Dear Park N Shop,

I have been a resident of Hong Kong since 1994. I adopted Hong Kong as my permanent home by choice, pay my taxes, abide the laws, vote in our elections, take interest in public discourse, provide jobs to others, and started a family here. Up until this month, (and especially yesterday), I placed Park N Shop high above your most direct competitor, Wellcome. For nearly 20 years you were my store for groceries, and housewares. My family and I spend about HKD 10 to 12 thousand per month in groceries, and probably 5 or 6 thousand more each month in wine, medicine, personal care, and appliances. I’m sure the 15 thousand dollars or so we spend on your brands is by no means a high amount, probably average, and so I don’t expect special treatment for my business. However, as of yesterday I will never again shop in one of your stores, and will try to avoid all of your brands (Watson’s, Fortress, Watson Wine, etc) as well. Indeed I will become a strong critic of your business. Why? Because your staff have twice now humiliated and accosted me for using a shopping cart, something that in my mind is a basic feature for any retail food transaction.

My first experience with your apparently new shopping cart policies was at the Hang Hau superstore, in Mid March. I had spent about HKD2,000 on groceries and after paying was taking them to my car in the mall car park. To my complete surprise one of your security guards, who was only able to speak a few basic words of English, and did not appear to have the most basic customer service skills, rudely accosted me outside your shop in the mall, in front of the next-door Fortress shop. He bluntly told me I could not take the cart out of the store. I told him that was ridiculous and that I was taking the groceries to my car, in the car park, where there are dozens of the same carts waiting to be recollected. He obviously didn’t understand what I was saying but was blocking my way. He continued to say something in Cantonese, which apparently was that I could not take the cart. We had become a spectacle in the mall with other shoppers staring at us so, I demanded that he go get the manager. When he left to do so I continued on my way to the lifts and into the car park. There, I put my groceries in my car and brought the shopping trolley to the area the mall had set aside for them. There I saw, again, the dozens of your shops carts waiting collection.

I thought nothing more of it and assumed that some overzealous new staff had simply made a mistake. I could not have believed how wrong I was in this assumption!

Yesterday, I had need to go to your Festival Walk branch. First because the day before I had bought a dehumidifier from you sister brand Fortress, and it needed to be exchanged. Second, I needed to stock up our cupboards for the long weekend and planned to do my shopping in the Superstore there.

I arrived in the car park and saw countless Park N Shop shopping carts littered about the car park. Given that the dehumidifier was quite heavy, I placed it into one of the carts and used that to take the machine up and through your store to the Fortress. The Dehumidifier was in a new box and still had the large, orange fortress security tags on it, quite clearly visible.

I exited your store into the mall and was just about to enter the Fortress store (only 10 or so steps from your main entrance) when a Security lady (again with no English language or customer service ability) accosted me, speaking to me in Cantonese, the message (if not the words) was loud and clear: I was not allowed to take the shopping cart. I told her I was just returning the dehumidifier to fortress and then was coming to the Park N Shop to buy groceries. She probably didn’t understand, but was not dissuaded and continued to hold on to the cart insisting I return it to your store (though again I had gotten it from the car park, so she was basically asking me to do your own work for free). I asked several times for her to get the store manager she refused. She let go of the cart so that she could use her mobile phone. I quickly completed the last few steps into the Fortress shop to conduct my exchange. Again assuming this was some overzealous new staff, and that the matter was over.

After a few minutes the security woman, along with a older male security staff came into the appliance section of the Fortress where I was making my exchange. They brought a oddly dressed middle aged Chinese lady with them who was clearly not an employee of your company. They again insisted I give them back the cart and the Chinese lady who they had brought with them, started shouting at the top of her voice that she was their witness, that I, a foreigner, was abusing Hong Kong people and the laws of Hong Kong. She continued on like that for some time, I have very interesting video of her antics. Meanwhile the two security staff continued to shout at me in Cantonese, I assume they were insisting that I return the cart. The Fortress Manager intervened, and eventually the strange lady left the shop, but the security guards remained unyielding in their insistence that I could not use the shopping cart though I clearly (with the help of the Fortress Manager (Gary) explained, that I had taken it from the car park, and was planning to use it to shop for groceries after I completed this exchange.

You can’t imagine, through this circus show, how embarrassed and humiliated I was. A rather large HK Citizen of foreign birth, being ridiculed and abused in public by your security staff and the strange lady they had brought in with them. It was awful. Finally, to make them go away I gave them the shopping cart and Fortress staff helped carry the very heaver dehumidifier down to my car.

I then when to Park N Shop to see the Manager, Monic Yim, to complain about the event. She was polite, and apologetic, but it seemed there was nothing that could be done, It seemed to me that she has no authority over the security staff.  I did not buy any groceries from your store, and told the Manager that I never will again. I did go to a Wellcome shop later and no one abused me in any way. They were rewarded by HKD2,300 of business. I’m sure they than you.

From my perspective, you have recently, and dramatically changed your policy towards shopping carts. They are your carts and you have every right to do so. But I for one will not give you my money again, if I can manage it. The policy at least in action is absurd, and the skills of your staff to carry it out is not just awful, but bordering on criminal.

Regards,

Christopher Gallaga