Old footage of an irate woman’s expletive-filled tirade at other customers at a Woolworths has resurfaced online, prompting debate about the response from store staff.
The video was filmed by a group of shoppers after a woman became aggressive towards them in the supermarket at Rundle Mall in Adelaide’s CBD in June 2020.
The woman yelled at the group demanding them to stop filming her.
‘You don’t ever f***ing film people without getting permission – do you f***ing understand?’ she said.
The man who was filming could be heard telling the woman: ‘You need to stop’, but the woman approached him and yelled back: ‘You need to stop.’
A Woolworths employee intervened by placing her arm between the two so the woman couldn’t approach the group any further, but the women yelled: ‘No, get them out.’
A staff member then told the man he must stop filming the incident.
‘It’s private property, you cannot film in here,’ she said.
A shopper started filming after an woman started following his group around a Woolworths store and was swearing at them (pictured aggressive woman blurred)
The aggressive woman added: ‘You can’t f**king film in here.’
The man tried explaining to staff the reason why he was filming.
‘She’s being aggressive, she’s being aggressive,’ he said.
‘I have to film to protect you.
‘She has been following us and swearing at us.’
This set the woman off further, accusing the group of following her ‘up the escalator’.
The man continued to film, which made the woman more aggressive.
Other staff members then stepped in and asked the man again to stop filming.
Another customer sided with the group and says that their treatment isn’t ‘fair’.
The group leaves but at the self-service check-out the woman was still heard yelling and swearing at them to get out.
Many Aussies were outraged the man was told he wasn’t allowed to film in the store instead of telling the aggressive woman to leave the store (pictured stock picture of a Woolworths)
People on social media believed it was the woman who should have been escorted out of the store, not the group.
‘How disappointing, Woolworths staff,’ one wrote.
‘Why didn’t they ask her to leave?’ another said.
But many Aussies were outraged staff asked the man to stop filming instead of dealing with the aggressive woman.
‘That Woolies employee who says its a private property and can’t be filmed needs more training before she gets her next pay,’ one wrote.
Another added: ‘You can literally film in any store open to the public.’
But Australian businesses are considered private property, even if they are open to the public – and even if they are listed as a public company on the stock exchange.
By entering, you are agreeing to abide by the terms and conditions of the business.
Other shoppers were quick to defend the actions of the Woolworths staff who recognised the woman’s anti-social behaviour worsened the more the man filmed.
Australian businesses are considered private property and customers must abide by the terms and conditions set out by the store and staff (pictured a Woolworths store)
‘Everyone in the comments wondering why he’s being asked to stop filming hasn’t ever heard of de-escalation,’ one wrote.
‘They (the man filming) are just aggravating the situation,’ another said.
A Woolworths spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia staff members ‘did their best’ to de-escalate the situation.
‘We’re aware of an incident in 2020 between two customers in an Adelaide store,’ they said.
‘Our store team did their best to defuse the dispute in difficult circumstances and subsequently called police to the scene.’
Daily Mail Australia understands Woolworths did not receive a complaint or any correspondence from any of the customers since the incident occurred.
No customers or team members were injured.
