are serving."So RUDE" I have even picked them up about that as we are the paying customer and keeping them in a job.
 
After finding the car park littered, trolleys left unattended, and the plastic returns bin brimming over, an irate Woolworths customer in Queensland lambasted the staff in a scathing post on social media.

Ms McDonald vented her frustrations online by posting a complaint directly to the Woolworths Facebook page. The incident occurred on Saturday night at the Woolworths location in Warner, which is in the Moreton Bay region of Queensland.



As the nation struggles to overcome a particularly severe flu season, the enraged shopper began her rant by admitting that she was aware that "many people are away with sickness," hence the staff shortage.

However, she went on to say that the store in the MarketPlace shopping centre was "relatively quiet," except for the store staffers who were simply standing around, talking and laughing even though there were trolleys "absolutely everywhere" in the car park and "rubbish and squished-up boxes" near the service desk.

JJBzirhG4_pb9GB_kxGArqZNhdOG9ny__TTBc2TvEadCPPGh6oRhT89LRSC-wuREBFz0s32vCnaGyFul7SkD0rB40xEVYwpP8-dvEfWjlsh4WR7Zf3hazICyMmWkzcfgTVeVrenQ_MQNwoJ-DKkDhtQ

A Woolworths customer criticises the store's "lazy" employees for not taking care of the trolley bay and parking lot. Credit: Facebook.

"Not a single trolley in the trolley bay with rubbish everywhere in the bay," Ms McDonald wrote in her Facebook post.

"Making the customers walk back out and get a trolley from the car park sort of doesn't live up to your 'superior customer service' Woolworths prides themselves on…"

She approached the staff after observing the rather "unhygienic" state in which the store was in and requested that they tidy up the area a bit because many customers were coming in and going by.

But she was taken aback when all they said in response was "Okay," and then they continued with their previous conversation. "There is absolutely NO sense of urgency at all!" exclaimed the deeply concerned mum.



After finishing her shopping about 30 minutes later, Ms McDonald noticed the trolley bay was still empty and the plastic return bin was stuffed full of bundles of bags on the floor, which she feared would be a "trip hazard" for other shoppers.

Because of this, she decided to take care of cleaning the bags herself, moving them as close as she could get to the rubbish bin so that no one would trip over them and hurt themselves.

And throughout it all, the employees of the store didn't even bother to move from where they were standing. "When I looked at your service desk, the staff was once again talking and not doing much," she said.

4uY-HYb-zhzIQ7jqz6N_fav8wUe2cqjgLx1AycIJHJdksk0XuKVnO4uePQr1X0VZwlhKbZwCN-sYBkL1y5mQ_7-BfsEJfKYHi4AD_Ar6X4Tt8GkB6su_N6yl9qgta4QdG9534jWNLwZDE1ARavEk73E

Ms McDonald had to clean up the rubbish herself so that no one would trip over them. Credit: Facebook.

"I know no one really wants to work on a Saturday but this is literally taking 'not working' to the next level," the Woolies shopper went on to say. "I understand that trolleys are a privilege rather than a right, but their accessibility makes the difference between spending $10 and $100."

She concluded her post by saying, "Hopefully, Woolworths Warner QLD will take this constructive criticism and find a way to avoid similar situations in the future."

Several fellow Woolies shoppers in the area commended Ms McDonald for speaking out.

One man agreed with her and even took the time to comment on her post, saying: "Hey, well said, and the store manager should be aware of how lazy some of his staff members are so that they pick up their games; otherwise, give a job to those who truly want to work."



In a swift online response, Woolworths expressed gratitude to Ms McDonald for raising her valid concerns and getting in touch with the company.

"We're sorry to hear about your experience at our Warner store; we appreciate you bringing this to our attention," a supermarket representative said, requesting more information about her visit.

Yahoo News received confirmation from a spokesperson for Woolworths that the retailer had attempted to get in touch with the customer. "The customer's feedback has been shared directly with the store operations team, who have since followed up with the store," according to the spokesperson.

Hopefully, the messy situation has been resolved by now…

What are your thoughts, folks? Was it reasonable for Ms McDonald to call out the supermarket location and the employees working there on social media?

And if you had been in her place, what do you think you would have done? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rochelle
The storefront is the face of the Company. They don't always have eyes everywhere so have to rely on individual managers to keep standards up. If the manager on duty is not up to scratch they need to know, maybe more training for him/her is the key. The staff take their cues from management and if they are not performing then they have no pride in their job or workplace. Training with explanations is the key.:)
 
What I don't like about my local Woolies there is never any cleaner wipes for the trolleys, the dispensers are empty and I don't always carry wipes. It is a reasonale size store but there are always trolleys available. I know some of the packers of the shelves who have worker there for years and they are run off their feet. I am also frustrated that they have taken the quick checkout out and now you either have to line up for the check-outs or do self-service which I wont' do. I just want to get in and get out especially with Covid.
 
I would have done the same thing as Ms McDonald. It really frustrates me seeing staff standing around and also what irritates me is when you are being served and the checkout person is too busy talking to another staff or person rather that paying attention to who they are serving."So RUDE" I have even picked them up about that as we are the paying customer and keeping them in a job.
Par for the course in Tasmania!.........
 
After finding the car park littered, trolleys left unattended, and the plastic returns bin brimming over, an irate Woolworths customer in Queensland lambasted the staff in a scathing post on social media.

Ms McDonald vented her frustrations online by posting a complaint directly to the Woolworths Facebook page. The incident occurred on Saturday night at the Woolworths location in Warner, which is in the Moreton Bay region of Queensland.



As the nation struggles to overcome a particularly severe flu season, the enraged shopper began her rant by admitting that she was aware that "many people are away with sickness," hence the staff shortage.

However, she went on to say that the store in the MarketPlace shopping centre was "relatively quiet," except for the store staffers who were simply standing around, talking and laughing even though there were trolleys "absolutely everywhere" in the car park and "rubbish and squished-up boxes" near the service desk.

JJBzirhG4_pb9GB_kxGArqZNhdOG9ny__TTBc2TvEadCPPGh6oRhT89LRSC-wuREBFz0s32vCnaGyFul7SkD0rB40xEVYwpP8-dvEfWjlsh4WR7Zf3hazICyMmWkzcfgTVeVrenQ_MQNwoJ-DKkDhtQ

A Woolworths customer criticises the store's "lazy" employees for not taking care of the trolley bay and parking lot. Credit: Facebook.

"Not a single trolley in the trolley bay with rubbish everywhere in the bay," Ms McDonald wrote in her Facebook post.

"Making the customers walk back out and get a trolley from the car park sort of doesn't live up to your 'superior customer service' Woolworths prides themselves on…"

She approached the staff after observing the rather "unhygienic" state in which the store was in and requested that they tidy up the area a bit because many customers were coming in and going by.

But she was taken aback when all they said in response was "Okay," and then they continued with their previous conversation. "There is absolutely NO sense of urgency at all!" exclaimed the deeply concerned mum.



After finishing her shopping about 30 minutes later, Ms McDonald noticed the trolley bay was still empty and the plastic return bin was stuffed full of bundles of bags on the floor, which she feared would be a "trip hazard" for other shoppers.

Because of this, she decided to take care of cleaning the bags herself, moving them as close as she could get to the rubbish bin so that no one would trip over them and hurt themselves.

And throughout it all, the employees of the store didn't even bother to move from where they were standing. "When I looked at your service desk, the staff was once again talking and not doing much," she said.

4uY-HYb-zhzIQ7jqz6N_fav8wUe2cqjgLx1AycIJHJdksk0XuKVnO4uePQr1X0VZwlhKbZwCN-sYBkL1y5mQ_7-BfsEJfKYHi4AD_Ar6X4Tt8GkB6su_N6yl9qgta4QdG9534jWNLwZDE1ARavEk73E

Ms McDonald had to clean up the rubbish herself so that no one would trip over them. Credit: Facebook.

"I know no one really wants to work on a Saturday but this is literally taking 'not working' to the next level," the Woolies shopper went on to say. "I understand that trolleys are a privilege rather than a right, but their accessibility makes the difference between spending $10 and $100."

She concluded her post by saying, "Hopefully, Woolworths Warner QLD will take this constructive criticism and find a way to avoid similar situations in the future."

Several fellow Woolies shoppers in the area commended Ms McDonald for speaking out.

One man agreed with her and even took the time to comment on her post, saying: "Hey, well said, and the store manager should be aware of how lazy some of his staff members are so that they pick up their games; otherwise, give a job to those who truly want to work."



In a swift online response, Woolworths expressed gratitude to Ms McDonald for raising her valid concerns and getting in touch with the company.

"We're sorry to hear about your experience at our Warner store; we appreciate you bringing this to our attention," a supermarket representative said, requesting more information about her visit.

Yahoo News received confirmation from a spokesperson for Woolworths that the retailer had attempted to get in touch with the customer. "The customer's feedback has been shared directly with the store operations team, who have since followed up with the store," according to the spokesperson.

Hopefully, the messy situation has been resolved by now…

What are your thoughts, folks? Was it reasonable for Ms McDonald to call out the supermarket location and the employees working there on social media?

And if you had been in her place, what do you think you would have done? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
Rubbish should go in the bin for recycling or landfill. I have a bad back which quite often lets me down when I try to retrieve something off the floor. Should I collapse in trying to alleviate the problem Ms McDonald faces what would the service staff say then. "Are you all right, sir?" if you are lucky. You showed a picture of an immaculate Woolworth's store a few days ago. Maybe the Warner Mahager wants to see this.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ricci
People are so judgemental and jump to conclusions. Most shoppers don't realise that the staff aren't responsible for the trolleys. They are the responsibility of contractors. This person should have asked to speak to the manager to make her complaint.
Whilst I agree that Ms McDonald should have addressed her concerns directly to store management, I cannot agree that the trolley collection is the responsibility of the contractors engaged to collect them. Every store member has a responsibility to provide a safe and pleasant experience for customers in the store, and they are routinely called on to collect trolleys when they are in short supply. The contractors were engaged in a rationalisation of manpower by the supermarkets, but that doesn't mean that idle staff can stand around chatting when there is plenty of work for them to do!
Working in retail, I am very familiar with the pressures on retail staff, but I am also aware that many also avoid doing any real work at every opportunity.
Those few lazy individuals detract from customer satisfaction, hurting the bottom line of the store, and adding to the workload of the majority of the more responsible staffers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ricci
It's fine to call out lazy employees but it all reflects on one thing. Lazy management for letting it happen. Give them the first shove and see how the cards fall after that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ricci

Join the conversation

News, deals, games, and bargains for Aussies over 60. From everyday expenses like groceries and eating out, to electronics, fashion and travel, the club is all about helping you make your money go further.

Seniors Discount Club

The SDC searches for the best deals, discounts, and bargains for Aussies over 60. From everyday expenses like groceries and eating out, to electronics, fashion and travel, the club is all about helping you make your money go further.
  1. New members
  2. Jokes & fun
  3. Photography
  4. Nostalgia / Yesterday's Australia
  5. Food and Lifestyle
  6. Money Saving Hacks
  7. Offtopic / Everything else
  • We believe that retirement should be a time to relax and enjoy life, not worry about money. That's why we're here to help our members make the most of their retirement years. If you're over 60 and looking for ways to save money, connect with others, and have a laugh, we’d love to have you aboard.
  • Advertise with us

User Menu

Enjoyed Reading our Story?

  • Share this forum to your loved ones.
Change Weather Postcode×
Change Petrol Postcode×