Spar International review: there is no honesty with spar hypermarket 11

On the 19th December 2012 I purchased an item from Spar in Peaconwood Hartebeespoort. All pricing is pretty much priced with a 95c after the number of Rands. How ever you are not charged the 95c, instead if the price ends with 95c it still shows the correct price but you are not given change as the teller rounds it up to the next Rand. I feel that if you're going to do away with 5c pieces you need to also change your pricing so that the consumer is not the one to get ripped off at the end of the day.

This is such a sad day for me and my mom, we walked into Spar Arcadia just past the entrance to start shopping. the security and car guard called us back outside and we hesitated as they were unneat and we were unsure if they even worked there. They Searched our bags as if we were potential criminals, embarrasing us infront of many shoppers, apparently it was because we didnt give them the bags when we walked in, but what can we stael at the entrance, the paint on the walls? the manager said there is nothing he can do as it is there job ? Me and my Mom have spent thousands as customers at that Spar and many others, the manager knew our faces for years! Disgusting!

My fiance bought something from their store and he accidentally left his wallet on the till. He went back immediately to check it and it was not there, they showed him recordings from their camera and they saw the person who took the wallet but they couldnt see the face, then they told him that they cant do anything about it. I was not satisfied so we went back and i asked if they only have one camera or more so we can match the face with the clothes they saw, they told me they have many camera's in the store including one in the entrance..when i asked whether we can watch those they said 'No the person whom my fiance was watching the first recording with is not there so they cant show us, it must be the same person (that person is only available between 9am - 3am of which we are at work that time)'. If it was their product stolen they would do anything to catch the criminal but they can't do that for their customers. I'M VERY VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THEM.

Im one of these people that buys her lunch from the local Spar. Normally it is a sandwich or these new little pita breads with delicious filling. The problem is I really dont like butter on my food and in South Africa it seems that butter is a staple food source. They smear thick butter on so that when you bite into your food you get left with a greasy film on your teeth. Im sure there are people out there who enjoy that but personally I dont. I dont understand why food stores who sells sandwiches dont have a 'no butter' option or a big sticker with 'no butter' on it. Im sure that I am not the only one in who doesnt enjoy butter & that if they started giving no butter options, it would take off.

1) Maaza Juice (1ltr X 2)
2)Sarah (spar) Dates 500g (BUY 1 GET 1 FREE OFFER) But they doesn't gave us
3)MuskMelon Yellow (1.816g) Displayed the price Rs.40 and bill it Rs.69/kg
4)Sundrp Superlite Advance (1 ltr) Displayed price Rs.105 and bill it Rs.194

The people in the billing counter have not checked the offer or scheme and have billed.(SO CARELESS)

This store is supposed to be a convenience store that supplies to the local community. There are many people that rely upon these stores for various reasons they cannot get to the bigger supermarkets. Many spar shops that i have used have a very extensive range of foods and other items, however the store in Callands is very poor with not even the basic items ie pepper in stock. When walking into the store all you are greeted with is empty shelves and im sure you will agree that this is not acceptable. Spar is always there for you is the slogan, well this store certainly does not live up to this.

Yesterday I went to Stoneridge Spar to buy a few things. I bought my teenage daughter a chicken and mushroom pie. She gave her baby sister (18 months old) a bite of her pie. She seemed to be rolling around her piece of pie for quite a while, then all of a sudden she removed a chicken bone from her mouth and handed it to me. I was horrified. She is a tiny baby and she could have been severely injured or worse if she swallowed it and she is too young to tell me what is wrong. I am furious! Not exactly a competitively priced spar like the other one the owner owns in Kempton Park and yet they selling goods that are hazardous. Since all Spars are supplied by the same company with the pies, does that mean we are not safe at any branch?

I stay in Dinwiddie and usually do my grocery shopping at Spar due to the fact that the OK stores close to me sells food at ridiculous prices!Many a time I have been put off buying fruit at Spar simply because the fruit is ROTTEN!One can literally see the mould on their strawberries and guavas...This has happened so many times, I now drive all the way to Frit and Veg city in Bruma...My child loves eating fruit and i would be a fool to continue buying from Spar. Sometimes the fruits are so cleverly packed that you will only see the decay once you open the package! There have been many instances where I came home looking forward to a guava or strawberry only to find rhizopus mould infested fruit! Its not like I keep the receipts to take the stuff back, but this is forcing me to get into that habit. I am very close to calling regulatory bodies to come and intervene here.

I buy by mainly 2 Spars in the east of Pretoria as it is the closest to me. Evetytime i have bought the freshly packed vegetables they have had rotten pieces in the packet and that is before the expire date on the package.I have taken it back once cause it costs me petrol and time to have to keep riding up and down to a Spar that advertises its freshness.I find this totally unacceptable.

I've had some really good experiences shopping at SPAR. Their seafood is really great and the vegetables are generally fresh, but what I really like is the fact that you can get most items under one roof which makes it very convenient for working people. As long as the store has everything one needs and the shopping experience is good who cares about who is running the company. You seem to have major insights into the management and Vipin Bhandari in particular!

Spar Hypermarket…A Hypermarket run by bunch of jokers!

First I made to understand by a close friend that it is a frachisee store run by Dubai based Landmark Group. Second, the store is run by a tyrant called Vipin Bhandari Landmark Group employee (sort of third class Chartered Accountant) who joined the group and quickly moved up the ramp for his proximity with the family members (heard he used to date few family members before) and was bestowed the task of running this franchise operation. In one of the open house sessions he apparently had admitted that the loyalty of tying shoe lace for the promoter helped him make inroads. So much to give you a realty bite! Second, the MD of the company is some gentlemen from HLL who used to earlier run customer service wing and has apparently no clue of hypermarket business (although heard that he is a nice guy!). Naturally, he is piggy backing on some guy who runs their food merchandising...heard that all the visuals and range is his handiwork.

Have also heard that there is no integrity in business and there are enough internal clashes between Spar (with zero investment and a franchiser) and Landmark (with investment being a master franchisee) and guess it is more of valuation game that has kept them sleeping together.
Quite naturally, in this chaos the employees are left fending for themselves being run as a family run proprietorship company. You find new faces all the time at the store since they might have more than 200% attrition! Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

Look beyond the great facade the hypermarket displays. There are issues with billing, service quality, customer service and products available. Recommend to find other alternatives in the emerging market with many choices today.
Vipin Bhandari Landmark Group
Spar India
Spar Hypermarket