Today I went into Morrison’s Kidderminster Store in the midst of the Corona Virus Pandemic to get essentials that I need for my survival & the experience was nothing short of the worst shopping experience I’ve ever had in my life!!
Firstly I waited patiently outside the store with the other customers & entered the store when I was told I could. I went around the shop floor getting all the essentials I needed & I noticed out the corner of my eye that I was being followed around the store by their Security Guard. I didn’t react to this & carried on doing my shopping & I then went to the checkouts to pay for the items & their Security Guard was at the checkouts & started walking over to me. He pointed to the Self-Service Checkouts & told me to use them. I was fine with this, but I did tell him to move further back from where he was standing as he wasn’t 2 metres away. This is clearly defined by the UK Government as part of new measures to tackle the spread of Corona Virus in Britain by enforcing Social Distancing.
Eventually the Security Guard took the order from his colleague to move further back from where he was standing & I was then able to safely get to the Self-Service Checkout. At this point the Checkout Supervisor who told the Security Guard to stand back started walking towards me & at this point I took my phone out of my pocket to take a photo of it, because it just seemed to me that they weren’t complying with Social Distancing rules. When I took a photo of her, she told me that I was banned & that I couldn’t buy my shopping & to leave the store immediately. I said No, you have no authority to make that decision & so I want to speak to the Store Manager.
Then one of their Junior Market Street Managers came over & I was able to speak to him in somewhat of a calm manner & I thought I’d rectified the situation by the time I had stopped talking to him about the security guard & checkout supervisor. He told me everything was ok & I then went to pay for my shopping. He went over a spoke to the Checkout Supervisor & he then came back over to me. He told me to delete the photo that I’d taken on my phone & to prove to him that I’d done it or he wasn’t going to allow me to buy my shopping & said I’d be banned from the store for life if I didn’t comply with his request.
I told him that I wasn’t prepared to delete the photo & to my knowledge there isn’t such a law that stops people from taking evidence when they’re put in such precarious situations like this, which has made me feel victimised & singled out by them. He then told me I couldn’t have my shopping & to get out the store immediately or they’d contact the Police. At this point I didn’t struggle or refuse to leave the store & their Security Guard grabbed at my left arm, I pulled it away from him & said can you not touch me please I’m not struggling or refusing to leave I’m going!
He then let go of my arm & I walked out of the store. He told me if I ever go back in that store again I’ll be locked up in Prison.
(This article relates to an ongoing situation & as such this isn’t the final version & it will be updated over the course of the next few hours)
