Military veteran says optician berated him for 'killing innocent people'
The U.K. optical retail chain Specsavers has apologized to a war veteran who claims he was accused of “killing innocent people” by a worker during an eye exam.
Steve Leale, who served in the army for 32 years, said the optician also refused to book a priority hospital appointment for him following his visit to Specsavers earlier this month.
Veterans in the U.K. are entitled to priority access to care through the National Health Service (NHS), which includes hospital, primary or community care for conditions associated with their time in the armed forces.
But Leale claims that during his visit to the Woodbridge branch in Suffolk, England, on Feb. 15, a staff member questioned his service.
Leale described what happened after he had an examination at the store to treat a problem with his left eye.
“As I was stood in the main area the optician came to find me and said, ‘Mr. Leale I will refer you to the hospital for your left eye,'” he shared on Facebook.
“I then asked her to annotate my documents to show the fact that I’m a veteran,” he added. “She then turned to me and asked why, so I explained the supposedly faster appointment.
“She then said, ‘Why should you have that after invading countries around the world and killing innocent people?’
“I was so gobsmacked by her comment that I did not retaliate but have since filed a complaint with their company.
“Having paid for new glasses for both me and [his partner] Mo, I will now be going in to request a full refund and go elsewhere.”
Leale, 54, finished his service in 2015 as a Warrant Officer Class 2.
“I am very proud to have served my country for over 32 years,” he said.
“I did my duty on behalf of all British citizens no matter what ethnicity, background or belief, but to my horror there are those that still fail to understand the principles of why we have the freedoms we enjoy today and the sacrifice of those that allowed us to continue our life the way we do.”
Trevor Coult MC, who is a campaigner for veterans, took to Twitter to express his disgust.
“Steve’s complaint should have been dealt with the same day — if someone had robbed Specsavers they would have dealt with it immediately,” he wrote.
“Nothing was done with his complaint for days and days and it wasn’t until I tweeted about it that Specsavers replied. His complaint was sent to head office and they didn’t think it was serious enough.”
Specsavers has since launched an investigation into what happened and suspended an employee while the inquiry is carried out.
“An employee has been suspended pending a disciplinary investigation into comments made to a customer at the Woodbridge store,” as spokesman for the chain said.
“The alleged comments do not represent the views of Specsavers, who are active supporters of Blind Veterans UK, a charity which cares for former military personnel with sight problems.”
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