Sainsburys in mobile U-turn as company decides not to discipline worker who refused to serve shopper talking on phone Thousands took to social networking sites to praise the worker for taking a stand against bad manners When a checkout worker refused to serve a customer because she was on her mobile phone, Sainsbury's apologised for its "bad service." But after thousands of people took to social networking sites to praise the worker for taking a stand against bad manners, the supermarket giant has changed its stance. It says it has decided not to take disciplinary action against the employee, adding it is "pleased the story is leading to a wider debate on politeness." Sainsbury's said in a letter, seen by the BBC, it hoped "the discussion this has created leads us all to think twice before reaching for our mobile phones and to recognise the great job the many thousands of sales assistants working across retail do." Jo Clarke, who sparked the controversy, complained to store bosses after the incident at her local branch in Crayford, south-east London and was offered £10 of vouchers. She claimed the unidentified worker - who is thought to be a woman in her 50s or 60s - told her: "I will not check your shopping out until you get off your mobile phone." The 26-year-old property manager said: "I just phoned my brother to quickly tell him I was about to leave. I was dumbfounded, so just hung up. Miss Clarke, who had been waiting to bag up her shopping, added: "I ended my call swiftly, and said, "Apologies, I didn't realise that it was Sainsbury's policy that you are unable to use your phone at the checkout." "She said, "You learn something new every day."" After thousands of people took to social networking sites to praise the worker for taking a stand Sainsburys changed its stance Checking at customer services, she was told there was no such policy. The stunned shopper added: "She was talking to me as if I should have known that I was breaking the rules, like I was a naughty child - and now it turns out those aren't the rules." But thousands of Facebook and Twitter users have praised the checkout worker. One Twitter user, David Kerr, wrote: "The assistant at Sainsbury's who refused to serve the woman who was on her mobile phone deserves a medal. They're people & deserve courtesy. Philippa Fellows wrote on Facebook: "Surely it's just good manners to speak to someone serving you? I've seen it so many times. So disrespectful. Put the phone down and engage! Joanna-Alice Turner wrote: "I work as a checkout assistant, it's rude and disrespectful to be on your phone she wouldn't like it if the checkout girl did it to her." Richard Gray said: "I watched a woman in a coffee shop just give her card to a waiter and carry on talking on phone. He took payment and she didn't acknowledge or say thank you. If I was him I would have told her how rude she was. But some retail experts are upset with Sainsbury's changing its stance. Bryan Roberts, from marketing experts Kantar, said: "A lot of retailers are really annoyed with Sainsbury's. The customer is not always right - the customer is often wrong