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A disabled shopper has alleged she was ‘mocked’ by Home Bargains staff as she struggled to complete her shopping.
Dianna Slade, 37, suffers from Functional Neurological Disorder, which can cause excessive shaking and difficulty with movement.
Despite wearing her sunflower lanyard, which shows that she may need extra help and patience while shopping, Dianna claims employees at Home Bargains in Bidston accused her of being “drunk” and “laughed” as she struggled.
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Watch Dianna's emotional response here.
Dianna, from Meols, Wirral, Merseyside, said: "I'm disabled not drunk. It broke my heart. I was sobbing and I just felt ashamed.
"What had happened so far was bad enough but that just humiliated me. Saying that to someone who's visibly disabled or as visibly struggling as I was, it was heartless and really uncalled for.
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"It was b*tchy and unnecessary and it really hurt my feelings. People might think I'm a snowflake but this is my life now.”
Dianna was in store late August to pick up some car mats. But as she was shopping, her symptoms flared up, and she dropped the car mats onto a worker’s back.
While she headed to the check-out, already embarrassed by her tearful struggle, she says she heard a male staff member say 'it's a bit early to be drinking, isn't it?' followed by 'heartless giggles'.
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"I'd picked up these car mats because they were on sale, but with my wobbliness they fell onto the floor in the aisle and flopped onto the back of one of the staff,” Dianna explained.
"I was so apologetic, but it clammed me up a bit. I panicked and I struggled to pick the mats up. I was using my crutches as a tripod between my legs and I was holding my basket as well.
"The staff member was looking at me like I was insignificant and the other staff were just watching me. I managed to get the mats up after one of them held them up for me.”
She continued: "I pulled everything together and I started hobbling to the tills. I could really feel the panic attack coming on. My mascara was down by my chin at this point and I was shaking.
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"As I turned around the corner of the aisle I heard a male voice say 'it's a bit early to be drinking isn't it?' and the three of them had a little giggle at my expense.
"When I was at the tills my body just wouldn't co-ordinate properly because the more worked up I get the worse things are.
"It's not like it was the end of the day and they were tired and fed up with customers. I get he might not have been a morning person but there's no need to insult someone because they're disabled.”
Dianna’s condition flared up in 2016, and she usually ordered her shopping online.
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However, she had recently plucked up the courage to visit stores in person.
Now, Dianna, who says her confidence is “in the gutter”, has said she will no longer be shopping in Home Bargains until staff are properly trained.
They were just so dismissive of me and cruel. It was like I wasn't deserving of her attention.
"I've been to another Home Bargains and asked if their staff know about the sunflower lanyard scheme and one lady said that she thinks it's to do with them being exempt from wearing masks.
"I'd like there to be some consequences for the staff involved. Not for them to be fired, I just want them to be made aware it's highly inappropriate.
"I want a commitment from Home Bargains to train their staff on the lanyard scheme and that people may need assistance. I won't go back until that's sorted.
"If it'd just been that I'd struggled and it was down to my clumsiness and then nothing had been said, then I wouldn't have been as bad but that comment, I just can't forget it."
Home Bargains declined to comment when approached by Tyla.
Featured Image Credit: KennedyTopics: Shopping, Life, Real Life