Spur Corporation has apologised to the woman involved in a heated argument with a fellow patron at the Texamo Spur at the Glen Shopping Centre in Johannesburg on Sunday, saying her version of events was correct.
The man was banned from Spur eateries nationwide after he accosted the woman at a table where she was sitting with a number of children, accusing her daughter of hitting his daughter on the head in the children’s play area.
A recording of the incident, in which they are heard screaming profanities at each other, was shared on social media.
In a media release on Wednesday, Spur Corporation issued an unequivocal apology to Lebohang Mabuya and her family over the incident.
“We have reviewed our CCTV footage of the incident and can confirm that Ms Mabuya’s version of events is accurate; the footage shows that her child was grabbed by the male customer in an aggressive manner and his actions are unacceptable.
“We affirm our decision to ban the male customer from our stores, physical aggression towards our customers, particularly against women and children will not be tolerated.”
Spur Corporation also said the staff and management of the store did not sufficiently assist Mabuya and her family, and internal procedures are being reviewed to address this.
“We will be talking to Ms Mabuya directly, at her convenience, and will apologise for what she and her family experienced. We will also offer her and her family trauma counselling and any other support where we can. I would like to again make it very clear that as an organisation we do not condone any forms of violence against women or children, irrespective of the circumstances. As an organisation we have learnt a valuable lesson and it is my priority at this stage to ensure that should something like happen again, our staff will be sufficiently prepared,” Spur Corporation CEO Pierre van Tonder said.
