Woolworths
Reviews and Complaints

We are a small farming family just out of Gatton and between my husband and two children we eat a lot of fruit. We usually shop at Gatton Coles but as my husband works in Toowoomba and on his way home he ducked into Woolworths at the top of the range to grab a few things. He was devastated at the state of the fruit section. He said he was standing their watching gym looking people walk away from the fruit empty handed. He tried his best to sort though what was there to bring home something eatable for lunches for the next day. The fruit was bruised and not presentable at all. My husband returned home disappointed with not only the fruit but the fruit he did purchase was priced a high rate and then tasted terrible (apples half rotten on the inside);. We dont mind spending money on fruit as we love fruit but we hate spending good money on terrible fruit. From this experience we will return to our shopping at Coles Gatton.

For the past two weeks the freezer section containing the ice creams, fish & chicken has been semi defrosted.
The freezer doors won't close properly as the ice has built up around the seals.
I've needed frozen goods twice from this section & have had to go to another supermarket as woolworths still haven't fixed their freezers.
I feel this is unacceptable for such a large chain.
If this situation isn't remedied by next week when I go shopping I'll be contacting the health department.
Regards Sandra Cook

Hi,

Very disappointed with team of moonee ponds team members.
I reached 23:58 outside the store and ask them to enter me and they straight away they said no I told them it's 23:58 and your trading hour is till 12am but they didn't listen to me and I clicked photo of your store watch from outside.i.e 23:58.

I was so disappointed because I finished my work and I generally prefer Coles but I thought this time I should go to to Woolworth and need flowers for valentine day.

I very well know the meaning of trading hours as I am also from same industry.

Tell me the solution of this thing which happens with me on my special day.

On 22/01/15 I 'bought midnight beauty seedless grapes' from Woolworths store in Croydon (store Id 3216). There was no price tag at the shelf where we picked up the grapes... At the self-scan counter I was surprised to find that the grapes were priced $8.98/kg. I walked back to the shelf to check the price again, when I found that the price was not displayed at the shelf, I asked the attendant if the price was correct.. She assured me that the grapes were indeed $8.98/kg. by this time my husband had finished scanning all the items and we didn't bother about returning the extravagantly expensive grapes (we paid $9.74 for 1.085 kg grapes).
Next day my husband happened to go to the same store again to buy something else. He was shocked to find that the same 'midnight beauty seedless grapes' has a display stating 'was $2.89 now selling @ $1.89/kg '. He called me immediately to find out if I still had the receipt from previous night's purchase. Fortunately I still had the receipt in my wallet. When we questioned the staff at the customer service about the price difference, she said it was the fault of the scanning machine and refunded the extra money charged for the purchase (it was a refund of about $8.00).
My question is how does such a thing happen and customer is overcharged 8 times? Does the Woolworths store know how many customers bought those overpriced grapes that day and never realised they paid 8 times the correct price? How often does this happen at Woolworths? It is impossible to check the correct price of every item from the grocery trolley . Woolworths should track all the sales for those overpriced grapes and refund the money to the customers.
Very annoyed about this lapse from such a reputed retail giant..!

I have complained multiple times to local and area management as well as on the company website - to no avail.
The Deli department are the main offenders in the lack of customer service, closely followed by the cigarette counter at the Wallan Vic store.
Management always concede that the ticketing system was an expensive purchase and was installed for more efficient customer service. They insist that the Deli staff are supposed to use it but I feel that someone has forgotten to inform the Deli staff of this.
Today, one man who was in the queue of 5 (some had tickets and some didn't but this didn't matter because they weren't being used), became so angry at the delay and that the second staff member totally ignored the customers and continued to stick labels on the bagged chickens, that he became abusive. This could easily have turned into something dangerous and I can't understand why management isn't enforcing better customer service practices.
Some helpful suggestions;
Unless your staff possess ESP and can predict the flow of customers accurately, insist they use the ticketing machine at ALL times, Put a sign up that says customers (who never know what mood the staff are in so whether to take a ticket or not) with a ticket will be served first regardless of time of arrival.
Insist that your staff stop back end tasks and serve customers when they arrive. If these tasks are time critical (like getting hot chicken labelled and onto the warmer) then ensure they inform customers of what they are doing (instead of just ignoring them and avoiding eye contact) and then enlist the assistance of another member of staff to serve the rush.
Make people purchasing cigarettes come into the store and queue with everyone else to make purchases. It is completely unacceptable that someone who is just purchasing cigarettes should get preferential treatment and 'jump' the, often very long queue by going to the front of the store.
Your managers and staff clearly do not have the ability, or interest, in addressing these simple issues given the number of times I have complained.
Given that your staff feel so secure in their jobs, and the company so confident of their continued place in the market that they don't feel it necessary to act on valid customer complaints, it may be time to vote with my feet and shop elsewhere. Yes, it will be a minor inconvenience but I am sick to death of the laziness and incompetence I, and many other shoppers in the Wallan area, have to endure.

Despite the existence of a ticketing device and frequent confrontations/complaints to the managers, delicatessan staff rarely bother to utilize it AND will freely give every excuse (usually demontrably false or nonsensical) to justify their laziness.

More often than not those, to whom I complain, demonstrate more interest in defendong their staff and lowering customer expectstions than effecting reasonable change. Evidently "management" is not committed enough to customer satisfaction.

Regarding a Media anouncement in referrence to selling Hot cross Buns just after Christmas and New year?
I wished the Cheif Executive of Woolworths would get to know about complainst such as this.
I He or She even cares is another thing. But! Selling Easter Season Hot cross Buns nearing end of December entering January is obsurd.
Whos' bright spark silly idea was this!? Guess there are no names to this question.
I hate these people who try to re invent the Wheel without any balance to though or commonse sens values. Heck! I have abetter idea! Why not sell Christmas Trees and lights all year round and forget seasonal sales alltogether? That way you be making more Money all year through. But i guess that would be too obvious and too hot of a debaote and backlash, so Woolworths tries to start small and then bend the boundaries later even more. Nothing would surprise me. A newer generation Executives without moral values. well" Not the kind that is common. Can't even log this complaint on their site as it send one around the loop. Propably so no complaints are received.

I went to purchase vodafone smart phone worth of $ 69 in woolworths store. I purchased it by my woolworths Essentials Cards. But later I cam to know that does not work for me so I went back to return them on the same day just after 30 minute of purchase. They did return me the new card with the value of $69. I had used two Essentials Cards with the value of $ 50 in each. They gave me back one of the card but did not return the other one. The very next day I came to know that $ 31 is missing. ( 50 + 50 =100 - 69= 31). I did explain them but they did not want to cooperate with me. After waiting there for 30 min they said me you was handed over all the cards and you moved away so we could not do anything. At the same time I asked them if I can see the camera or speak to the manager. They replied me that I don't have right to see the camera and unfortunately manager is not here. I was sure that manager was there in the store only thing is he did not want to talk about it with me( I guess). Because right after moving away form there I called on the number mentioned above. I asked if I can speak to the manager ( Ryan Willats) and I was able to talk to him but as soon as I mentioned my problem he hanged up my phone and could not contact him again.

I would like to complain about bad customer service at Rockdale's Woolworths. During Christmas Eve, a lot of the products often go on sale due to clearance and a lot of people wait around Woolworths for that. However, today, when I was shopping I asked one of the staff whether the roast chicken price would be reduced any more or not. However, the staff member was very rude and she replied that the chicken was going into the dump if it was not sold. Later that night, we saw the staff angrily clearing away the chicken and when a customer asked her if he could have a chicken since she was going to throw it away she replied in an angry voice that 'if you want a chicken, you can buy it yourself, I'm not giving you one.' I felt the staff member could have responded more appropriately to the customers and this type of incident has been happening for the past two years on Christmas Eve at Woolworths. I am very disappointed with the customer service that I experience at Woolworths and I sincerely hope that the management does something about this.

The last two times i have bought chicken breast from the deli at greenhills woolworths (Near maitland, nsw) , they have contained small pieces of chicken bone in them. I have cooked meals with this chicken only to discover these bones. I passed the first time off as a mistake but now i am really not happy.

My wife purchased fresh cauliflower from our local woolworths late this afternoon and when we got it home we found it to be brown inside with signs of mould! I have attached some proof photos.
I find this unacceptable as woolworths are supposedly "the fresh food people"
This quality is rubbish!

On Friday the 19th of September at around 5.00 we were waiting in line with 25 other people and only 2 checkouts open. Everybody was complaining how ridiculous it was. When we finally did get to the checkout the checkout lady said how was your day, we said good now we have a checkout after waiting for 15minutes. We said the manager needs to get some more checkouts open. The manager overhead this then proceeded to come around to our aisle and get in our face and said I just loved getting abused by customers in an aggressive tone. We don't think what we said was abusive in any way. Then he stormed off. I said we cant blame you guys it starts at the top. He overheard this and came storming back in and got in our face again carrying on like an idiot. My husband had to calm him down. We are in our fifties and shop at this grocery store for the last 15 years and have always had polite conversation with all staff but this manager was extremely rude and arrogant.

I've shopped @ this store for some time now & the bad attitude I get from the checkout supervisor ( ELAINE DEAN ) is unbelievable ... She speaks to her staff like they are nothing & looks & treats customers the same way ... I think it's disgusting, I don't know how she has this job .. She's hates helping anyone ... Hate to see how she treats people outside of work, please Woolworths, u need to look into this ..We need this woman gone !

Very RUDE store manager Tania Harsono @Woolworths Rockdale.

I go to Woolworths all the time and Tania Harsono is probably the worst and most RUDE employee I ever met and she claimed she is store manager.

My conversation with her goes like this:
Tania: “what do you think you are doing? who have YOU ASKED that you taking the box”
Me: “I asked the guys working on the chips aisle”
Tania: “WHICH GUY? You haven’t asked me, and I am the store manager”
Me: “Sorry, my bad, I thought its ok to take some”
Tania: “NO ITS NOT, I kept these box like this because it’s easy to crush it like this”. If you want to take DON'T TOUCH those”
Me: “Sorry I will not take any from here at all, I think I will have find somewhere else.”
Tania: “Oh good, then you can GET OUT OF MY store”
Me: “I am sorry, don't you think you are a little rude for a store manager working in customer service? After all I am your customer, and I don't think you should talk to me that this”
Tania: “You are not my customer, are you paying for empty boxes? You are buying anything, I don't see anything in your trolley, then you are not my customer”.
Me: “I actually live around the corner and I come to this store almost every week, I didn't know what doesn't make me a customer, I suppose I should use the Aldi next door all the time-then.”

This happened when I went to do some everyday milk & bread etc. shopping tonight at 9:00PM Friday at Rockdale Woolwothrs store. We are in processes of house moving and when I saw some empty box lying around in trollies I picked one and kept in my trolley and looking at another empty box stacked with pile of other empty boxes. My plan was, if I can take some from there I will go and ask at the service desk if I can take some of these. Didn't really want to annoy the night-filler guys on the floor Store manager (that's what she told me she is) “Tania Harsono“ (I got the Tania right but might spelled the family name wrong) stormed at me and we interacted with the above conversation.

I walked away feeling very humiliated that night. After all I did not expect that kind of RUDE behaviors from any store employee than let alone that was the Night Store manager.

My apologies if I did something wrong and Woolworths recently changed policy and you don't let people take and empty box (which I wasn't aware of), but I found it very RUDE the way store manager(!) talked to me and handled the situation, her body language was very rude, she was very offensive, and arrogant. She has NO RIGHT to talk to me like that.

Just to let you know, I will post this massage to different social network site including Woolworth and Coles’s Facebook wall – just so that my friends and family and other people at least be aware of the rude store manager and avoid that store.

I have a choice of 3 supermarkets and several local grocers in my area of Moonee Ponds. Woolworth is actually the farthest away from me, but recently I have contemplated changing me supermarket of preference as I found that Woolworth's fresh food is better than the one provided by the other large supermarket. In my three trips to Woolworth to sample the products, service and prices, I have been greatly disappointed by the appalling lack of interest and service the staff have displayed. On my first visit, I was at the self serve check out. Once I started to scan my items I noted only 2 plastic bags were available at my checkout. Half way through the check out, an item did not register on the scale.The staff member minding the area was very involved in a conversation with a second staff member about a recent engagement of a staff member and the size of her engagement ring. I tried to get anyone's attention, but failed miserably. I left my groceries and went to the local small grocer instead.
My third, and may I add, last trip, I was at staffed checkout. The young lady that was serving me was most involved in casual banter with the colleague standing at the adjacent counter. Now, I do not expect people to fuss over me, but any acknowledgement that an actual person is standing in front of her would have been welcome. Eye contact, a Hello, anything really.
I did speak to the manager and she was most apologetic and sincere, but, should we need to go to these lengths just to be treated with basic courtesy? Perhaps Woolworth supermarkets need to address their basic client service training delivery. At the moment the motto appears to be "how to avoid the customer at all cost".
Not that it will benefit me, as I have no intention returning there. Competition is growing, Woolworth, we have a choice. And client service is now becoming the deciding factor in our choice.

Australia Laws! Woolsworth balmain sydney

I got accused of stealing but hadn't taken anything
I bought three things from meat area
Had left basket on ground with three items
And had come back with only one item left
And I pay the money for the one item left behind and milk

And staff member accused me of stealing
So she said open bag
And yell at me very rudely where's other items
..I told her store policy is for them too look in bags...
Not me and she got very angry...

Store manager had said don't you have common sense not to leave items in basket on the ground...which he said is illegal and he was going to call cops
Even though not such proof of stealing at all..

After that, I walked out of the store I don't know what should I do

It does'nt make any sense
Or because I'm Asian, and can't speak English well and tried to accuse me on this.
Very rude manager and staff member.

Should have some proof and get evidence of stealing
Before accusing someone or anyone on that matter...thank you

Any suggestion on what to do would be greatly appreciated.

this is my Woolworths card number : [protected] and this is my gift card number: [protected] CVV: 148 F . Since 26 Dec Woolworths hartbeespoort has been selling me airtime on my gift card or by cash. Today I worn my Pagan Pentacle around my neck. when asked for airtime they said they dont sell. i then said but how can it be that i have been buying it for the past 2 months? They answered they dont sell again. so I said but why do you have the program of selling airtime on the computer i saw myself? then they said they don’t sell it on gift cards. then i said i will pay cash. they replied they do not sell it. you have my account numbers look for yourself that i have been buying it there. it happen today between 13:30-13:45. The manager did not want to give me the 5 christian personnel who sanctioned against me's full names. her name is Letitia and the other Denno, susan and Cailenda. Letitia after not willing to give me their full names chanced me out of the hartbeespoort woolworths store. check your cameras, check my accounts and hire people who are not part of a christian clu clax clan! letitia is very very rude. check your cameras. check the records. fire her and those discriminating rude people. my family have bought Woolworth clothes since i was small. i lost all my respect for Woolworths today.