Grievances of Sathosa customers

Long queues can be seen near Sathosa outlets in many parts of the island, because of the closure of private retail shops due to the current lockdown. I also went to the nearby Sathosa shop to purchase some provisions last Sunday. Some people had hired trishaws to come there from distant places and already queued up there. It was around 8.00 am and the outlet was scheduled to open at 9.00.

Around 9.05 am the shop manager arrived on a motorcycle, parked the bike on the right side of the shop, and we all thought he would at least open the shop to enable us to purchase our stuff; because we have patiently waited in the same queue for more than one hour.

He did not bother about the queue before the shop, he engaged in a conversation with a friend of his who had come there for some other purpose. His behaviour was really getting on our nerves, because he was already late to open the shop, but engaging in an idle chat with his friend. Meantime, some elderly people sat on the steps of the shop, and the mothers were already getting impatient as their babies started crying.

After some time, the manager went to the police station, just opposite the shop, to collect the keys, because when they close the outlet, they handed over the keys of the shop to the police for security purposes. He collected the keys, came back and gave the key to the security officer to open the shop, and we all thought he would allow us to buy our stuff. No, it did not happen; he just went in and another two shop assistants reported to duty, and then all of them went into the shop keeping the shop half open. The security guard was not allowing us to get into the shop.

The consumers were becoming restive.

Finally, the staff got ready to open the shop. Then they took in three people at a time as per the health guidelines, and we were given a kilo of sugar after waiting nearly two hours in the queue. Having purchased goods, we had to wait again in a new queue to pay our bills, as there was only one cashier. I inquired from the salesman why they could not use the other billing counter, because the queue was getting longer and longer inside. He said the second billing machine was out of order. Finally, having spent nearly two hours, I was able to buy a kilo of brown sugar there!

I am not finding fault with these officers in the particular Sathosa outlet, because they render a great service to the public, risking their precious lives. But these grievances faced by the people must be removed. Things can be improved, because consumers, especially the elderly and mothers with infants, face many challenges by standing for a long time to purchase essential commodities in the prevailing pandemic situation.

M. JALALDEEN ISFAN

Potkerny.