Pick n Pay in broken chocolate row

Cape Town - Pick n Pay is
investigating a claim that a
Mitchells Plain granny and
her grandson were reduced
to tears over a demand that
the elderly woman pay for a
slab of chocolate the boy
broke.

A picture of the woman on
the floor, cradling the boy,
was being shared on
Facebook on Sunday by
people demanding that
action be taken against the
store's security and
manager for the way the
situation was handled.

Another picture shows a
slab of Dairy Milk broken in
half with the wrapper still
intact and Facebook users
expressing their outrage
over the way the two were
treated at the store on
Saturday.
Michelle Davids wrote on
the Mitchells Plain
Gangwatch Facebook page,
"The child didn't even open
and eat from the chocolate"
while Shantelle Engelbrecht
wrote on the retailer's
Facebook page, "I was
planning on doing the walk
in Kimberley till I saw the
story of pick n pay
Mitchell's plain traumatising
a granny and grandchild till
they were crying on the floor
for breaking a chocolate...
Not stealing ... Wth so sorry
m.. Sort your brand out
first".

Apologised for distress
Pick n Pay said in a
statement that the incident
was unacceptable and
apologised for the distress it
had caused.
"We are trying to identify
and contact the family
concerned to apologise to
them. We are urgently
investigating the incident
with our franchisee who
runs this store, to
understand the
circumstances and take the
necessary steps to ensure it
never happens again."
The incident also sparked a
conversation on what shops
should do when children
damage an item, and
whether it was considered
stealing to open an item
and eat it in the shop before
paying for it.