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Coles Integrity Watch -- UPDATE of Email Exchange
by shopper Saturday, Jul 20 2013, 10:19am
international /
prose /
post
Following are recent emails to 'Coles Customer Care;' however, due to copyright restrictions we are unable to publish the Coles emails, nonetheless, the extremely detailed customer responses paint a very clear picture indeed.
This material is published in the public interest -- readers would note that Wesfarmers Coles Supermarket Chain has recently been fined ($61K) by the ACCC for "misleading and deceptive conduct."
Your Ref/N: -------------
Dear Sir,
I refer to your email ----- and would ask that you re-send in plain text,
as I do not deal with 'eml' file extensions as a matter of security policy.
Furthermore, I would urge you to familiarise yourself with the entire situation, as your offer of a "gift card" at this stage amounts to an insult! Be cognisant of the reprehensible treatment I have received from Coles' management and staff to date and be advised that I was smugly informed at the outset by Coles supervisors - Eastgate BJ - ('daughter' of duty manager that slanderously sparked this entire incident) that head office Melbourne, would ignore my complaint, and Sir, that is precisely what you did until I embarked on a campaign to expose all your sordid practices to the Australian public.
Yours sincerely,
-- -----------
An email from Coles' new Customer Care Manager followed -- the complete customer response is a follows:
Your Ref/N: ---------------
21 July, 2013
To: ------- ------------
Coles Customer Care Manager
Dear Mr ------------,
Thank you for your extremely late personal response to my complaint; eight months to respond personally to a relatively simple matter is clearly unacceptable, though it does provide more examples of Coles’ failed policies and/or managerial incompetence.
Your very late offer of an apology, which would have resolved the matter in its initial stage, is noted; however, in the circumstances your thoughtless offer of a $50 credit voucher is most insulting given the slanderous imputations made on my character and the callous disregard I have been shown over an eight month period by store managers and “Coles Customer Care.”
However, I do note your advice that you have replaced the manager that chose to impolitely and callously disregard most of my emails requesting progress reports and/or a resolution to the matter raised by my complaint; notwithstanding my additional advise that I would embark on a public campaign to expose the many instances of Coles’ offensive, disrespectful and deceptive behaviour. I am also aware that since my initial complaint you have been fined by the regulator for, "false, misleading and deceptive conduct!"
You will note that the campaign to which I refer has now been underway for some time, though it is only in its initial phase. A dedicated “Coles Integrity Watch,” website for customer, staff and supplier grievances/complaints is in preparation; a full report to the Wesfarmers Board and more importantly, shareholders, covering the many gross improprieties, managerial failures/incompetence and other failures that relate directly to your American modelled company, including its many ‘curious’ or devious practices like accelerating sales turnover by selling ice-affected/damaged vegetables, will be made available; and many more instances of Coles’ improprieties as they come to light will also be published in the public interest.
Regarding managerial failures, I note that your email refers numerous times to the wrong store, which is a very poor reflection of the level of attention you have given this matter. In view of the abundance of very clear information you have before you, I fail to understand how you could make this mistake numerous times -- the actual store in question is the EASTGATE Bondi Junction store, NOT the Westfield store, though I do understand that the Eastgate store manager to which you refer has recently been transferred to the Westfield store, though the offending duty manager and his daughter remain at the Eastgate store.
Furthermore, you make other gross errors and erroneous assertions. If you would care to review the most recent correspondence and the ‘linked published article’ you would discover that I referred to your own in-house surveillance videos (of 17 July, for your convenience) as proof of my claims – in that regard you would have discovered that fresh produce stock had been removed from trays/shelves almost two (2) HOURS prior to closing, not 15 minutes before closing, as you confidently though erroneously assert; I would also inform you that to my fairly broad knowledge of this store’s habits, ice tray display stock is usually removed one hour before closing, again, please verify video footage for yourself:
You will note that the campaign to which I refer has now been underway for some time,
Regarding managerial failures,
Furthermore,
“I can confirm that we move a few of our fresh products to a refrigerated storage area prior to closing in order to properly and safely store these products overnight. This stock remains on shelf until 15 minutes before closing. Two items from each of the lines that are removed for refrigeration remain on display overnight and are therefore available until closing.” [My Emphasis.]
Also the 2 vegetable items of the Asian varieties that remain on ice are so severely frost-damaged after hours in ice trays, their appearance and texture is limp, flaccid with discoloured and frost-crinkled leaf areas; their appearance presents as truly tragic and comical compared to the same varieties that have not been subjected to contact with ice/frost, though some would say they do reflect perfectly the state of Coles’ management.
So, it would appear that someone, research assistant perhaps, has made an ass of you, Mr -----------, or you have made a thorough ass of yourself – yet another ‘outstanding’ Coles launch in a new managerial role!
I strongly urge you to firmly apprehend the situation -- and ALL its implications -- and conduct a thorough review of all available email correspondence and all linked published material, and of course view all relevant video security footage, which I would have thought would have been a priority during the course of your investigations. After doing so -- please verify the following with growers and suppliers -- I would ask you to explain in detail why Coles alone has chosen to consciously and deliberately expose sensitive, frost INTOLERANT fresh vegetable produce to ice, which clearly and indisputably damages the stock and DRASTICALLY reduces storage life after purchase; notwithstanding that in-store crushed ice presents additional OHS risks to staff and customers!
After all the negative publicity you have recently received for “deceptive conduct” and your ongoing legal battles in this regard, I sincerely hope that this practice is not designed to surreptitiously accelerate sales turnover.
Good luck Mr -----------, and I am sure you will be as astonished by what you discover.
I look forward to receiving your informed and considered response.
Yours sincerely,
Mr -- -----------
http://jungledrum.hopto.org/news/story-681.html
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