Some supermarket complaints are downright unbelievable, like this one:
Not everyone glides serenely through every day like a monk. Little annoyances that turn into a huge problem? The website Klacht.nl has made a name for itself with them. Anyone can grumble there about whatever is bothering them – and the best part: the website finds a solution. Even for Charles’s insurmountable supermarket complaints. Fixed!
Have a nice browse through the site, and your own problems – a bell pepper allergy, an ill-mannered cat and a dishwasher that bangs or leaks, sometimes both at the same time but never neither – suddenly seem a lot less serious. There are hard bits in the muesli, the soy milk should still be within its best-before date according to the packaging, but the carton is bulging, and the discounted raspberries are already gone by the afternoon: the suffering is impossible to put into words. And Charles’s complaint is a highlight (or a low point, depending on which way you look at it).
Supermarket complaint: ‘not normal’
What’s the problem? He describes it himself, briefly and clearly: ‘My complaint is that at the Aldi in Tilburg North, Verdieplein, behind the loading bay, the staff sit smoking and throw their cigarette butts outside.’ Charles thinks that’s: ‘Not normal.’ And he wants the company to address the staff about it.
Not nice for Danny either
In summary: half the world is on fire or underwater. But Charles decided to start up his computer, surf to this website, create an account on the website and send this little message because staff at the personnel entrance of the Aldi in Tilburg North light up a fag when they have to load or unload a truck.
Unhealthy
Smoking is bad for you, and Charles deserves credit for worrying about the health of the – probably young – Aldi employees. Everyone knows the list: cardiovascular disease, lung conditions, stomach ulcers and intestinal problems, not to mention the effects of smoking on the progression of other diseases (thank you, RIVM, for this summary).
10 billion
Or is Charles actually concerned about the environment and litter? Throwing cigarette butts onto the street is not nice, especially because it takes years for such a filter to decompose naturally, and there is a risk that birds will pick them up, which is not good either. By the way, did you know that three-quarters of smokers throw their butts onto the street? That amounts to 10 billion cigarette butts per year in the Netherlands alone – unbelievable!
Resolved!
Aldi is taking Charles’s complaint seriously. It has been dealt with, but we do not know how, because Aldi’s response on the site is only visible to Charles. We hope for a lovely bouquet for Charles, and an ashtray and a book by Allan Carr for the Aldi employees. If only everything were as easy to resolve as a complaint on this website.
