KEY POINTS:
First there was road rage, then air rage.
But customers at a Cambridge grocery store appear to have experienced a bout of pram rage.
The drama started in October when Joe Borsos and her 14-month-old daughter Miki were shopping at the Leamington Maximart in Shakespeare St.
In a
letter to her local paper, The Cambridge Edition, Borsos claimed shopowner Sam Singh walked up to her and "aggressively" told her not to take her pram down the aisle.
She said she left but Singh followed her outside and started to remonstrate with her.
"[He] started to abuse me and told me I was banned from his shop - I was treated like a criminal," she wrote.
"It was very distressing to me and my baby. He was using a very aggressive, loud voice."
The letter unleashed a flurry of follow-ups, with fellow customers complaining about Singh's behaviour.
Another writer claimed he had been ordered out of the shop.
"I know Joe Borsos and I are not the only ones to experience his boorish behaviour, it is amazing that he continues in business," wrote Bryden Shiells.
"I, too, have experienced extreme rudeness by the owner of this particular shop," wrote Therese and Larry Thomson.
Singh last night told the Herald On Sunday he put up signs banning prams because they were used in a number of shoplifting incidents.
He said he was outspoken, but not rude to his customers.
"I'm trying to be upfront. If I don't like people doing something, I tell them. We are not always perfect.
"I do apologise to people if I think I have offended them."
Borsos told the Herald on Sunday she was shocked by the initial reaction.
"The aisles are wide so you can get prams in there. He might have had a valid point about shoplifting, but I'm not going to leave my daughter alone while I go shopping."
Borsos said she wouldn't shop at the Maximart again, even though she lived on the same street. "It's a bit of a shame because it's convenient. But it's not worth it."
Singh wasn't worried about people voting with their feet.
"I have so much support I don't need them. I have been in business 14 years. Those who wanted to complain, complained, and that's it.
"You can't please everybody. I'm not going to change my ways. I have to run the business the way I want to."
