Rightway Anmeldelser 

I recently visited the Ellesmere Port branch. As I was paying for my items, I was told by the employee serving me that in future I would have to wear a mask before entering the store. I informed him I was medically exempt, & I would not be wearing a mask next time I visited the store. The employee then told me in that case i would be refused access.

I made a complaint to head office who promised to investigate & get back to me. That was 3 weeks ago, and I have heard nothing.

I visited RW quite regularly but now go to Wilko and B&M instead as their staff seem to be much more accommodating of medically exempt people with hidden disabilities.

Update in response to reply 31/03/21.

Thank you for the reply. Despite assurances i would be contacted the same day of my complaint this is the 1st correspondence regarding the matter.

Approximately 3 months later.

You had my contact details & ample time to contact me and resolve this matter yet you chose not to. I am shocked at the response from RW. You have handled this appallingly.

You say, “we are accepting what our customers tell us for the very reason you cited of hidden disabilities”.

This has not been my experience at all.

Everything I have said is true. My medical exemption is valid, & my disabilities exist. Had you had the decency to get back to me as promised then this matter could have been resolved privately & i would hope more professionally. I left an honest review that reflected what happened accurately. A review you are now trying to undermine.

So, let us explore in greater detail what happened that day so TrustPilot clients can indeed decide for themselves.

On the day I visited your store the door was closed, and there was a sign displaying your Covid Policy. Customers were instructed to stop at the door, ring the bell & wait to be met at the door before being admitted by a member of staff.

THIS DID NOT HAPPEN.

Your employee did not even come to the door let alone open it. He leaned around the corner and waved me in. Your own CCTV will show this.

Straight away your employee has failed to follow RW covid policy, ignoring it completely.

Seeing your employee wave me in I entered the store & he returned to his position behind the counter. I was not wearing a mask. I spent several minutes browsing the aisles walking past him at the counter a number of times. At no point was I approached or spoken to. I then went to the till. Whilst paying for my items your employee informed me that if I were to return to the store, I would have to wear a face covering.

I informed him that a medical exemption prevents me from wearing a mask & as such i would not be wearing one should I return in the future.

Your employees’ attitude towards me changed when I said I was exempt. I am still young & my disabilities are hidden. Put frankly I got the impression he did not believe me.

After informing him of my exemption your employee immediately replied, “Well in that case you won’t be coming in then”.

At no point did I make any comments about face coverings in general as you suggest other than to explain I am unable to wear one due to a medical exemption. Yes, I became frustrated with your employee as he was rude, arrogant, and behaved in an extremely unprofessional manner. I left the store before he escalated things further.

Legal action was indeed mentioned yet not in the context you describe. Retail staff cannot be allowed to think covid guidelines are open to interpretation. They are not. They are to be followed to the letter & only change when the guidance is changed by the government. Employees failing to adhere to and enforce covid policy correctly not only ruins the shopping experience of disabled people but also puts businesses in danger of breaching the disability discrimination act.

Why should my shopping experience be ruined because your employee cannot follow Rightway covid policy correctly?

I do not believe I would have been treated in such a way had I not been disabled and able to wear a face covering.

Surely when investigating complaints, you get BOTH sides of the story. Yet this is our 1st communication since my complaint. RW made NO attempt to contact me to ask for a statement yet not only do RW seem to have concluded that am I in the wrong RW seem to insinuate that i am being dishonest and go further by undermining my statement and questioning my version of events.

The fact remains this incident would have been avoided entirely had your employee followed the covid policy introduced by RW. Yet he did not. So who is at fault?

Finally may I suggest Rightway better invest the time and energy used here into conducting proper, thorough and unbiased investigations when investigating complaints, whilst also improving staff training and customer service.

They should also pay closer attention to those they promote to managerial positions.

A massive thank you to the Rightway staff. I needed to locate some paint that was no longer in production to touch up a wall at home, and Rightway somehow managed to find me not just the tester pot I enquired about, but a whole pot, from I don't know where, then had them transferred to a branch that I could go to. Nothing was too much trouble, and the staff once I got there was equally friendly. One happy customer.

Order received in no time. The items was incorrect but with a single email, I received an apology, a refund and the possibility to keep the incorrect item. Impressive! Well done Rightway!