Yahoo News Specsavers suspend employee who ‘accused war veteran of killing innocent people’ during eye exam
Specsavers have apologised 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 are entitled to priority access to NHS care, which includes hospital, primary or community care for conditions associated with their time in the armed forces.
But Steve claims that during his visit to the Woodbridge branch in Suffolk on February 15, a staff member questioned his service.
Steve described what happened after he had an examination at the store accompanied by partner Mo as he had a problem with his left eye.
He wrote on Facebook, writing: “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.
“I then asked her to annotate my documents to show the fact that I’m a veteran.
“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.
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“Having paid for new glasses for both me and Mo, I will now be going in to request a full refund and go elsewhere.”
Steve, 54, finished his service in 2015 as a Warrant Officer Class 2.
He added: “I am very proud to have served my country for over 32 years.
“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 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, 43, who is a campaigner for veterans, took to Twitter to express his disgust following the accusations allegedly made to Mr Leale in Specsavers.
He wrote: ”Steve’s complaint should have been dealt with the same day – if someone had robbed Specsavers they would have dealt with it immediately.
“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 have since launched an investigation into what happened and suspended an employee while the inquiry is carried out.
A spokesman said: “An employee has been suspended pending a disciplinary investigation into comments made to a customer at the Woodbridge store.
“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.”
