Coles shopper unleashes as popular service is dropped: ‘Boycotting’
A disgruntled Coles shopper has slammed the supermarket giant for quietly axing its popular ‘free fruit for kids’ service in two regional Victorian stores.
The mother-of-two said she would now ‘boycott’ Coles after being informed by staff that the service was no longer available in her local store.
She claimed she had to ‘pay for the skin’ during her last visit to Coles after feeding her toddler a banana while they went shopping.
The customer contrasted the decision with Woolworths’ ongoing commitment to donate millions of pieces of free fruit over the past eight years.
‘I’ve been to two different locations in Victoria and both staff have said they no longer offer it. Mind-boggling,” she said in a TikTok video.
‘Very disappointed in Coles and I hope this isn’t the case across the border, hopefully it’s just a few select stores in Victoria.
“But for me, I’m boycotting Coles now. I can’t shop there with my toddler. For me it’s Woolworths from now on.’
A Coles spokesperson told Ny Breaking Australia the free fruit initiative is not uniformly available in all stores.
The customer was upset when she discovered her local Coles store had stopped offering ‘free fruit for kids’
Attention little shoppers! Enjoy a free piece of delicious fruit while you shop in our store. Thanks to Coles’, a sign says the free fruit service is available
The spokesperson explained: ‘Some stores offer free fruit for children, but this is at the discretion of the store and not all stores currently offer this offer.’
‘Coles focuses on ways to encourage healthy eating in children.
‘Coles is selling ‘kid packs’ of substandard fruit, including apples, pears and mandarins, which are perfect for school lunch boxes.
‘Earlier this year we helped Aussies enjoy great Australian fresh fruit and vegetables through the Fresh Food Challenge, with a free card available in store (or to download) with a checklist to help you link 35 types of fruit. follow and complete. and vegetables.
“This program helped introduce our customers to the health benefits of high-quality Australian fruit and vegetables in a fun way, and helped parents introduce their children to fresh food choices.
‘Another way we encourage healthy eating in children is through our partnership with Little Athletics across the country. Since 2017, Coles has donated more than 3.9 million bananas to Little Athletics grassroots clubs and centres.”
It comes just days after Coles introduced anti-theft fogging equipment in a bid to deter thieves, with one customer describing the shock when it accidentally went off.
Supermarkets across the country have adopted this technique, which works by sending a cloud of mist over checkouts and shelves when an alarm goes off.
The method is designed to be activated in the event of a break-in outside store opening hours and makes it difficult for thieves to see what they are doing.
Coles supermarkets have deployed new anti-theft fogging equipment in a bid to deter thieves
A Melbourne customer caught a fogging device in action at a Coles supermarket
Shoppers at a Melbourne Coles store were able to witness the new technology in action after the device was accidentally activated following a ‘technical mishap’.
The customer said they were shopping late at night when they noticed a cloud of smoke filling the front of the store in the suburb.
“I’m not sure what happened when I wore my headphones and was in my own world, but I stopped at my local Coles to get something to eat on the way home last night around 10.20pm,” they wrote.
‘As I walked to the checkout I heard a loud bang and smoke gradually filled the store (there was no burning smell and everyone in the store was relatively quiet, but the loud alarm did sound).
‘The smoke finally cleared after two to three minutes. Does anyone know what it could have been?’
Photos posted by the shopper show cash registers, customers and products on shelves, all obscured by a thick layer of fog.
In a statement, Coles told Ny Breaking Australia there was a technical incident at the Melbourne store on Friday evening “causing this fog”.
“There is no health risk associated with the fog technology, which is designed to go off if a burglary occurs outside office hours,” a spokesperson said.