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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want to do my job without being called a fuc@ing bitch

48 replies

Broodymomma · 01/08/2010 17:22

I mean seriously what is wrong with some people? Today my only crime was telling people they had to wait in a queue, I get called a fuc@ing stupid bitch, a who@e and a cow all in one shift. I'm pretty tough after 10 years in this industry but I had one poor girl trying to help who is 17 years old and got called pretty much the same by people twice her age. Disgusting.

So is it unreasonable to expect to do your job without these scumbags verbally abusing you and you can't say a word back in the name of customer service! Aghhhhh

OP posts:
Northernlurker · 01/08/2010 17:24

YANBU - lets hope what goes around will indeed come around - and slap them in the face!

VinegarTits · 01/08/2010 17:24

what is your job? can you change it?

SingItBack · 01/08/2010 17:24

my god, what do you do? Totally NBU

nancydrewrocked · 01/08/2010 17:24

Jesus where do you work?

And why on earth can you not just kick them out of wherever you do work if they speak to you like that?

matumble · 01/08/2010 17:25

YANBU what industry do you work in where this is normal? I'm usually quite particular about customer service but frankly anyone speaking to someone doing their job in that way should lose the use of whatever service it is they are there for

ivykaty44 · 01/08/2010 17:25

that isn't customer service - sorry but anyone swearing at staff just isn't a customer anymore - you need to tell people not to swear or they get pulled out of the queue and put to the back or get them to leave

SloanyPony · 01/08/2010 17:25

Assuming you didn't have an arsey tone nor were you drunk on your own sense of power, YANBU. Though its never acceptable to call anyone those things.

unavailable · 01/08/2010 17:26

What industry do you work in? Surely your company has a policy about protecting its staff from abuse and intimidation. As an employer, its their legal duty . You dont have to just put up with it.

iloveasylumseekers · 01/08/2010 17:28

sounds like the public sector to me.

let me guess: job centre? A&E?

Vallhala · 01/08/2010 17:30

*Please join the queue. If you swear at me, I'll ensure that you go to the very back of it.".

Worth a try?

What on earth do you do? And why isn't your company preventing this from happening, or at least issuing guidelines to staff and warnings to "customers" if it does?

Original poster
Broodymomma · 01/08/2010 17:32

I work at an airport. Not for an airline I may add but people kind of come to me when the airline has peed them off. I am never arsey with people and pride myself in turning bad sutuations round but sometimes when people
Don't read the terms and conditions of the airline they are travelling with there is not much I can do.
My poor team are there to simply show people where to check in etc and lately the abuse level from passengers has gone through the roof. To react to it would just inflame it so we normally ignore buy this weekend has been beyond awful. Am so sick of it I would never dream of swearing at someone in tesco because they could
Not open another aisle for me.

OP posts:
Gigantaur · 01/08/2010 17:35

I knew you worked at an airport.

I agree, the level of abuse the airport staff take is well and truley beyond any i have ever known in another industry (except maybe the police)

SingItBack · 01/08/2010 17:35

I would consider looking for another job. That must be so stressful.

Original poster
Broodymomma · 01/08/2010 17:36

Excuse the typing am on my phone. The company i work for is very keep the passenger happy at all costs but there is only so much I will take or stand back and watch a poor kid on her first job take. She is only there to welcome people to the airport and show them where to check in.

OP posts:
agedknees · 01/08/2010 17:37

The great British public. Don't you just love them.

YANBU. Don't let them get you down. When I have people shouting and swearing at me I just tell myself they are shouting at the uniform, not the person. It hurts much less when you know its not personal.

McSnail · 01/08/2010 17:38

I guessed airport too.

I really feel for you.

McSnail · 01/08/2010 17:38

Saying that, I'm a secondary teacher and have been called all the names under the sun...

Original poster
Broodymomma · 01/08/2010 17:40

I don't wear a uniform lol and got called a fat bitch yesterday by a lovely hen party who were refused travel as they were pissed as farts. Wouldn't mind but I'm only a 12/14 - that felt personal. Mind you she was bloody ugly!!! Oh that is childish but i feel better lol

OP posts:
Original poster
Broodymomma · 01/08/2010 17:41

Oh teaching must be even worse. I can only imagine !

OP posts:
sephrenia · 01/08/2010 17:43

That level of abuse is ridiculous. I applaud you for having patience enough to have stayed in that industry for ten years!

McSnail · 01/08/2010 17:44

Sorry Broodymama - didn't mean to make it about ME, haha.

I used to watch that Airport show and felt so sorry for the staff sometimes.

The general public can be fuckers.

pippop1 · 01/08/2010 17:48

They are nevous and stressed with the travelling and take it out on the staff. Unfair but what can you do? We all know what you go through from watching "Airline" when people are amazingly rude.

ivykaty44 · 01/08/2010 17:55

Where I work I am told often it is like a prison - I just reply sweetly that I have no idea sometimes subtlety is far more rewarding and doesn't get you into trouble.

Smile sweetly and say have a great holiday whilst I am staying here...

after all thank goodness you are not having to go on holiday with them - now that would be awful

Original poster
Broodymomma · 01/08/2010 18:08

That's what I mostly do but sometimes
It just gets to you. Mabye it's time for a move but in reality for every 1 nasty passenger you get 100 lovely ones. Just some days are worse than others. Job fits in well around my 3 year old and my wages are good for the hours i do so hard to walk away from. Have been Away from my job for a year i have probably just lost the ability to brush it off easily.

OP posts:
albertcamus · 01/08/2010 18:09

Broody - YANBU !!!! As a teacher in a tough secondary school I've got nerves of steel and a high tolerance for the routine language used by youngsters who haven't been shown any better at home, usually. HOWEVER, over the last two years I need a serious chill pill when using any airport to or from UK due to the increasing obnoxiousness of the travelling British public, mainly in my experience disgusting disrespect for airport staff dished out by travellers of a 'certain age' ie old enough to know better, early retired plebs (sorry for the rant) who think they can throw their weight around with the nearest target. I just took a group of lovely Year 10s to Geneva with Easyjet, they were fantastic but on the return I found myself telling off the ahole 60-year old foursome who held up the boarding queue to dish out unprovoked crp to the nice guy who had to check our passports. Grrr that ppl generalise about kids when their grandparents' age not only treat everyone with disrespect but don't realise they are not setting any example. I'd have loved to give this lot a detention and make them write lines! Of course they were gobsmacked to be told off lol. Couldn't change places with u for the world, bless u and remember that prob 85% of your customers do appreciate you (same in teaching in my exp) x