The chief executive of supermarket giant Tesco has apologised to a customer who alleged he was called an “animal” by a worker at the chain’s Cowley Road branch.

Sir Terry Leahy sent a letter to Dr Sang Lee apologising for the “upset and annoyance” caused by the “poor level of customer service” he experienced at the store.

Dr Lee, who lives in Cowley Road, wrote to Mr Leahy and the store’s manager after being barred from the shop for a day on Sunday, December 28.

He claimed to be one of a number of customers waiting by the reduced section when a member of staff came out with a basket of goods. Dr Lee suggested there was a bit of “frantic happening” as customers tried to get the reduced items ahead of others.

The 60-year-old claimed in the letter to Tesco that the worker said: “You are like animals, fighting and pushing. I will not put these things out if you behave in this way.”

But when he protested about the language he was asked to leave the store.

Dr Lee said: “I was awfully embarrassed, not only because he called us animals but also, in front of all the staff and everyone, I was barred from the store.”

On the same day, Dr Lee wrote to Mr Leahy, the store and Tesco’s customer service centre to complain about the incident.

He also complained about another incident at the store when he was among four customers waiting for nearly an hour for cooked chickens to be reduced on Christmas Eve.

The customers were told 10 minutes before the shop closure that the chickens would not be reduced and would instead be given to the store’s staff, Dr Lee said.

Dr Lee sent another three letters to the store, Mr Leahy and Tesco customer services in Dundee after he was unsatisfied by the response.

On January 22, Mr Leahy replied, and said: “I hope you will accept my sincere apologies for the upset and annoyance this matter has caused you. I can assure you that the comments made by (the member of staff) were of his opinion and in no way reflects our corporate opinion.”

The letter included a £30 money-off voucher.

But Dr Lee remained unsatisfied about the incidents, and Mr Leahy has since written to him to say he will enter into no further correspondence about the issue.

Dr Lee said: “Big companies will do anything as long as they think they can get away with it. That is what Tesco is trying to do.”

A Tesco spokesman said: “At Tesco we expect our staff to offer the highest levels of customer service. We have apologised to the customer and offered a gesture of goodwill by way of apology for the service he received.”