Mr Price Store - Northside.

Steveirl09

IF anyone doesnt know about Mr Price its a store similar to Deals.
I visited one of there stores in Dublin about 6 weeks.
I was out shopping for a booster seat for the car for our 3yr old in the shop beside Mr Price and after left my wife said lets go into Mr Price for a few minutes.

I was pushing a buggy with my 3yr old as he had just fallen asleep when we got out of the car 10mins before arriving so he was fairly sleepy.

A customer entered the store and pushed the barriers opened.
to my shock it flew back and hit the buggy, i didnt realise what had happened but a women came running over in a bit of a panic and asked me did it hit your son.
i was suprised because when i checked he was in an awful state.
Quickly a lump started growing on his forehead and we could not console him.
This went on for at least 20mins. we ccarried him around the store and he was still unconsolable.

If anyone shops in tescos or dunnes when you come across barriers at all they automatically open and dont close until its clear so they have senors.

i realised how backwards the technology was in this store that this store had a barrier u push open and if someone is coming behind you it hits them hard. Its a steel barrier.

A number of customers in the store told me to get a manager.
I wasnt going to say anything but it annoyed me the more i thought about it and the way he was so upset.

i asked a girl on the shop floor if I could i speak to a manager. She said there is no manager.
I then asked if i could speak to someone so i went up towards the cash desks.

A girl came out and i explained what happened and she was writing it down on paper.
She mentioned twice oh god his poor head he got an awful bang.

She then said which i was very surprised that they have had a number of complaints about that barrier in the past so i replied why was the barrier still there or no signs up.

i also had a back operation 2 years ago and a 3 year old crying on your sholder for 20mins and the weight it can take its toll.
We were not even offered a chair so he could sit down and we properly assess him and the bump on his head.
He has had little falls and bangs before but the bang he got on his head from this barrier we couldnt console him. it was awful to see no matter who's kid it was.

I was told i would get a call on monday from head office when they look at the CCTV...
i waited 2 weeks and no call.
i then sent an email to the company.
i got a call from a girl in head of security only after i sent an email 2 weeks later who told me she tried ringing me several times.
I asked for the phone records and she stuttered and said oh i can get you them.
That was 6 weeks ago and i was never given any.

Anyway she said she had spoken to the girl in the shop and that my son had a slight mark on his head. ridicolous statements to make when the girl in store said to me he got an awful bang.
I questioned with her that there have been complaints about the barrier before and she dismissed that them complaints happened.
She then put me in an awkward position by saying on the call i can get James something and started naming different toys as id like to put this right today.
she asked me to decide what he would like.

to be honest all i wanted to know about was why the such old fashioned barriers from the 80s were in a store in 2015 that fly back with no sign above it.
I asked about other Mr Price stores and aparently this is the only store the barrier is in.

I spoke to her again the following day and mentioned that i was not looking for anything.
I told the women i would not be happy and wont let this go until i know what they are putting in place why there were no signs. she told me the barrier would be coming down.

She told me she wants to get a full report on the incident from the store and that she would contact me later in the week (3 weeks ago) because the girl in the store who took the statement was on a few days holidays

I also sent on the quesitons below and mentioned that i wouldnt be happy until these questions are answered along with a full statement of what health n safety measures they have take.

Questions i sent on.

1. Why is there a barrier in Northside when entering the store and not in any other stores as you mentioned?
2. Why isnt it in lign with barriers in other stores that open automatically
3. Why was there no sign up?
4. If I could not be contacted by phone in the last week why did I not receive an email when I gave my email address also to the girl who took the statement?
5. Why did I not receive an earlier text like I did tonight after I sent the email last night? I received a text to aks me to call her on her personal mobile. !!! (unbelievable)
7. What kind of staff take a statement and don’t sign their name as you asked me do I know the name of the person who took the statement yet you told me tonight that the girl said
he had a red mark on his forehead? It doesn’t add up.
8. What kind of health & safety training do your staff in northside have?
9. What kind of first aid training does your staff in northside have?


I have not been contacted since i sent these questions and never received a call back by the company.

It really is shocking. not sure what to do next, if you go to there website there is no number.

Regards
Stephen

slimjimmc

What's your consumer issue? This seems to be more of a legal issue, especially if there is a potential for liability. Did you get the details of the customer who caused the injury to your son?

Steveirl09

Sorry moderator have i posted in wrong area?

im new to boards.

my issue is with the store and how they are handling it.
Does it need to be moved?


if so sorry.

Regards
Steve

slimjimmc

No problem.
I'll move this to Legal discussion but you won't be able to seek legal advice on if or how to proceed.

Moved

MarkAnthony

The first rule of any good legal department is non engagement and ignore the complaint and hope it goes away. You might, potentially, maybe lose a customer - probably not, almost certainly not permanently - time heals almost all wounds, sales heal the rest. You'll almost certainly (I'd guess 80% of cases) avoid having to pay any compensation as people give up.

The danger of engaging when you don't need to is a simple apology or answer to your questions may lead on to bigger issues. Either get a solicitor on to it if you think you've a loss and a potential claim or don't shop there. Frankly I'm not even sure it's entirely the store's fault, blame of both sides IMHO.

Sorry to sound harsh but it's simply how I see it.

Steveirl09

Appreciate your comments not sure how it's anyone else's fault only the store. I didn't put the barrier there. Why have a barrier in 1 store and none of the others. If it was your child you may say differently. I didn't even know that the customer ahead of me had pushed it opened. I actually thought it automatically opened. I wasn't expecting it to close on me. These barriers were in the main supermarkets 25 yrs ago they were taken away for a reason. I'll be contacting this head of security person again tomorrow I won't let it lie down. I won't he lied to eaither by her.

MarkAnthony

Removing emotion and taking the other side - so you were on notice such barriers exist. Any barrier could swing back potentially causing injury, I'd go first if I was an over cautious type.

Why have it in one store? There could be any number of reasons.

Assuming liability attaches to the store, what damage do you have? What are you seeking. Legal departments don't deal in apologies and customer service they deal in liability and potential claims. Store managers/supervisors do and will sometime go about in a cack-handed manner - re text requesting your call.

Again I'm simply trying to enlighten you as to what you're up against.

Buzz Meeks

There's a lot of 'i thought' and 'i was expecting' in regard to the barrier.


Nobody cares what you thought.

MarkAnthony

Buzz Meeks wrote: »

There's a lot of 'i thought' and 'i was expecting' in regard to the barrier.


Nobody cares what you thought.

Of course they do, to a point. Arguable from both sides about the potential hazard in this scenario - definitely.

Steveirl09

I didn't think anything at the time I wasn't expecting a hazard in a store. If I knew something was going to happen I would not have entered the store. I entered the store to browse around n I purchased some items. I never seen this coming

Oryx

The way the company is dealing with you is bad pr, but not really a legal issue. They can actually ignore you completely if they choose, all it means is that they damage their image in your eyes. The issue here is whether they are liable for what happened to your son, and if so, whether he is entitled to redress. Yes an apology would be nice, but dont hold your breath. What happens to the barrier is down to whether the company feel it is a safety risk (meaning potentially expensive in claim payouts).

Peregrinus

What Oryx said. From the OP, it appears that what you are asking for is not compensation or redress or damages or anything of the kind, but replies to a detailed list of questions about how this matter was handled and about staff training relevant to matters like this, plus for good measure "a full statement of what health n safety measures they have taken".

I understand your feelings about this, but you have no legal entitlement to what you are asking for. If you're not happy about the health and safety standards of any business you don't have to patronise the business, but you don't get to appoint yourself as a kind of public health and safety inspector with powers of investigation.

You could contact the HSE Environmental Health Officer for the area and report the matter to them. EHOs have a range of responsiblilities, mostly focusing on premises where food is prepared or sold, enforcing no-smoking laws, etc, but they do have a brief to deal with the safety of buildings open to the public. Mostly this means schools, theatres and places of the kind, but as far as I know there's no reason why it couldn't extend to shops or supermarkets. The EHO will not really be interested in how the accident involving your child was handled after it happened, but he may be interested in how it happened in the first place and whether the swinging barrier presents a danger to the public that needs to be addressed.

the_syco

Steveirl09 wrote: »

I was told i would get a call on monday from head office when they look at the CCTV...
i waited 2 weeks and no call.
i then sent an email to the company.
i got a call from a girl in head of security only after i sent an email 2 weeks later who told me she tried ringing me several times.
I asked for the phone records and she stuttered and said oh i can get you them.
That was 6 weeks ago and i was never given any.

I'd say that CCTV has been recorded over by now. A lot of shops would only keep it a week before recording over it, unless there was a need (shoplifting, etc) for it to be put aside.

Steveirl09

This is not a legal issue im trying to prevent it from happening someone else's child.

The moderator moved it to Legal discussion

road_high

Again where does parental responsibility come in here? From what I understand, you were the one pushing the buggy and should have been vigilant for all potential hazards. If you had been watching the person entering the store in front of you this could have easily been avoided. Always someone else's fault in this country...

Steveirl09

this place is deluded especially with the last reply, obviously a bitter little man.

Cmon get real what store now a days has a swinging cast iron barrier.
if i go around all day worrying about things about to happen the men in the white coats would be coming for me to take me away.
im wheeling a buggy entering the shop im not waiting on something to happen.
it swung back i couldnt stop it....
The shop say they are taking it down because it is a hazard and its had numerous complaints were nothing was done.

road_high do you have children ?
if so what ages, put yourself in my shoes were my sone got an awful bang on the head were this barrier is only in 1 of there stores and taken down in other stores. All it takes is for them to put up a sign to warn people especially if complaints were made before.
i had never been in there store before until that day.

Buzz Meeks

Steveirl09 wrote: »

this place is deluded especially with the last reply, obviously a bitter little man.

Cmon get real what store now a days has a swinging cast iron barrier.
if i go around all day worrying about things about to happen the men in the white coats would be coming for me to take me away.
im wheeling a buggy entering the shop im not waiting on something to happen.
it swung back i couldnt stop it....
The shop say they are taking it down because it is a hazard and its had numerous complaints were nothing was done.

road_high do you have children ?
if so what ages, put yourself in my shoes were my sone got an awful bang on the head were this barrier is only in 1 of there stores and taken down in other stores. All it takes is for them to put up a sign to warn people especially if complaints were made before.
i had never been in there store before until that day.

When you're wheeling a young child in front of you Steve then you ought to have a reasonable level of worry about things about to happen in their path.

Steveirl09

I do but I just wasn't expecting this

Buzz Meeks

I do think that they're out of line in their lack of communication with you.

MarkAnthony

This isn't a legal issue but I'll maybe answer the question of why that store has that barrier. It's been awhile since I was in Northside SC and I preface my remarks by saying I live on the Northside and like the area and people around me. I wouldn't be in a rough area but I'm also not deciding which of my 7 livingrooms I'll sit in in Clontarf either. Anyways...

I helped set up a store in there for a retailer, quite a large one at the time. Northside was a bit of an odd and sods project with a short term lease and no real understanding of how well the store was going to do. I suspect the same is probably true of other stores out there, hence why you'll find some older fittings etc.

Again while this isn't ideal as I say I think there's enough blame to go around to everyone involved. Personaly I'd be more annoyed at the inconsiderate asshat that went through infront of you. You keep asking if people have children etc. that's, with respect, irrelevant to the discussion. Yes he got an awful bang on the bonts it happens. I've explained why an apology is not forthcoming. Sucks but that's life.

I hope you get some satisfaction OP. I don't wish to argue with moderation in thread but this probably should have stayed in consumer issues. However you weren't overly clear in your OP and frankly they get enough people in there for a rant about poor service at X company already. I'd suggest taking to other forms of social media such as facebook and twitter to communicate your displeasure. Marketing people are far more ready to apologise than legal.