A furious Argos customer launched a broken coffee machine at a manager when she wasn’t allowed to return it without a receipt.
The red mist descended for Debbie Newlands when her coffee machine broke and staff at Argos in Berryden refused to take it back.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, Newlands, 54, asked to speak to the manager who, after a quarter of an hour of trying to resolve things, turned and walked away.
And it was at that point that the unhappy customer picked up the plastic and glass percolator and threw it at the woman.
Fiscal depute Victoria Kerr told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the incident happened during the afternoon of February 28 at the Aberdeen store.
She said: “At around 3.15pm, the complainer became aware of the accused attempting to return a coffee machine within the store.
‘Sheer luck’ manager escaped injury
“She advised the accused around 3.30pm that she could not assist her any further and turned to walk away.
“As she turned, she saw the accused, out of the corner of her eye, pick up the coffee machine and throw it at her.”
The woman managed to use her arm to shield her face and the hefty coffee machine instead struck her to the neck and shoulder area before falling to the floor and smashing.
Security staff quickly became involved and the police were alerted.
Fortunately, the manager did not require any medical treatment.
Newlands, of Cedar Place, Aberdeen, pled guilty to assaulting a retail worker.
Defence agent Chris Maitland said: “The background is probably obvious.
“It was a legitimate attempt to return a broken item and there were difficulties due to not having a receipt.
‘She lost her temper’
“Ms Newlands was getting nowhere and she accepts, in the heat of the moment, she lost her temper.
“She very much regrets doing this and apologises to the lady involved.
“It really was a case of seeing the red mist and immediately regretting it.”
Mr Maitland said his client suffers from “significant mental health difficulties”.
He added: “The whole court process has been extremely stressful and anxiety-inducing.”
Sheriff Rhona Wark told Newlands: “This seems to be an incident where perhaps you have not got exactly what you were looking for but people were trying to help you and you lost your temper and that’s not acceptable.
“It’s a serious matter to throw quite a bulky item at someone.
“It’s sheer luck that more significant damage was not done or there was no injury at all.”
She fined Newlands £520.
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