Sainsbury's staff denied alcohol to customer with Parkinson's after accusing him of being drunk
The Sainsbury's Local
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A pensioner with Parkinson's said he was "humiliated" by Sainsbury’s shop staff after they wrongly accused him of being drunk.
Dave Ferris, 74, said he had tried to purchase a bottle of prosecco on bank holiday Monday at his local branch and was refused.
The 74-year-old said he had explained the neurological condition to a shop assistant and later to a manager at the Bournemouth shop.
While he does not drink alcohol himself, he had wanted to buy the bottle for a relative and ended up having to explain to a shop assistant and later to a manager.
The Sainsbury's Local in Bournemouth that refused to serve Dave
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The avid bass player told The Times: "When it was my turn to be served with my items, the shop assistant on the till said, ‘I can’t serve you the alcohol, you appear drunk to me’.
"I replied, 'that’s ridiculous, I have Parkinson’s disease', and I repeated this three times with other customers standing behind me."
Despite the fact that he explained once more that he had Parkinson’s disease and dyskinesias, unco-ordinated swaying movements, and was not intoxicated, the manager is said to have told him that she was still unable to make the transaction as the prosecco had already been entered into the till and refused.
While he successfully purchased prosecco from a Lidl supermarket instead, Ferris, who visited the Sainsbury’s store regularly, has vowed never to return.
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He added: “I was angry and humiliated that I had been treated so badly in front of other customers. My friends and family cannot believe that this has happened to me.”
His wife, Clare Friend, said that when he returned from the trip, he looked "ashen-faced and visibly upset" when he returned home and told her: “A terrible thing just happened."
When she entered the store to complain, the manager told her that she stood by the decision made by the junior member of staff, according to Friend, but would apologise to Ferris if it would make him “feel better."
She added: "That, to me, wasn’t heartfelt...That was: to make him feel better, she would give him an apology, but she still stood by her shop assistant’s decision."
Friend, a retired occupational therapist who worked for 35 years promoting independence for people with disabilities, added: "Dave was diagnosed 16 years ago … he does amazingly well, but to have this chucked in [his] face was awful for him, a terrible experience."
A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: "Our colleagues at our Bournemouth Southbourne Grove Local store have told the customer how deeply sorry they are for the misunderstanding."
They added the company provides inclusivity training to store staff and supports the sunflower lanyard scheme to help customers with hidden disabilities and long-term chronic conditions.