Sick of customers moaning to shop staff about things beyond our control

Used to have 150 colleagues now 52 ... HO think they can do these jobs with the numbers above...
Customers need to understand that they are ones that making the staff leave and put off others from applying to work in retail.
Not seeing your logic there. You just said that it's down to poor management ... and then blamed the customer!

And your manager listens, worries about being seen as a moaner by management further up the chain and does nothing.

If people actually stopped and listened to themselves for a second (and I include myself in that) they would realise that sometimes moaning at the staff does nothing... emailing the CEO might however

Exactly this! I worked in customer services for years and learned very early that people just want to be heard. If you make the right noises they will eventually back down (usually) as long as they feel someone is taking them seriously. People are very frustrated these days as everything has become so difficult, and it's especially frustrating for those old enough to remember a time when life was so much more simple.

It's part of the job to deal with this, and if you can't, or won't, do it then you shouldn't be doing that job.

This is the reason I left retail. 20yrs of it and I had had enough. And it’s not just the customers some “management” were absolutely awful to their staff (I could tell you a few stories) thankfully I am now running my own business and I don’t have to deal with being yelled at by anyone.
I always try to engage with the staff who are working, it’s nice to be nice 😊

If i have a beef a about about a certain product ir problem either instore or over the phone about the OP list. If Customer Services cant fix it

I will say to Cusomer Assistance.

l know it is not your fault but would mention to your management about such and such a thing. It would really be helpful. Thank You

I use a polite frienndly manner anf finish with a nod and a smile.

The problem is that these jobs have been consistently deskilled and devalued.
I have worked in my current job for 10 years. We have 58 staff now instead of the 90+ when I started. The manager who hired me worked there for 30+ years. He (and other managers on the old pay scale) have been managed out over the past 3/4 years, and replaced by 'yes men'. They don't know how to manage a shop. All the decisions are made at a higher level. They are just there to be a physical presence. They can't make decisions about staffing levels, or budgets, they can't even decide to stack products on the shop floor. They therefore get paid sfa. And the business overall makes more money, which is all they care about. It doesn't matter that good staff are run into the ground and leave, and that customers get shit service because of the pressure the staff are under, and their inability to make any decisions, as long as the business profits increase year on year.
So please complain. As a customer your opinion is more important than mine. But do it to head office, not me, or my colleague on tills.

I never really paid much attention to the customers who moaned. It was the ones who were physically aggressive that I didn't like. One of our security guards ended up in hospital for a week after he was attacked early on a Saturday morning by drunk customers. One of my colleagues ended up with a black eye. So many customers screamed abuse at me and my colleagues.
Thankfully I'm out of retail now and while YANBU to be annoyed by there customers I would rather have that than physical abuse.

I used to say would you like to speak to the manager? And they'd say no & shut up..

Yes!!! We had someone recently pour out a bottle of cola and said Boycott Coke.

They also ruined our NPS by putting free Palestine and boycott coke. Head office wouldn’t remove it and we all lost any privileges 😊😂

The days I worked in retail customers could be rude but by now it's been encouraged to be pro active. It's unacceptable and beyond rude to shout at staff who have no control over the policies. Most of us, as hopefully fairly intelligent human beings, understand and will leave to address the issue online.

Unfortunately there are others who just shout, demand and becone violent because that's the way they are. Never take it personally, big breath, pass on to management. Xxx

How on earth have you decided he sounds unpleasant because he expressed displeasure at a price?

I was in a shop and the assistant accidentally scanned my item twice and neither of us noticed until she asked me for £120 pounds (it was a synthetic cardigan) and I impulsively blurted out "How much, that can't be the price" in shock. Wasn't being unpleasant or rude. The assistant checked the lable discovered the price was in fact half that and she spotted the mistake and we both had a laugh. She wasn't offended and didn't flounce off.

I like living in a former Soviet county. Retail staff aren’t expected to perform emotional labour. Service is brusque. Customers are brusque. But I’ve not seen anyone shouting at staff or being aggressive. There is security everywhere. No shoplifting. Retail workers aren’t being stabbed and threatened.

The only time you get good service is at places like five star hotels. Generally you know and accept that customer service is generally average to poor. There is no point in complaining politely - because nothing will happen!

Umm I know the person I was replying to said they worked in retail so yes, I’d expect them to understand the basic structure of the departments. As you clearly have no idea how it works then no I wouldn’t expect you to understand. I hope that answers your question and you read the whole post before assuming in future.

Its the stuff people complain about
●The price going up
●Having to pay for a bag
●That they can't have more then 2 packs of paracetamol
●That they need i.d.
● That there bank card was declined
● That we need to rescan there shopping when they haven't scanned something when they have used scan as you go
● That they are being hurried along when the shop has closed
● That something is out of stock
● parking
● That they can't use out of date vouchers
●That they aren't allowed to step over an unconscious person to get something of a shelf
● That we won't help them during a 2 minute silence
● That they got caught shoplifting
● That they can't have cashback when paying with cash
●The music playing
● The temperature
●That we can't instantly stop serving another customer to help them
● When we tell them not to push in and that they have to queue
●That they can't buy anything before 10am on a Sunday
● That the bag broke after they've filled it with 6 pints of milk, a 10lb bag of potatoes and a 5l bottle of water

I just hand my money over and hope for the next and say nothing about anything ever?

I think customer service in the UK is shocking - especially in hospitality

I loved working in a shop despite the lack of social niceties of a few people, but after a couple of nasty incidents, with customers who should know better, I decided enough was enough. Boy, you should have seen my supervisor with one of them, she was putting up with none of his nonsense. His wife was mortified as they were escorted from the shop and told they wouldn't be welcome anymore. CCTV is a great witness, but no help when you are at the receiving end of some vile person.

Try Tesco Clapham South every Sunday afternoon from 3pm

Five years at Waitrose and I would never work in retail again. Customers are wankers and think that Christmas is only happening to them.

Absolutely spot on! I can’t stand people
who ‘stick it to the minimum wage
worker’. It s a good many years since I worked retail but I used to ask complainers to go to customer services and make their complaints there. Oddly none did. My personal favourite back then was the eco lady who used to unpack her shopping and chuck all the packaging on the floor. Cheers lady! That socks it to the manufacturer/supermarket ceo! I suggested she wrote to head office/purchased other items but again -
no dice.

Reminder: complaints can be polite and non-confrontational.

Its unacceptable for anyone to shout at anybody.

But you're the face of the company, and customer service is part of the role, no? It makes sense that customers will complain to members of staff.

If you worked for Asda I think you had to work in the actual shop from time to time. I don't know if it's still the case.

I had a job where I had to visit call centres and listen to the calls.

It's not really that difficult for HQ staff to get out and see what it's like in the shops/in a customer facing environment. They just need to make the time.

And no, I wouldn't expect them to pass on feedback about the price of bread. But I would eg expect them to take on board feedback about putting 17 year olds on cigarette/lottery ticket counters (it makes zero sense to put someone young on the counter that sells age-restricted items) and stop doing it!

Well you have a management problem then. It's his job to er - manage things, which includes customer feedback.

How one earth do we have so many unemployed young people who'd no doubt bring a lot to a job, and so many useless employed people?

I agree, but the sort of behaviour that I wouldn't have been allowed to get away with when I had a customer facing job (ignoring the queue at the till while I stock shelves or fill in paperwork or whatever) is justified all the time on here.

In fact I used to get into the shop an hour early to stock the shelves but of course they won't pay for that now.