Piddle in Lidl (and I got it all over my hands)

xcrieve

Picked up a bottle of squash in Lidl Clonee on Monday which was soaking (along with the case) in urine. I drew it to the attention of a shop assistant that smelt it, apologised and got me some baby-wipes to clean my hands as the smell was revolting.

Anyway, I picked up what I came in for (milk - I wasn't taking the squash obviously).

Anyway, when I got back home about half an hour later, I email their customer support and got th following response:

' Dear Sir,
We write in relation to your recent complaint regarding an incident that occurred in our Clonee store today.
May we first of all apologise for any inconvenience this incident may have caused you. Lidl Ireland GmbH and our suppliers adopt very high standards to ensure that all aspects of our goods and service are outstanding.
At Lidl we take all complaints very seriously. Unfortunately we are unable to determine what liquid was on the packaging. The product was been disposed of in store for health and safety reasons. All other stock has been checked to ensure that there was no other defective products and the area has been thoroughly cleaned. We have notified the District Manager and our Sales Manager of this complaint.
We would like to thank you for taking the time to notify us of the incident. We would like to reiterate our commitment to customer care and we hope that you continue to shop with us in the future.
Assuring you of our best intentions at all times.
Regards
Mr Joe Bloggs
Customer Service Assistant'


I wasn't particularly happy as I could still smell urine from my shirt, and it was definitely urine, and the case was soaking in it. Anyway, even though I did not purchase the bottle of squash, I am concerned that other customers did, and that they may have allowed their children etc to drink. Specifically I was worried about the likes of Viles disease as I was unable to tell tell whether it was human, cat or whatever urine (I did say in my original email that I thought it human origally as there was so much and it was so strong smelling).


Anyway, what I am wondering is whether I should do anything more than this. I wrote a follow up mail saying that I thought the event should be investigated, and some thought be given to finding out how many bottles had been sold. I didn't recieve an answer to the second mail.


Point is I didn't appreciate getting urine on my hands and clothes, and I am annoyed at Lidls lack on interest? Should I just leave it or is there anything else I could do to have the matter taken seriously?

Victor

www.fsai.ie

xcrieve wrote: »

I wasn't particularly happy as I could still smell urine from my shirt,

Wash shirt. :cool:

xcrieve

I did. And at the risk of being appearing anal, I am still pissed off...

JDxtra

Seems like a fair response from Lidl. I would just let it go as I dont see what else they can do. I cant imagine other stores, such as Tesco, would even bother to read your email never mind respond to it!

subway

if you want compensation you have to ask for it.
they still dont have to give it to you though.

Meirleach

Do lidl sell elderflower juice? Or any juices with elderflower in it? Elderflower can smell remarkably similar to cat piss.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I think Lidl did all I would expect of them.

calex71

How in the name of god did tinkle get on the juices? where they at floor level OP, maybe a child or drunk was in or indeed even a dog, or maybe a cat did get into the storage place.

+1 on the elderberry theory , that stuff stinks.

Any way I think Lidl where quite fair and just in their response, nasty thing to happen but staff seemed to have behaved better than muppets ive come across in other companies

Mr. Presentable

OP, I believe Lidl have done all that could be required of them. Also, you state as a matter of fact that the contaminant was urine - but did you have it clinically tested? Thought not. So your best assertion should be "smelt like urine".

jor el

Why are you unhappy with the response? Should they send samples to a lab for DNA testing or something?

Anyway, it's unlikely it was urine. When soft drinks leak and soak into the cardboard they're packaged in, the result can be a very pungent smell, that could well resemble urine. Having worked in grocery retail, I can tell you it's something that happens regularly, and absolutely stinks.

Jev/N

subway wrote: »

if you want compensation you have to ask for it.

Maybe a 'golden handshake' :pac:

MunsterCycling

Jev/N wrote: »

Maybe a 'golden handshake' :pac:

They are reserved for FAS executives who are about to be fired anyway

xcrieve

My hand smelt like I'd been crawling around the side of a pub after it had closed though I'll admit I didn't carry out a taste test - it was urine, but I haven't a clue about elderberry juice tbh

No, I'm not looking for compensation but this happened in the middle of foodstuffs, across the aisle from fruit and veg, and to be honest I felt like a phone call from them would have been in order at the very least considering I as far as I was and am concerned that I was about to purchase stock that had been urinated on.

I also felt the saying that packaging has been disposed of for health and safety reasons was a cop out, as if it was human urine from a disgruntled staff member or whatever, it should have been looked at by management. Plus seriously, urine on foodstuffs is no joke.

I think they should have made some effort to assertain if it was urine, and if was cats or whatever rather than human, maybe to make some attempt to ensure it didn't happen again. As far as I can tell, that didn't happen

jor el

You don't know that it was urine, not without having it tested, and smell is not a conclusive test. You also don't know what they did about it, what measures they've put in place, or how they are dealing with it. If you believe there's a public health risk, then report it to the Department of Health.

As for being informed, why would they inform you of any of this? They replied to your email, is that not enough?

as far as I was and am concerned that I was about to purchase stock that had been urinated on.

But you didn't purchase it, and you don't know what was on it (other than your suspicion).

This is a non issue. You brought it to their attention, they seem to have taken that seriously and have cleaned up the problem.

Unless you are a public health officer, you shouldn't be making wild accusations about the health and safety state of a shop, nor should you expect to be kept up to date on how everything is going, or what they're doing about what was very likely to be a broken juice carton.

xcrieve

It was P-I-S-S.

It was not a carton of juice spilt.

I've changed enough nappies and had more than a few pets, not to mention having mopped up piss back in my teenage years in pub toilets not to know what I got all over me in their store.

And their store assistant agreed.

So as far as I am concerned, piss on me, my clothes and on food-stuffs I was about to purchase is an issue.

MagicMarker

xcrieve wrote: »

It was P-I-S-S.

It was not a carton of juice spilt.

I've changed enough nappies and had more than a few pets, not to mention having mopped up piss back in my teenage years in pub toilets not to know what I got all over me in their store.

And their store assistant agreed.

So as far as I am concerned, piss on me, my clothes and on food-stuffs I was about to purchase is an issue.

What exactly would you like them to do?

xcrieve

MagicMarker wrote: »

What exactly would you like them to do?

I'd have settled for a call, rather than a PFO. Ideally, I'd have liked to know that some effort was being made to make sure it wouldn't happen again, I like to call in there after all. To be honest, I'm not sure I'll call in there again as a result of this. Not because it happened, but because I am not satisfied that it wouldn't happen again

MagicMarker

xcrieve wrote: »

I'd have settled for a call, rather than a PFO. Ideally, I'd have liked to know that some effort was being made to make sure it wouldn't happen again, I like to call in there after all. To be honest, I'm not sure I'll call in there again as a result of this. Not because it happened, but because I am not satisfied that it wouldn't happen again

If you wanted a call as a response then you should have called them. They only contacted you via the medium you used to contact them.

What effort would be appropriate to make sure it didn't happen again? What can they possible do? Have security on each isle to ensure no one takes a piss?

chuckles30

You've gotten as much of a response as you're likely or entitled to get. As stated already, you contacted them via email & they responded via email....that is completely normal. In fact I've complained about things and never even got a pfo email (from other companies), so I think Lidl are ahead of the game here. And I have to say I've always found Lidl customer services to be extremely helpful. They could be treating this very seriously internally, but are under no obligation to give you the details of that investigation. That is then an internal HR issue.

jor el

xcrieve wrote: »

I'd have settled for a call, rather than a PFO.

They did respond, you quoted the email right at the start. You're just being awkward because you wanted them to ring you, which is not going to happen, and is completely unnecessary.

You emailed them, and they emailed back. Get over yourself, and move on.

Mr. Presentable

Aah, lads, all the OP wants is pecuniary compensation for handling "foreign" juices. Is it so much to ask?

xcrieve

nipplenuts wrote: »

Aah, lads, all the OP wants is pecuniary compensation for handling "foreign" juices. Is it so much to ask?

Nope, I don't actually. By the time I had posted it (I was a pretty pissed off the time), I had given up on getting any satisfaction from Lidl. Piss in a food supermarket is about as bad as it gets, save a rat infestation, turds and e-coli etc.

If I had a business, and my customer got pissed on, I'd have at least made to effort for verbal contact. Politeness and all that.

Compensation btw does not come into it - remember we didn't buy those items. I just think getting stale piss on you warrants a little more than indifference.

Any one upshot of this thread is that the urination is now recorded in case someone does actually fall ill from it, and isn't sure why. That is enough for me.

Hopefully the stock wasn't just hosed and thrown back on the shelf

consultech

Meh; You shop in Lidl, you're bound to encounter a bit of pidl.

herya

xcrieve wrote: »

I've changed enough nappies and had more than a few pets, not to mention having mopped up piss back in my teenage years in pub toilets not to know what I got all over me in their store.

But still you can't tell human urine from cat piss? I've never changed a nappy and I only had one cat but I can tell from one whiff.

xcrieve

Always had dogs, only two cats, the last one nearly 10 years ago. It was a stale pungent urine smell. I'd prefer to think it was cat urine

Sofiztikated

xcrieve wrote: »

Picked up a bottle of squash in Lidl Clonee on Monday which was soaking (along with the case) in urine. I drew it to the attention of a shop assistant that smelt it, apologised and got me some baby-wipes to clean my hands as the smell was revolting.

Anyway, I picked up what I came in for (milk - I wasn't taking the squash obviously).

Anyway, when I got back home about half an hour later, I email their customer support and got th following response:

' Dear Sir,
We write in relation to your recent complaint regarding an incident that occurred in our Clonee store today.
May we first of all apologise for any inconvenience this incident may have caused you. Lidl Ireland GmbH and our suppliers adopt very high standards to ensure that all aspects of our goods and service are outstanding.
At Lidl we take all complaints very seriously. Unfortunately we are unable to determine what liquid was on the packaging. The product was been disposed of in store for health and safety reasons. All other stock has been checked to ensure that there was no other defective products and the area has been thoroughly cleaned. We have notified the District Manager and our Sales Manager of this complaint.
We would like to thank you for taking the time to notify us of the incident. We would like to reiterate our commitment to customer care and we hope that you continue to shop with us in the future.
Assuring you of our best intentions at all times.
Regards
Mr Joe Bloggs
Customer Service Assistant'


I wasn't particularly happy as I could still smell urine from my shirt, and it was definitely urine, and the case was soaking in it. Anyway, even though I did not purchase the bottle of squash, I am concerned that other customers did, and that they may have allowed their children etc to drink. Specifically I was worried about the likes of Viles disease as I was unable to tell tell whether it was human, cat or whatever urine (I did say in my original email that I thought it human origally as there was so much and it was so strong smelling).


Anyway, what I am wondering is whether I should do anything more than this. I wrote a follow up mail saying that I thought the event should be investigated, and some thought be given to finding out how many bottles had been sold. I didn't recieve an answer to the second mail.


Point is I didn't appreciate getting urine on my hands and clothes, and I am annoyed at Lidls lack on interest? Should I just leave it or is there anything else I could do to have the matter taken seriously?

Bits I have highlighted. Perfectly satisfactory conclusion to me. They have done all they can do.

xcrieve wrote: »

It was P-I-S-S.

It was not a carton of juice spilt.

I've changed enough nappies and had more than a few pets, not to mention having mopped up piss back in my teenage years in pub toilets not to know what I got all over me in their store.

And their store assistant agreed.

So as far as I am concerned, piss on me, my clothes and on food-stuffs I was about to purchase is an issue.

Unfortunetly, neither you nor the assistant got it lab tested, so you cannot confirm it was urine.

xcrieve wrote: »

Nope, I don't actually. By the time I had posted it (I was a pretty pissed off the time), I had given up on getting any satisfaction from Lidl. Piss in a food supermarket is about as bad as it gets, save a rat infestation, turds and e-coli etc.

If I had a business, and my customer got pissed on, I'd have at least made to effort for verbal contact. Politeness and all that.

Compensation btw does not come into it - remember we didn't buy those items. I just think getting stale piss on you warrants a little more than indifference.

Any one upshot of this thread is that the urination is now recorded in case someone does actually fall ill from it, and isn't sure why. That is enough for me.

Hopefully the stock wasn't just hosed and thrown back on the shelf

But to me this doesn't seem like enough for you.

xcrieve wrote: »

Always had dogs, only two cats, the last one nearly 10 years ago. It was a stale pungent urine smell. I'd prefer to think it was cat urine

Urine is urine. You seem to have yourself convinced it was. Without proof, you can't say it was or not. You'd like to suspect it was cat urine.

If you feel so strongly about it, report the the EHO, they'll investigate. It'll be found out if it was urine, if they disposed of it correctly, and how it got there in the first place.

If you don't report it, don't bitch about it.

Miaireland

Firstly what happened sounds digusting and I can understand why you are upset.

To be fair though I think that Lidi did all they could in the situation and did acknowledge your complaint.

If you are concerned you could contact the Food Safety Authority who might come out and carry out an inspection to make sure that items are being stored in sterile stockrooms etc.

Sleipnir

I suggest you play with the kids, take the wife to dinner, see a show or do whatever it is you do to relax.
In short, forget it and get on with your life.

foggy_lad

from your description of the offending liquid i can only agree with what was stated earlier about it being simply spilled concentrated juice and any competent househusbnd or housewife that pays attention when shopping will tell you the same!

you seem determined to mention urine as many times as possible here and link it solely to lidl without a shred of evidence that it was actually urine and i fear you are taking the proverbial with this thread or at best trying to tarnish the excellent record which lidl have for customer care and store cleanliness and staff hygiene.

in short build a bridge across your pool of piss and get yourself over it.

Nozebleed

No, I'm not looking for compensation but this happened in the middle of foodstuffs, across the aisle from fruit and veg


Are you saying somebody decided to walk in and take a piss in the middle of the aisle?? is this what you are saying?

Enderol

did anyone else realise that the customer sevice guys name was "joe Bloggs".

What parents with the name bloggs would call they're son joe?