A 75-year-old pensioner has been barred from his local Aldi after he quipped one member of staff needed to “go to Specsavers”.
Anthony Taylor and his wife, Regina, 65, were told they could not return to the supermarket after the heated row.
The incident occurred when the Merseyside couple visited the Washington Parade, Bootle, branch of the supermarket chain for their routine monthly provisions.
A dispute arose when checkout staff insisted the couple empty their shopping trolley, which Mr Taylor explained was a departure from their decade-long bulk buying shopping routine.
Traditionally, the couple would place one of each item on the till before informing the cashier how many of the items they had in their trolley.
Mr Taylor, who experiences mobility difficulties due to osteoarthritis, declined the request to remove all items from his trolley.
“The member of staff demanded that we had to empty the trolley. She said she couldn’t see what was in the trolley, so I said she needed to go to Specsavers,” the pensioner recounted.
“If she could not see what was in the trolley, she needs glasses,” he added.
A pensioner has been barred from his local Aldi after telling staff member ‘go to Specsavers’
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The confrontation intensified when management became involved, removing the trolley from the couple and ordering them to exit the premises.
Mr Taylor then returned to retrieve his pound coin from the trolley.
“The manager then came over and took the trolley from us and told us to leave the store. I know it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things but there I had put a pound in the trolley so I went back in and I asked for the pound back,” he told the Liverpool Echo.
Aldi alleges the pair exhibited verbally aggressive behaviour towards employees, whilst the Taylors firmly contest these claims.
Aldi alleges Mr and Mrs Taylor had exhibited verbally aggressive behaviour towards their employees
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However, Mr Taylor acknowledged using profanity when store security intervened, demanding “get your f*****g hands off me” due to fears about maintaining his balance,
“I am very old school. I’m old enough to have been brought up in a very different era, an era where you do not swear in front of women,” Mr Taylor explained.
“We are embarrassed and we are incensed by it… We have shopped there since the store opened, and now we are travelling three or four miles to get our shopping.”
“We just want an apology and to be able to do our shopping at our local Aldi,” he added.
An Aldi spokesman said the Washington Parade branch was not aware of Mr Taylor’s back problem and staff always support customers where they can with additional assistance.
“Our colleagues work hard to provide great customer service, and we don’t tolerate any form of abusive behaviour in our stores.
“In line with our policy, all products must be scanned through the till at point of sale, however, our colleagues are always happy to assist customers who may need a little extra help,” they said.
Mr and Mrs Taylor are understood to remain barred from the store.