Greggs customer storms out after staff caught using store vacuum cleaner on coffee machine

Greggs customer storms out after staff caught using store vacuum cleaner on coffee machine EXCLUSIVE: After a video that appeared to show an employee using a hoover to clean a coffee machine went viral on TikTok, Greggs released a statement on the matter A customer at the popular bakery chain Greggs stormed out of a branch after she saw staff using a vacuum cleaner to clean a coffee machine. Charlotte Loftus said she was in the Gateshead branch of Greggs of Durham Road when she captured, on her phone, an employee using a vacuum cleaner to clean the top of a coffee machine. Charlotte, 37, slammed the behaviour and criticised it as being unhygienic before she left the branch and went elsewhere. Later, she posted her video on TikTok where it went viral, racking up over 600,000 views, shares, and likes. Charlotte, from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, recalled the chain of events that lead to her storming out. She said: “I was waiting in the queue and I could see she was hoovering out the top of the coffee machine and it just looked suspiciously like a normal domestic hoover. I was concerned that it could be the same hoover they use on the floor, which would have been unhygienic. "I had my phone in my hand at the time so I just took a quick video - I didn't expect it to blow-up as much as it has on TikTok." So shocked was Charlotte at what she saw that she said that she didn’t buy anything, as she was concerned about hygiene, something Greggs later refuted. Charlotte also said it made her reconsider whether she would return to Greggs in the future. She explained: “When I saw it, I thought if that is how they're cleaning it out, really they should do it when there's no customers in - at least not when there's a massive queue. "Surely it wouldn't have just been me who was thinking that it was the hoover off the floor. I was actually going in for a coffee and I turned around and walked away. "It's made me think twice about going to that Greggs store in the future. It's unsanitary. For such a national company, I didn't expect it." After Charlotte’s clip went viral, people claiming to work at the bakery chain came out in its defence. One claimed that the hoovers were never used for the floors. They said: "Greggs worker here, we don't hoover the floors. We wish we could, it would save a lot of time - but we aren't allowed to. The hoover is literally for the coffee machines and the coffee machines alone - hope this helps." Another replied: “Greggs manager here - 100% they never use the hoover for the floors. It’s only for the coffee beans when they got jammed or [if] the hoppers need a hoover before they are washed. Hope that reassures you." However, Charlotte disagreed, she said: “I don't think it's believable that they would have another hoover specifically for the coffee machine. "I think it's anything for quickness and ease to be honest. If something's got stuck I think it's probably been the case of oh, we'll just quickly hoover that out." An official spokesperson for Greggs said: "While this isn't reflective of our usual procedures, our shops follow clear hygiene standards and the equipment shown is not used for floor cleaning."