What began as a routine milk purchase at Quickmart Buruburu spiraled into one of the supermarket’s most damaging PR disasters.
Two customers—receipt in hand—had just picked up milk from the depot after paying at the counter. In the absence of an attendant, they carried the goods themselves.
At the exit, things turned ugly. Staff accused them of stealing 57 litres of milk, despite their proof of payment. Instead of clarifying the mix-up, the branch manager reportedly ordered the customers into a storage area where, witnesses say, they were beaten by staff.
As if the assault wasn’t enough, the manager allegedly seized one customer’s phone and demanded deletion of the video evidence.
The intimidation continued outside the aisles.
The customers’ father was summoned and pressured to pay for the “missing” milk—he refused, and took the matter to the police. Shockingly, locals claim the manager has a history of making false petty-theft accusations.
When the video hit social media, public outrage was swift. Quickmart scrambled to respond—suspending the staff involved, issuing a corporate apology, and promising a full investigation in collaboration with authorities.
They also reached out to the victims directly, pledging support and insisting the incident violated their values of respect, kindness, and integrity.
But the damage is done. What should have been a straightforward checkout experience has become a textbook case in how poor training, misplaced aggression, and zero emotional intelligence can torch years of brand-building.
Quickmart now has to fight not just for market share—but for customer trust.
COFEK now requests any customer mishandled at Quickmart and or any other retail chain to make a formal report asap: hotline@cofek.africa
