Anish Vij
Lidl has apologised after a mother and daughter were left 'humiliated' by a male cashier when buying period products in a Somerset supermarket.
The shoppers were said to be stood in the queue at the Wells branch of Lidl last weekend when the incident took place.
While attempting to purchase multiple sanitary products, a member of staff loudly informed them that the number of items they could buy was limited, reports Somerset Live.
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According to a witness, the cashier opted to 'completely humiliate and shame a mother and daughter'.
"Two women living in the same household with synced periods… not uncommon at all," the shopper wrote on social media.
"He deemed it acceptable to shout to the back of the queue, in a very hectic shop, that what they were buying wasn’t ‘allowed’ to be purchased.
"He kept shouting ‘you can’t buy any more than 12’ ‘you won’t be served here’.
"They did in fact not have any more than 12. He continuously repeated himself becoming more and more aggressive, totally embarrassing the mother and daughter more and more each time he did so.
"He then began to argue with said mother over what she had, she politely told him they didn’t have anymore than they were ‘allowed’ to purchase but he just continued."
The onlooker claimed other shoppers queuing nearby 'had turned to look at what was going on, causing yet more unnecessary embarrassment'.
As a result, the two women apparently went to another till, where they were served 'perfectly' by 'the deputy manager'.
"The mother raised her concerns with what had just happened and she apologised on his behalf, whilst he decided to again raise his voice to defend himself," the shopper added.
"The teenage daughter said had she had been on her own she would have put down the sanitary products that she needed and left crying due to immense embarrassment and would have just 'gone without'.
"This is in no way, shape or form acceptable. Nothing will ever change unless we all challenge the stereotypes, the stigma, the taboos surrounding menstruation."
Lidl has since apologised and insists that 're-training is being provided' to avoid further incidents of this kind.
"We were extremely sorry to learn of this matter and would like to sincerely apologise to the customer," a Lidl spokesperson said.
"We always aim to deliver a welcoming and positive shopping experience and were therefore incredibly disappointed to learn that we fell short on this occasion.
"The matter was immediately escalated to management and we can confirm that re-training is being provided to help ensure that it does not happen again."
Tyla has contacted Lidl for further comment.