Tesco Update

Remember this post about my mother being knocked over by Tesco baskets that toppled. Well last Saturday a fortnight after the accident she felt well enough to walk along to Tesco to buy the daily papers. Apparently as soon as she walked in she was offered flowers and chocolates or the choice of having Tesco head office deal with things. Now bear in mind no one from the company has contacted her... she was flustered by this and didn't know what to say so she accepted what they offered and staggered home with four bunches of flowers, together with a box and a packet of chocolates.
So whilst I still feel they did not handle this situation at all well or even consider what might be the implications under health and safety regulations, when push came to shove they made a gesture.
Oh and I did notice that the baskets are now stacked differently~ so maybe some good did come out of it!!
My mother is enjoying the flowers which look very pretty; the chocolates have not yet been opened except for the photograph!

Archives:
2007: Hosting the Food Cooperative Meeting

Why do Tesco's pay little heed to health and safety?!?!

My day didn't start that well~ have I got you curious!? On new year's day my mother was knocked over outside our local Tesco Metro which is a few hundred yards up the road from where we live. I can feel the gasps.....this was not by a car but by a stack of baskets that toppled onto her and knocked her off her feet. The first I knew about it was when I heard voices at the front door and one of the checkout ladies had walked home with her.
Although there appeared to be no injuries, my mother was rather shaken and needed to rest. Over the past couple of days she has found that her shoulders and neck are very painful and she can hardly move to turn over in bed. I went back to Tesco the following day to asked to see what had been recorded in their accident book. They couldn't produce anything!!-correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought keeping accident/incident records was a H&S requirement or is it only for employees and not customers!

The acting duty manager told me he had recorded the incident on a piece of paper but he couldn't find it~ his verbal version was very different to my mother's account! He was not even aware that it was the poorly stacked baskets that had knocked her over. However he did agree that this was a H&S issue and that he had often thought there were too many baskets- so why not do something about it!!
My brother went into the store yesterday to follow up on it and still no record could be produced. I don't believe that anyone had even asked my mother for her name and address.
Today I took my mother to the doctors for a check up just to be on the safe side and there appears to be no serious damage but she is on some strong painkillers for sleeping.

My mother doesn't want to make a fuss and my brother wants to sue the pants off them (well not quite~ but he feels they could have sent her some flowers or given her a gift voucher. I think they should have enquired after her well-being, and I am inclined to agree about the flowers). My brother is very keen that she gets some form of compensation for her discomfort, my mother doesn't want to take it any further (she feels it would make it difficult to shop there and I see that) and I'm piggy in the middle~ so what would you do if you were in my shoes??????

Archives:
January 4th 2006: Now here's a challenge