Draft Letter of Complaint

The following is a draft of an e-mail I intend to send to Woolworths, and a carbon copy to Coles:

To Whom it may concern: I am writing this letter of complaint about an incident that occurred on Friday the 14th at the Glendale branch of Woolworths. A carbon copy is being sent to Coles as well, as some of the events described affect their Glendale branch as well. I suffer from epilepsy, depression, panic attacks and cognitive problems, and attempt to get by on a disability allowance. Shopping for specials at Coles, Aldi, Woolworths and elsewhere is an essential part of budgeting. On the Friday in question, I had first gone to the University of Newcastle to recover my purse, which I'd forgotten at U Print the day before. I have been suffering from a bout of flu and it has been causing concentration and memory problems. Before going to Woolworths, I'd shopped at K-Mart, Target, Go-Lo and Coles. I had my "Home-maker Enviro" shopping trolley with me, but decided to put that in a Coles shopping trolley as I was feeling exhausted, and in doing so it was easier to move around the isles. I would have normally left my bag/trolley at the information desk but it was late in the day and I wasn't sure I'd be finished before it closed at 5:30pm, and Coles no longer allow shopping bags/trolleys to be placed behind the service counter. I purchased a number of items, in particular I bought (or though that I'd bought) four tins of Whiskas and a 1 kg packet of Friskies as they were on special (for 89c and $2.99 respectively). As Coles didn't have plain lactose free milk (they only had skim and low fat varieties) and because they had no "Coles Brand" dry food, I decided to go to Woolworths to buy those and other items. When I got there it was busy and the checkout that I'd normally put my trolley in (next to the service desk) already had a trolley in it. The last time I'd been to Woolworths that checkout was in service and when I asked at another checkout if I could put my trolley in the spare position next to it, I was told that "I couldn't because it might have to open". I do not have use of a car, so I could not put my already purchased items in the boot. As I had receipts (or so I thought) for everything I decided to just take the Coles trolley with everything inside. After buying a handful of items (no dry cat food as the Woolworths home brand wasn't on the shelf) I went to the checkout and proceeded to pay for those items. I was then accosted by a young male employee who wanted to know if I had receipts for everything. I produced my receipts and then he wanted to know about tins of cat food that were underneath my "Enviro" trolley. I looked underneath and found two tins of Whiskas, which I thought had rolled out of my shopping. Upon inspection of my Coles receipt only two tins of Whiskas were listed. I can only guess that they must have slipped underneath when I went through the checkout at Coles, that in my ill state I hadn't noticed them and that they weren't yet paid for. The young man persistently said "We've had this conversation before about receipts" which I can only assume is a reference to when I was harassed a few months ago over groceries that I'd purchased from the NUSA food co-operative at Newcastle Uni and had taken into Woolworths  in order to view the "Forever Sharp" knife demonstration. I hadn't realised that receipts issued by the co-op were "too vague" for use (they say "Fruit & Veggies, $10" on them), and that the employee in question refused to phone NUSA (where I am known by name) in order to confirm both that I'd purchased said items, and the composition of such. After that occasion I generally try to park my trolley in a spare checkout or information desk in order to avoid such problems, however as I pointed out above, that did not seem to be a viable option. Under such conditions there's no incentive to shop at both stores. In any case, he then queried the packet of Friskies, saying that the Coles receipt stated only "CAT FOOD 1 KG", implying that I'd substituted the Friskies for some other (presumerably) brand. I do not understand why I should be made to suffer for the vagaries of one company's receipts, especially when the person in question refused to phone Coles and check if the item was on sale for the price listed. As I had no receipt for the two Whiskas tins, I was forced to leave them behind, even though technically they are still property of Coles. As I left the checkout I discovered that the young man had not returned my Coles receipt. When I confronted him with that fact, he denied having retained it, and I left in disgust. I would have pursued the matter further, however I was feeling ill, and was fighting off a panic attack (which eventually happened once I'd arrived home). I feel terrible about the two Whiskas tins which got missed by mistake. I would be happy to pay Coles for their worth, but they are currently not in my possession, but at Woolworths Glendale. I probably should have just gone home from the university and not bothered with shopping, but I wanted to make sure I had food for my pets. I feel that I have been humiliated and unfairly accused of shoplifting! I have a phobia about being accosted in stores and the experience today fed into those fears.  Under these circumstances I do not feel that I can continue shopping at Woolworths in Glendale for fear of triggering panic attacks. It may be that I stop buying at Woolworths entirely, instead, shopping at Coles, Aldi, and other alternatives. Should anyone ask me why I do not, I shall have to say that it's because Woolworths takes advantage of its disabled customers.

It's true about my phobia. For years I've had this big fear of being pulled aside in a large shop and having my things gone through, and being accused of shoplifting. I don't know where that irrational fear comes from, but it makes me uncomfortable in shops like Coles and Woollies.

I'm hoping for a few comments. Am I doing the right thing by sending this? How would you change it? Comments please!

Careers Meme

Infected by both flisleshnitz and fiery_ichor:

1. Go to http://careercruising.com/
2. Put in Username: nycareers, Password: landmark.
3. Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions
4. Post the results (and comments to each if you feel like it):
5. (flisleshnitz's variant)
       Bold =like
       bold plus italic = love
       strikethrough = ew ew ew
       left alone = I'd do it, and enjoy myself, but not a forever kind of job

Website Designer Industrial Designer Historian Desktop Publisher Interior Designer Animator Cartoonist / Comic Illustrator Fashion Designer Cartographer Multimedia Developer Computer Animator Graphic Designer Artist Medical Illustrator GIS Specialist (???) Air Traffic Controller Video Game Developer Meteorologist Anthropologist Sign Maker Computer Engineer Tilesetter Computer Programmer Electrician Glazier Electronics Engineering Tech (my eldest brother) Electrical Engineering Tech (my other brother) Electronics Assembler Computer Trainer Model Maker (?!) Carpenter Drafter Writer Mathematician Bicycle Mechanic Engineering Tech Business Systems Analyst Musical Instrument Builder and Repairer (!!!) Activist (this is a career, not an attitude?) Flooring Installer You can tell I'm bored, cant you?

The Universal Declaration of Indigenous Peoples' Rights

This is inspired by a post by bcholmes on the subject.

If there was ever any evidence that the current government sucked harshly, it was the opposition to "The Universal Declaration of Indigenous Peoples' Rights" at the United Nations a day or so ago, by voting against it. The other countries that voted against it were the U.S.A., Canada, and New Zealand - all counties which once had (or still do have) a significant indigenous population that is no longer in the majority..

Non indigenous Australia has a disgraceful history of treating the folk who were here before them, by about 40,000 years. Almost as soon as the continent was colonised by Europeans, they started shooting, baiting, poisoning, massacring, swindling and dispossessing them of their inheritance. Not all settlers did this of course, but few resisted or stood up and decried the injustice of the genocide.

After Australia became an independent nation, it continued to abuse its indigenous folk. Families were torn apart when children were taken from their parents for "their own good" and placed in foster care, for no better reason than that the authorities could. Indigenous Australians had no right of vote until a referendum in the 1967 granted them citizenship. Currently, the Federal Government has sent the army in to occupy selected indigenous townships in a Northern Territory Intervention in order apparently, 'to prevent child abuse, and improve the health of indigenous Australians'. Funny they never did this in the previous 10 years of government, that only now in an election year where re-election is uncertain does it become an issue.

And my government has the gall to vote against the measures suggested in a voluntary declaration, that might help restore some dignity to these people. Like bcholmes, I'm adding a "i think my government might suck" tag to my own journal. Grrr!