Coles is called out after shopper witnesses alarming act inside store
A female shopper has accused Coles staff of doing nothing to stop two young ‘thugs’ knocking products off the shelves and shoplifting.
In an angry letter to The Beast magazine, Grace from Bronte wrote about the recent incident at Coles Bondi Junction in Sydney’s east.
Grace was shopping at the supermarket and saw two teenage boys between the ages of 13 and 15.
“They engaged in what I would call inappropriate behavior, intentionally throwing products off the shelves onto the floor, wearing products under their hoodies, etc.”
Grace wrote that while she was using the self-service checkout, she saw the boys approaching the exit, and Cole’s staff yelled at them to stop.
‘The two boys walked on.
“I said to one of the employees, ‘You want to stop them, I guarantee they stole something.’
Grace claimed the female Coles worker replied: ‘We can’t do that, we can’t stop them or ask them to pay for what they have, they’re underage.’
The employee also told her that she was afraid of the boys.
A female shopper has accused Coles staff of failing to stop two young ‘untouchable’ ‘thugs’ knocking products off the shelves and shoplifting at Coles Bondi Junction (stock image)
The shopkeeper asked staff to stop the boys as they believed they had shoplifted. She was told they couldn’t perform because the boys were underage. Coles Bondi Junction is pictured
Grace asked why the security guards couldn’t stop them from leaving the store.
The employee said there was nothing they could do.
“So we all stood and watched as these two minicrims walked out without looking back,” Grace wrote.
She wrote that the employee told her the two boys were well known to the staff and often visited the store as part of a larger gang.
Grace expressed her annoyance, writing, “And why wouldn’t they? Free stuff, every time. Untouchable!’
The angry shopper wrote that if she were underage she would deliberately steal large items ‘just to prove her point’ (stock image)
She added: “If I was underage I would do it. I went to Coles every day and stole things, just to prove the point, to illustrate the utter ineffectiveness, powerlessness and uselessness of our authority figures.”
“I would steal the huge bags of dog food, ironing boards, brooms and mops, things so big you can’t ignore them, and maybe they should do something about it.”
Grace concluded her letter by saying, “There is nothing to be gained from this rant.”
“I guess I’d like some answers from those who have decided it’s a good idea to encourage our young criminals to grow up to be adult criminals because of a lack of consequences and accountability.”
A Coles spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: ‘The safety of our team members and customers is our top priority, and we never want our team to put themselves at risk with violence.’
‘We have a range of security and safety measures in place to reduce theft from our stores, including smart security gates, electronic article surveillance (EAS), personal restraint devices, security staff and surveillance technologies such as CCTV. We also work closely with the police to report these cases.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted NSW Police for comment.