Bunnings shopper’s act ‘shamed’ by staffer

A Bunnings shopper has claimed she was “shamed” by a staffer at a checkout with the worker telling the woman she would “turn a blind eye”.

A Bunnings shopper has claimed she was “shamed” by a staffer when leaving the store with free paint sample cards for her toddler.

In a Reddit post, the Adelaide mum explained she had given a variety of the colourful cards to her son to keep him occupied while she shopped, but was “shut down” by the checkout worker who questioned whether she intended to use the cards for a painting project.

The Bunnings staffer allegedly told the mum she would “turn a blind eye this time” and to not let it happen again.

Chris Stewart, Bunnings area manager, told news.com.au customers of all ages are “more than welcome” take paint sample cards “free of charge”.

“The team have looked into this, and although they’re not aware of this interaction, our team are committed to providing the best service, whether customers choose to shop instore or online,” he said.

“Customers, big and small, are more than welcome to take the paint sample cards, which are free of charge, to help them with their DIY projects.”

A Bunnings shopper claimed she was ‘shamed’ for taking a selection of free paint sample cards.

It prompted the mum to take the matter to Reddit, asking for advice on whether taking the free cards was “wrong”.

“It is seriously wrong to take those paint sample colourful bits of paper?” she wrote.

“I had my toddler with me, he’s currently learning colours, so I gave him a few while in the trolley to keep him busy (plus there is a Bluey episode where they do this and my kid could relate).

The Adelaide mum said she had given the cards to her son to keep him occupied and also because he was inspired to collect them after watching a Bluey episode. Picture: ABC

“Anyway, the person at the checkout was like, ‘Are you really going to be painting?’ And I was like whaaaaat, can’t he take them?

“She said she will turn a blind eye this time, but to not [let] it happen [again].”

The mum said she was made to “feel like I was a criminal”.

“Got me thinking though … is this really such a bad thing to do?”

It attracted more than 100 comments with Bunnings workers even weighing in.

“I work at Bunnings and I used to work in the paint department. Take all the cards you want,” an employee wrote.

She shared her experience on Reddit with Bunnings workers saying they didn’t have an issue with customers taking the cards, so long as kids didn’t thrown them around the store. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Mariuz

“But just don’t let your kids throw them all around the store – that’s all I ask!” one said.

“Fellow Bunnos worker. I also endorse this statement. Take all of them if you want,” another added, while a third wrote: “Definitely not a policy at Bunnings. The paint cards are literally there for you to take (as many as you need/want, free of charge).”

One Bunnings staffer who works in the paint department said they have a bucket of discarded paint cards (left on counter and wall) for kids to take home.

“I don’t want to spend seven hours of my life putting them back up. Whoever told her off clearly was having a bad day,” the worker said.

Other customers shared positive experiences with Bunnings workers letting them take sample cards.

“After that Bluey episode aired, we went to Bunnings and not only did they give us a sh*t tonne of those cards, they also gave us free tile samples and lino to play with,” one shopper wrote.

“My wife and I got a bunch of those paint chips when we were planning our wedding to help us work out what colour schemes we liked – nobody gave a rat’s a**e about it,” said another.