Sainsbury’s has banned a man from all stores in the UK “for life” after he claims to have merely criticised the way its staff were parking.
Garry Frost, 62, said he would never to return to Sainsbury’s even if the ban is lifted, unless he gets a sincere apology. He added that he was “totally disgusted” by how he was treated by the supermarket chain and the staff at the Middleton Park Sainsbury’s Local, in Leeds.
Garry told Leeds Live that he had "done nothing wrong" in the lead up to his ban. “I wasn’t discourteous, I wasn’t rude or aggressive," he added.
"I merely pointed out that it was morally incorrect what they were doing.”
According to Garry, the lifetime ban was enforced after he visited the Leeds branch of the store and enquired about the cars parked on the road directly outside the shop. He’d noticed that cars had regularly been left in the bays all day, despite the one hour no return policy enforced by Leeds City Council, between 8am and 6pm Monday to Saturday.
Staff told him it was their cars on the street, claims Garry. The 62-year-old said they shouldn’t park there all day as it hinders people who may be disabled from accessing the parade of shops on that street.
He went on to add there was a perfectly good free car park close by, about 30 yards away. Garry, who works as carpenter and joiner, was astonished by what he said the staff said in reaction.
He said: “They were quite rude about it actually and said ‘we’ll do what we want – blah blah blah’”.
Garry explained that about a week later he was having breakfast with his brother and workmates at a nearby café, when one of the Sainsbury’s staff members “swaggered” into the café looking “smug”, on Saturday, July 30.
She placed a letter on his table informing him that he was “banned for life” from all of Sainsbury’s stores. He said: “I opened up the letter and I couldn’t believe it.
"I thought it was a joke at first and we had a good laugh about it. But they’re serious. It says if I go into one, they will call the police and I will be treated as a trespasser.”
The letter handed to Garry from Sainsbury’s Total Loss and Security Team says: ‘Dear Garry Frost,
‘I confirm that the invitation to enter and shop at all Sainsbury’s stores, including car parks, is permanently withdrawn due to the incident in which you were involved in. Should you enter any of our premises, you will be treated as a trespasser and the police will be called as necessary.
‘We do not tolerate threatening, abusive or violent behaviour. Under these circumstances we have a statutory duty to protect our colleagues and customers from such behaviour whether it is face to face, over the telephone or in correspondence. This includes the discretion no to serve any customer that they feel is causing them alarm or distress.’
Garry read the letter in disbelief and has been in touch with Sainsbury’s head office to appeal the decision. He said: “I find it just totally disgusting and I think it needs bringing to light.
“The staff are just flouting the law and it’s being condoned by the store manager. Their parking is hindering people who really need those spaces, it’s just being bone idle, for the sake of it.”
He’s said to add insult to injury, staff now gloat at him by waving at him across the street whenever he visits The Cracked Pot Café.
Before this incident, he used to have “banter” with staff when he visited to buy a can of pop and scratch cards. He even added one of the staff members as a friend on Facebook who has since unfriended following the lifetime ban.
Garry said: “It’s a vendetta. It’s totally over the top what they’ve done. I’m honestly really annoyed about it. Plus, it’s the principle. The wording of the letter and everything.
“They need some bad publicity about it and I need an apology, it’s just wrong.”
Garry has attempted to get the lifetime ban reversed by emailing and ringing head office but the company has doubled down on the ban, saying that it will be enforced following an internal investigation into the matter.
One of Sainsbury ’s Executive Officers emailed him: “I am sorry to read of your recent experience at Middleton Park Local store. I can advise I have investigated this with the store, and we believe that our colleagues have acted in line with our policies and procedures.
“We have a duty of care to protect our colleagues as much as we have to protect our customers, due to this, we would not be looking to uplift your ban from the store and therefore no further action can be taken.
“I appreciate this is not the response you were anticipating therefore I would like to offer my sincerest apologies for this.”
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson told Leeds Live: “We do not tolerate abuse or threatening behaviour towards our colleagues and are in touch with Garry to explain this.”
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