Aussie shopper vows to boycott Coles after awkward check-out clash

By NICK WILSON FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Published: | Updated:

An Aussie shopper has gone viral after claiming she was accused of breaking the law for scanning her items in the wrong order at a Coles self-checkout. 

Melbourne woman Shani Chantel said she had been enjoying a ‘peaceful’ shop at her local Coles over the weekend when two employees informed her it was ‘illegal’ not to scan her toilet paper before other smaller items. 

Ms Chantel said she had only been preparing to scan her first item when the employees came over and corrected her. 

‘I looked down at the toilet paper, I looked up and I said: “Get the f*** away from me”,’ she said in a TikTok video with over 300,000 views. 

‘I said: “Sir, it is one thing to have to scan this s*** myself… But it is a f***ing other thing for you to tell me how the f*** to pack my bag”.’

Ms Chantel said she ‘flipped out’ at the workers while others watched on in shock. 

A Coles spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia prioritising bulkier items helps to ensure they aren’t accidentally left in the trolley un-scanned. 

‘We know that helping our customers with bulky or heavy items can be a big help – this is all about providing great service to our customers and helping them get through the checkouts quickly and efficiently,’ they said. 

Melbourne woman Shani Chantel (pictured) said she would never visit another Coles store after allegedly being told off by employees

A Coles spokesperson confirmed team members prioritised bulkier items at check-out but said they did not want team members to ‘void’ orders in doing so (stock)

They added, however, team members are not advised to ‘void’ a customer’s order simply to prioritise bulkier items.  

‘In the isolated cases where this is happening, we would encourage our customers to provide us with this feedback directly, so we can provide coaching and prevent this from happening,’ the spokesperson said. 

In response to the video, one woman purporting to be a Coles employee wrote: ‘As a Coles worker it is definitely not illegal. But we do get into trouble if we don’t at least encourage the customer to scan their bulk items first unfortunately’. 

She described the policy as a ‘loss prevention tactic’ while another wrote it was designed to minimise theft as bulkier items are ‘easily forgotten or avoided on purpose’.

In response to another comment, Ms Chantel wrote she was ‘always respectful and understanding of people just doing their jobs’. 

‘But the way I was approached as if I was a criminal was outrageous,’ she added. 

Ms Chantel has vowed never to return to Coles following the incident. 

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