Coles is accused of opening an ‘express lane’ for baby formula – as shoppers claim workers openly flouted the supermarket’s ‘two-tin’ policy
- A Sydney woman has slammed her Coles store for its so-called ‘two-tin’ policy
- Deanna Gatt took a photo of a baby formula ‘express lane’ at a Casula Mall Coles
- The photo shows a well-stocked pallet positioned next to dedicated checkout
- Ms Gatt said customers weren’t going in and out of the store, just rotating in line
A Sydney woman who took a photo of a baby formula ‘express lane’ at her local Coles supermarket has slammed the store for appearing to flout its two-tin purchase limit.
Deanna Gatt was shopping at Casula Mall Coles, in Sydney’s south west, on Thursday when she spotted staff allegedly helping customers purchase baby formula direct from a warehouse pallet.
Ms Gatt snapped a photo of the dedicated ‘express lane’, which she later posted to her Facebook page, along with the caption: ‘Never have I been so disgusted.’
Ms Gatt snapped a photo of the dedicated ‘express lane’ (pictured), which she later posted to her Facebook page, along with the caption: ‘Never have I been so disgusted’
The photo shows a well-stocked pallet positioned next to the checkout and a staff member appears to be loading tins onto the conveyor belt.
‘THE TROLLEY IN THE PIC WAS FILLED TO THE TOP!!!’ the Facebook post stated.
The post has since garnered plenty of reactions from other shoppers, with some people taking to Facebook to share their thoughts about the incident.
‘Disgusting! I thought 2 tins formula was the limit per customer ….,’ one person wrote.
‘Me too.. they never had in stock what & when I needed,’ another person replied.
The first person replied: ‘Now we know why.’
Ms Gatt, who claims to have been a shopper at the store her whole life, said the supermarket was very busy at the time, with lines of customers waiting to be served.
But despite several unattended checkouts and multiple lines, she claimed two cashiers were dedicated to the baby formula ‘express lane’ checkout.
‘They had special treatment- they even had a third Coles member placing the formula containers on the registers for them,’ she wrote.
Ms Gatt’s concerns mirror that of many parents who have experienced chronic baby formula shortages amid surging demand over the past five years due to ‘daigou’ buyers, who resell products to customers in China at a massive profit.
She said what was unusual about the way sales were being processed was ‘customers’ were standing next to the registers on the outside of the store.
‘Even though they may have been buying two at a time, they weren’t going in and out of the store they were just clearly rotating their position in the cashier line,’ she said.
Ms Gatt claimed that when she approached store management, they claimed they weren’t doing anything wrong.
‘I was told that there was clearly enough formula for everyone in the store and no one would go without!!!,’ she said.
‘Not only was the customer assistant rude to me when I voiced my concerns, I was told to be quiet and mind my own business.’
A Coles spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia the store is committed to ensuring customers have access to formula and limited sales to two tins per customer
Ms Gatt has slammed the store for allegedly turning a blind eye to the ‘two-tin’ purchase limit
A Coles spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia the store is committed to ensuring customers have access to formula and limited sales to two tins per customer.
‘In this instance our team members were complying with Coles’ two-tin policy and processing sales to customers through one register to minimise disruption to other customers shopping in the store,’ the spokeswoman said.
‘We are working with our suppliers on solutions to improve availability for customers.’