Ashmita S

Unprofessional ****** Behaviour

Subject: ****** and Unprofessional Treatment at Puppy World On Saturday we visited Puppy World to purchase a puppy and accessories for a little boy’s birthday as a surprise. We were prepared to spend close to R10,000, with the puppy costing R7,500. Unfortunately, the experience was extremely disappointing due to the behaviour of the woman assisting us at the counter. She was rude, abrupt, and very disrespectful from the start. She repeatedly insisted that she needed to meet the people who would be keeping the dog. She questioned where the dog would be kept, who would be feeding it, and who would be responsible for caring for it. Bear in mind we are owners of other dogs as well and so is the family that would have had the dog. While responsible pet ownership is important, the way these questions were asked felt accusatory and demeaning, as if we were being assumed incapable of caring for an animal. We were ready to spend a significant amount of money on a puppy and its accessories, and we certainly would not purchase a dog only to neglect it. The interaction left us feeling that we were judged and stereotyped, and in our view the treatment appeared to be racially motivated. Because we are not white, it felt as though we were immediately placed into a category of people who supposedly could not properly care for a dog. This type of treatment is unacceptable. Customers deserve to be treated with respect and fairness, regardless of race. This matter needs to be addressed seriously by management, and the staff member involved should understand that behaviour like this will not be taken lightly.