Tesco worker ‘told young mum to breastfeed her baby in a storage area’
Lucy Foster, 24, was forced to tend to her child in a closed-off part of the store cafe stacked with tables, chairs and Christmas decorations
A YOUNG mum says she was left humiliated after a Tesco worker told her to breastfeed her baby in a storage area.
Lucy Foster, 24, says she was given the advice during a visit to the Plymouth store’s cafe with her seven-month-old newborn.
She claims it saw her directed her to a closed-off part of the room stacked with tables, chairs, and Christmas decorations.
In a statement Tesco said it was a "misunderstanding" of its company policy on behalf of the staff and said that customers are welcome to breastfeed in all their cafes.
Childcare worker Lucy, said she made the query when the child began to cry.
She recalled: "The member of staff replied, 'It depends', before pointing me over to a place which was closed in by chairs. There was literally a wall of chairs around it.
"It obviously wasn't in use, and there were tables piled up in there, as well as old Christmas decorations.
"It didn't look safe, and I had to move the chairs myself to get the buggy in there.
"Because she had pointed to this area, I felt I had to go there, but it made me feel ashamed of breastfeeding my baby.
"I don't understand how such a big company can feel like that, especially when they supply everything for breastfeeding.
"There were only about four other customers in the cafe, and it is not as if I get my whole breast out; it is all very discreet.
"I could have easily been sat in the cafe and nobody would have ever known I was breastfeeding.”
Now, nearly a month after complaining to the supermarket’s customer services department, following the incident on January 7, she says she is yet to receive an apology.
She said: "I've heard nothing. I feel like I am being fobbed off and I am personally not going back there now.
"Their staff clearly aren't trained in basic customer care. Even if they sent me an email saying they were sorry, that would have been fine.
"I think [retailers] need to make it more friendly for people to breastfeed, and as comfortable as possible.”
Tesco said: "It is our policy that nursing mothers can breastfeed wherever they feel comfortable to do so in our customer cafes, and we are very sorry to hear that there was a misunderstanding of our policy on this occasion.
"A member of our café management team will be in touch with Lucy to discuss her experience so that we can learn from it and ensure we provide breastfeeding mothers with a warm welcome."
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