I have never left a negative review anywhere before, but I feel absolutely compelled to share the appalling experience my partner and I had at Dune in Stratford Westfeild Iolanda (the store manager apparently). I have worked as a mystery shopper (albeit over 10 years ago) and in all my time as both a customer and in that role, I have never encountered service this unprofessional least of all from a store manager. We visited the store to return a pair of sandals that were clearly faulty and unwearable. From the moment we mentioned a return, the manager’s attitude was dismissive and hostile. Her body language and tone made it clear we were not welcome. When i tried to explain the issue, i was repeatedly interrupted. At one point, the manager even cut me off with the words: “It’s my time to talk.” Any attempt to clarify the situation was met with condescension, including the suggestion that we were “misunderstanding” her because English was her second language, which felt like a poor excuse for her rudeness because her English was perfectly fine. I offered to demonstrate the fault by walking in the shoes, but the manager refused outright, saying it “wouldn’t change anything.” When I asked what we could do, we were told to contact customer service, who would likely just refer us back to a store – essentially a dead end. Despite saying she couldn’t help us, the manager then proceeded to take photos of the sandals and my receipt without explaining why. When i clearly stated i did not consent (i was unsure of the purpose of her doing this was?) the manager moved the items out of my reach and took the photos anyway. This was intrusive, disrespectful, and unacceptable. When she took photos of my item and receipt without my consent, it felt like a pre-emptive move to obstruct me from escalating the issue to customer services or pursuing an alternative route to return the items. I have since found multiple reviews online that confirm these sandals are faulty by design, which only reinforces that our concerns were valid and should have been taken seriously. At no point were we rude or aggressive, yet we were treated with hostility and made to feel as though we had done something wrong simply for questioning a faulty product. There was no empathy, no attempt to help, and certainly no professionalism. Had we been treated courteously, even if the outcome was the same, we would have left disappointed but understanding. Instead, we left feeling dismissed, mistreated, and unheard. As we walked away from the store we saw her venting and laughing with a male collegue about us. I would never have expected this behaviour from a store manager and if this is reflective of Dune’s training, it raises serious concerns about how they value their customers. I will never shop here again and will be raising this formally.