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  "path": "/news/asda-staff-slammed-appalling-belittling-blind-mystery-shopper",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-08T17:01:40.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Asda no longer Britain's cheapest big supermarket after two years at the helm",
    "Supermarket with over 1,200 UK stores set to axe 150 jobs and fire managers after Christmas disaster",
    "'Stop taxing everything': Asda boss fires warning at Rachel Reeves",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nA registered blind mystery shopper has slammed Asda employees as \"appalling\" following a visit to one of the supermarket's branches in Devon.\n\nMystery shopper Shakti was forced to abandon her shop at the supermarket's Newton Abbot branch after she was paired with a car park attendant who had no familiarity with the store's layout.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nShakti, participating in a Grocer 33 assessment for blind and partially sighted customers, was compelled to cut short her shopping trip after an hour, having collected just half of the required 33 items, reports The Grocer.\n\nShe described being on the verge of becoming \"totally overwhelmed with anxiety\" while attempting to keep pace with the attendant \"as he whizzed round the store\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nShakti said: \"He was really polite and as helpful as he could be but he had no knowledge of the store at all.\n\n\"He did a great job trying, but he was confused about what he was supposed to do. He was thrown in at the deep end. It wasn’t his fault he didn’t know the shop, he was out of his depth and not able to find things.\"\n\nThe shopper reserved her harshest words for the customer service desk, where staff had told her when she attempted to book assistance in advance that she should simply arrive and request help.\n\nUpon reaching the store, Shakti was informed that all employees were too occupied to assist her.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nWhen she pressed the matter, explaining she could not shop independently, a member of staff summoned a car park attendant.\n\nThe staff member told him: \"I'm sorry, but you've been relegated to help this lady. Do you mind?\"\n\nThe confused attendant initially walked away, and when another customer tried to intervene on Shakti's behalf, they were dismissed with the words: \"She's been dealt with.\"\n\nDespite six staff members being visible on the shop floor, none stepped in to help as the attendant visibly struggled.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Asda no longer Britain's cheapest big supermarket after two years at the helm\n  * Supermarket with over 1,200 UK stores set to axe 150 jobs and fire managers after Christmas disaster\n  * 'Stop taxing everything': Asda boss fires warning at Rachel Reeves\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe checkout proved equally problematic for Shakti.\n\nWhile the parking attendant remained with her and helped unpack her shopping, the cashier directed all conversation towards him rather than the customer.\n\nShakti recalled: \"It was like he was the customer!\"\n\nShe said: \"I packed my own bags and the till lady didn't tell me how much my bill was or show me where the payment machine was.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nA supervisor informed her that the manager was occupied with meetings throughout the day but promised to relay her concerns.\n\n\"The staff, their attitude and conduct, especially at the helpdesk, were appalling,\" Shakti said.\n\nSeema Flower, founder and managing director of disability training consultancy Blind Ambition, which advised The Grocer on the mystery shopping exercise, said the supermarket chain had a track record of letting down blind and partially sighted customers.\n\n\"Of all the major supermarkets I've been to, Asda has always been the least helpful when it comes to providing reasonable adjustments in the form of a shopping assistant. So this comes as no surprise,\" she said. \"Their staff aren't adequately trained in my experience.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAsda's chief commercial officer for non-food and retail Liz Evans described Shakti's experience as \"totally unacceptable and far below our usual standards\".\n\nShe told The Grocer: \"We’re grateful she has spoken with us to allow us to apologise and agreed to meet next week so we can further understand how we can learn from this and put things right.\n\n\"We’re also working with Blind Ambition, the disability inclusion consultancy, who will deliver training in store next week, with plans to roll this out more widely across our business.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter **",
  "title": "Asda staff slammed as 'appalling' for belittling blind mystery shopper"
}