Customer complaint in work now under investigation

[MrsHormonal2019]

I don't know where to start tbh. Been a proper crap day.
Customer has made allegation I refused to help them and told them to find someone else to help.
Complete lie naturally but my work are now putting me under an investigation.
Had a meeting today and they adjourned it to speak to my colleague who the customer approached to complain about me.
I've given my statements. But I'm at a loss. I had no negative interactions with customer on that date and what I'm accused of is something I would never in a million years do.
I'm 4 months pregnant and ended up having a panic attack and being sent home.
I'm an anxious person and hormones do not help what so ever.

Has anyone else been through something similar?
It's just really frightened me the out right lie of it. Makes me feel like someone has purposefully done this to hurt me.
I really don't want to go back to work Monday now

Not quite the same thing but when I was pregnant with my first baby my horrible boss called me in. He said he had noticed I had been making a lot of personal phone calls and it wasn't acceptable. This was weeks before my mat leave was due to start and I was negotiating new contract. I was livid and went to HR to get a copy of the itemized phone bill for the whole department. Mine showed the least amount of personal calls. I presented it to him for his information and he never said another word. My point is I was initially upset and hurt then I stood up and fought my corner. You can do the same, with an unblemished 12 year record, you will be fine. Just tell them what you have said here.

I would agree with other posters that you have been put at a disadvantage by the delay in informing you. The management should have made you aware immediately so that you could make a record of events at work that day. They are now in a position to argue that you have simply forgotten the incident which is unfair and also denies them a solid justification for proceeding with an investigation. As it stands without witnesses I'm not sure what they think they can do anyway.

days that was quick thinking, good for you for standing up for yourself. It's pretty bloody disgraceful that women are managed out of employment for daring to have a baby.

My daughter was fired from her Saturday job following a complaint from a customer, no opportunity to put her side of the story etc, worked there for two years without a problem. She found out later that the customer had not been in the shop but another shoe shop next door and had complained to the wrong shop!

Bottom line: if you are fired or even disciplined over this without corroborating evidence, take them to a tribunal.

OP I manage a small team and know them well enough that if someone made an unlikely complaint, I would wonder what the customer would get out of it before taking anything official. Maybe they do it to get discounts on products from companies desperate to avoid bad publicity for example. If you have a good relationship with your supervisor/manager they should require more than one customer's say so to do anything drastic. In the meantime, check all your staff policies, check out ACAS and plan for the worse which will help your anxiety because you are taking some control. - good luck

I also wonder if they know you're pregnant and whether this might be an 'issue' for them ...

The company are acting terribly by making such a big deal out of this.

Customers make complaints over utter trivia all the time. It shouldn’t be a reason to start an investigation.

I would definitely want a union rep present and a copy of all the relevant policies.

I've dealt with a parent lying about my behaviour in my work setting to get me into trouble years after her child had been reprimanded at her school because she was bullying my child. I'm not sure of exactly why she chose to act years later. We came up with a few possible theories but thought it was just opportunity - she finally had the chance and took it.

It still had to be properly investigated but I had everyone on side. It was pure vindictive nonsense. I could have been fired. I have never felt as safe in my job since. I feel afraid of making the wrong decision and feel the need to justify all my actions.

The parent has apparently done this sort of thing before but I think the stigma still sticks. I had great relationships with my bosses previously but they now seem to act more professionally towards me.

I had a complaint made against me. Totally unfounded but I had to drag through all the procedures none-the-less. It was very upsetting - made worse by the fact that it was 2 people together who had made it. They were lying. Not a misunderstanding - an outright lie. In the end it was "unsubstantiated" but even now it still rankles - the injustice of it. I really feel for you - a horrible experience

OP you have posted this on another thread.........

*MrsHormonal2019

No but I work in retail and I'm having an investigation today because of something a customer has made up.
She took offense to me telling her a product was out of stock and instead decided I was being lazy and reported me for refusing to look for item and telling her to look for someone else to help her.
Like seriously wtf. Some people need to get a life*

So now I'm confused.

Bold fail sorry

Why are you confused? That's the same thing she has said here.

3) I am anxious in general and I am pregnant - i believe this whole process is risky for mine and my babys health so i suggest we accept this likely didn't happen as the customer is saying, draw a line under it and move on - i will not have this dragged out risking me becoming very upset and risking my health.

Sorry but this sounds terrible coming from the person who has had a complaint raised against them by a customer. Telling one's employer what should happen and ordering them to accept the customer was wrong is not a good look.

It would be far better to go through the sequence of events as things happened that day and be prepared to give a clear factual account of the words you used (as near as possible, paraphrasing if not the actual words) plus what you intended when you were communicating with the customer. And don't criticise the customer whatever you do!

I don't think you should conflate pregnancy with the customer's complaint. It is OK to highlight how you are currently feeling (re anxiety levels) but it is not in your interests to say anything that they could turn around against you or be misinterpreted as "I acted this way because I am pg".

In my job complaints are par for the course. My advise would be to not provide ANY account till you’ve spoken to a union rep and only then when ALL the evidence has been collated and been given to you to consider. Also, get a copy of the HR and complaints policy then read it, read it some more and read it again. It’s amazing how many times policies are not followed to the letter. In which case you’ve leverage.

Finally, If all they have is your word against hers you’ll be fine.

People are c*nts sometimes.

I'm an arctic driver and had to have a word with a customer who was allowing a member of staff to repeatedly park in the turning point, despite ample parking spaces, in turn meaning that I had to repeatedly do a blind reverse onto a busy main road in my 50ft truck (dangerous and illegal) - as the spot in question is at the back of the building you are already past the point of no return by the time you csn see if they've parked there (and you can't walk there first due to needing to drive through a security gate and weighbridge. They were only doing it to save a 30 second walk and do not appear to be disabled.

I eventually refused to deliver (well within my right) and said employee has now claimed I've scratched his car (newish BMW) with a plastic container, leaving red paint on it.

This is clearly horseshit as they are made from red plastic (no paint on surface) and are only offloaded by forklift.

I did post in another thread but I still have never said what this customer complained about.
I don't even know if it was the same customer.
But me telling a customer I'm sorry an item is out of stock is completely different to a customer saying I said I'm not looking for the item go fine another member of staff .
Which is the exact wording of complaint.
No I don't know who colleague is and I work for a big company so this shouldn't be about pregnancy.
But I have seen other colleagues get away with behaviours on shop floor I think is terrible and nothing gets done to them.
So I'm a bit alarmed at this happening to me.

I was informed of incident a week later. Then I'm asked do I remember this customer issue.

In real terms, a week is not that long.

She took offense to me telling her a product was out of stock and instead decided I was being lazy and reported me for refusing to look for item and telling her to look for someone else to help her.

Did you actually refuse to look up the stock item to see when it would be available in store, or did you just reply it wasn't in stock and expect the customer to walk away? Genuine question - what does your company tell you to do? It sounds like you didn't go the extra mile and that's what the customer found frustrating.

MyShinyWhiteTeeth-

What was the complaint about, if you don’t mind my asking?

TheInvestigator
I'm not clear about which bits the customer made up. Would a colleague escalate a complaint and the manager pursue it if the item was demonstrably out of stock? The tone of the posts seems very different too.

That sounds shitty. You have my sympathies, although that in itself is probably not much comfort. Unfortunately there are a lot of arseholes around and normal people have to deal with the fallout.

But I have seen other colleagues get away with behaviours on shop floor I think is terrible and nothing gets done to them.

Unfair though it is, it would not be a good idea to use this as your defence. You could, in theory, point out that they have not been consistent in their treatment of you, however in reality, it's a risky approach unless you have solid facts to back up your argument.

Thanks OP for the clarification. Proving that the item was out of stock should be fairly easy and once that's done then the question management need to ask is why would you say something unhelpful when it wasn't in your power to give the customer what they wanted.

Sorry to clarify, you wouldn't say something unhelpful because you wouldn't have any cause to after you had informed the customer the item was out of stock.

Please try not to worry. Anyone who works customer facing knows how things get blown up out of proportion. I remember saying to someone ok I'll do this to help you. She paused for a moment and screamed "I CANT BELIEVE YOU ARE REFUSING TI HELP ME!". It's so ridiculous but I'm sure they just have to follow a set policy and nothing will come of it