Foodstuffs is praising a Pak'nSave security guard who calmly refused to let a maskless man into the Glen Innes store, despite being filmed and harassed.
The video of the encounter, which has been widely shared online, shows a man waiting outside the store before being approached by a security guard who asks him to wear a mask in line with new COVID-19 guidelines.
Last week Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced new guidelines in an effort to stamp out a community outbreak of the deadly and highly infectious Delta variant.
The new mandate makes it compulsory for New Zealanders aged 12 and over to wear masks while visiting essential services currently open during alert level 4, such as supermarkets, pharmacies and service stations. This rule also includes staff.
In response Foodstuffs, which owns the Pak'nSave and New World brands, revealed it will turn away any customers without face masks during lockdown unless they have an exemption.
But it seems some people haven't got the message.
At the start of the video, the man filming can be heard asking the security guard "are you refusing me entrance?" before going on to say he has a medical exemption and accusing the security guard of "breaking the law" for asking for proof.
He then goes on to continue harassing the security guard and tries to enter the store despite being explicitly told he can't.
The man then claims it is illegal for the security guard to ask for proof of a medical exemption.
"This gentleman here is trying to bar me illegally from the store," the man then says. But it seems the others in line aren't particularly sympathetic to the man's cause with someone yelling out, "bro you're being a dick. You're being a dick".
This doesn't deter him though as he pushes to the front of the line and walks into the store, forcing two other staff members to get involved.
The security guard once again asks the man to leave. But this doesn't go down well with the man who accuses the security guard of "assaulting him", despite his video footage showing the security guard never went near him.
The video ends with the man threatening the staff, saying "you're going to be famous all over social media".
Essential workers such as supermarket workers have been under immense pressure during lockdown, putting themselves at risk to ensure Kiwis have the food they need.
And it seems Foodstuffs has nothing but praise for the security guard.
In a statement to Newshub, head of corporate affairs at Foodstuffs NZ Antoinette Laird thanked the security guard for showing "incredible patience and restraint".
"Firstly, we would like to say a thank you to the security guard at PAK’nSAVE Glen Innes who showed incredible patience and restraint towards this customer who was behaving in a very rude and unreasonable way. By continuing to hold firm on the required alert level four protocols he kept our team and other customers safe.
"Under alert level four it is mandatory for all New Zealanders to wear a face covering when visiting an essential service. The safety of our customers and teams is a top priority for us, and abusing our staff is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. For customers who have an exemption please have the correct documentation ready when visiting our stores, otherwise we reserve the right to refuse entry," she said.
And people on social media had a similar view, heaping praise on the security guard for how calmly he handled the situation.
"Good on the security guard," one person commented.
"All they wanted was to see your card? I feel like that could have been so much easier just to show your medical card and then they would have let you in?" another said.
