MD Sarah Hunter addresses Jewish community directly.

 

The customer who was refused service at an Officeworks store because he was Jewish has rejected an apology from the retailer’s managing director Sarah Hunter (pictured).

 

The incident in March saw an Elsternwick store staff member decline a request to laminate an article in the Australian Jewish News because she was “pro-Palestine”.

 

Before that incident, the 21-year-old staffer had been involved in a separate incident involving a Jewish woman who was told in January she could not print pictures in the size she wanted “because the Jews had used all the paper”.

 

Hunter directly addressed the Jewish community, telling the AJN in an interview, “I’m sorry that this happened in our store, I want you to feel safe. We want to be part of the community in which we live and work and we are going to use this as a moment to continue to improve education around antisemitism and discrimination. It is not acceptable in our store”.

 

But the customer who was refused service said the response isn’t enough.

 

The man said the discussion of anti-discrimination training in the interview between the AJN and Hunter is the first time any form of training concerning antisemitism has been raised.

 

“I’m disappointed that it has required intense media pressure for this obvious step to occur, which I’ve been calling for on Officeworks since the incident happened. It’s obvious that nothing would have happened if not for the public outcry,” he said.

 

The customer said he is still going ahead with action against the company at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).