Mother and Child Denied Exit at Bacolod Mall Due to Lost Receipt
GAISANO CITY BACOLOD – A female customer shared a troubling experience at the mall, expressing frustration over the store’s repeated receipt-checking process. According to her, every exit required a security check—sometimes up to three or four times—which she found unnecessary and inconvenient.
The incident occurred when she visited the store with her child, Ethan, to buy a vest for his school event. As they left the second floor, a security guard at the escalator checked her receipt. Then, another guard did the same at the lower escalator on the first floor. Later, as they were about to go home, Ethan asked for fries, so she went to the supermarket’s food court. While walking, she accidentally lost her receipt without realizing it.
When she tried to exit through the department store, a security guard stopped her again, asking for the receipt. Since she no longer had it, she presented her ATM transaction slip as proof of purchase, explaining that the receipt must have been misplaced. However, the guard refused to accept it and did not allow her to leave, stating that only the original receipt was valid.
She felt upset, especially since she was with her child. She was disappointed that the security guard did not assist her in finding a solution. Instead, he used his radio to inform all other guards not to let her leave without the receipt. This made her feel embarrassed and mistreated, as if she had done something wrong.
Feeling anxious, she reported the incident to the customer service counter. She became overwhelmed and had a panic attack, but she was thankful for the customer service staff, who assisted her and helped her calm down.
She expressed her disappointment with the store’s strict and repetitive receipt-checking system. While she understood the need for security, she urged Gaisano City Bacolod to improve its policies. According to her, a single receipt check should be enough, but multiple inspections at every exit were excessive. Most importantly, she hoped store employees would treat customers with kindness, as everyone may be dealing with personal struggles.