Pick n Pay faces backlash over ‘maid’ and ‘gardener’ mugs

Mugs photographed by a Twitter user as being on sale at a Pick n Pay store, with ‘The Maid’ and ‘The Gardener’ written on them, have caused outrage.

hi @PicknPay these mugs were on the shelf at your obs store. finding them hella problematic. pic.twitter.com/GuqEEIl6Cb

— 🇵🇸Ton'zMalon'z 🇵🇸 (@toni_verna) October 30, 2018

i spoke to someone at customer care, and i hope action is being taken to remove them.
THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN UNPACKED AND DISPLAYED. DO BETTER!

— 🇵🇸Ton'zMalon'z 🇵🇸 (@toni_verna) October 30, 2018

The Twitter user who discovered the mugs called them “problematic” and in another tweet said she’d lodged a complaint at customer care in a bid to have the mugs removed.

Others shared her sentiments, with some users noting that the mugs reminded them of the apartheid-era practice of having separate cutlery and crockery for those employed to clean and maintain the garden.

Some users, meanwhile, didn’t see a problem, with one user saying: “Being a maid and a gardener are legitimate jobs and there’s no shame in them,” but adding that a tweet noting the mug’s reminiscence to the days of apartheid “brought a perspective I hadn’t considered”.

Indeed we all know in some households the helper has her own cup, teapot, spoon, teaspoon, plate and made to sleep under the table. The tea is brewed on Monday for the whole week.

— NO TO FAKE NEWS ⛔️🇿🇦🇵🇸 (@zandy_thabethe) October 30, 2018

Thank you for explaining this, I was wondering why it was a problem. Being a maid and a gardener are legitimate jobs and there's no shame in them but your comment brought a perspective I hadn't considered.

— ✨Lwandle Aluwelwa (@buhlem) October 30, 2018

Some, however, felt that the furore over the mugs on Twitter was symptomatic of internet “outrage culture” with one user saying the outrage showed the adoption of “sentimentality over reason” and another suggesting that South Africa has “bigger issues” to focus on.

https://twitter.com/NeilKrugerGolf/status/1057250926128447488

https://twitter.com/SizweSidaza/status/1057247968187871233

We can confirm that these mugs have been removed from the store, and are not stocked in any other Pick n Pay stores. Thank you again for bringing this to our attention.

— Pick n Pay (@PicknPay) October 30, 2018

According to Business Insider, general secretary of the South African Domestic Services and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU) Myrtle Witbooi found the mugs “very degrading”.

“This takes us back to apartheid when utensils for gardeners and domestic workers were placed outside for [the workers]. This takes us back as a people and we demand a public apology from the store,” he said.

According to both Pick n Pay’s official Twitter account and their spokesperson Janine Caradonna, the mugs, which were reportedly only sold at one of their many franchises, have been removed from shelves.

Pick n Pay called the mugs “completely unacceptable” on Twitter.

(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.