Maybe writing to customer service could be better. They usually respond in my experience... But obviously they lack training... Not sure what's the point of apprenticeship if they don't learn such things...
In coop yesterday son was looking for some chipolatas to take to a lakeside barbecue with his mates.
The first two packs he picked up had a use by date of June 30th so he handed them to the lady stacking the shelves who said to him ‘I can give you a 25% discount on those’. After he’d recovered his composure he pointed out that the 30th was actually Thursday to which she replied ‘Oh my goodness are we the 1st of July already?’.
They would probably have been absolutely fine but he wasn’t going to take the risk of poisoning his mates. The coleslaw salad he picked up next also had a use by 30th June on it at which point he left and went to another store to buy what he needed. That store is terrible for stock control.
Coop is notorious for this. You have to look at the dates on everything you buy there. Pre-pandemic I was looking for a kg of flour (with the yeast already in it). I found just one on the shelf and it had a sell by date a few days in the past. I handed it to an employee stocking the shelves and asked if they had any more, within the date. I was told no and that it was back-ordered. A week later, same store, same aisle, same bag on the shelf.
I also believe they were sanctioned for taking about to expire packaged meats, and sell them from the counter with marinade added. Some years back, but I don’t buy from the counter.