Hello, I am probably the first customer who shopped at Bonheiden, Kruitvat with my two children around 09:15 this morning(17.09.2024). When I saw the product I did not want to buy in the hands of my eldest son at the cash register, I put the product in a roll box in front of the cash register instead of leaving it in its place. The lady working there said something to me in Flemish in a very harsh and impolite way, when she realized I was a foreigner she switched to English, but while I was trying to understand why she was yelling disrespectfully, I told her that she could call the police because I thought she misunderstood my putting the product in the box and thought we were stealing. Then she slowly but still rudely said that I could not leave that product in the box, that I should apologize to her and put it back. If I had been warned in a nice way, I would have done what she said and put the product back in its place, but when I was faced with this rude attitude, I told her that it was her duty. She raised her voice even more and I thought that this behavior, which I could not understand, was because I spoke a different language, because that store is a place where I shop regularly and she had behaved in this way before. I told him that his reaction stemmed from racism to some extent and as I was heading towards the door to leave the store, I informed him that I would be reporting what he said to the Kruidvat customer satisfaction office. Thereupon, as I was walking out the door, he made fun of my accent by saying, “We are Belgians and we do not pronounce Kruidvat, we pronounce it as Hruvidyat.” I was really disappointed by this rude behavior. I do not want to alienate anyone, we are well-educated people who came here from Istanbul three years ago after accepting a job offer because my husband is an engineer, it could have been the other way around, I do not want anyone, especially people who are trying to add value to the country they live in and pay their taxes, to be subjected to this behavior. As a customer, I will eagerly await the remedial measures to be taken regarding this employer and employee.
