To think that customers are behaving in an increasingly unreasonable, rude and aggressive manner?

[TheyBrokeMeToday]

Customer service. Love my wee job. The customers broke me today. So much rudeness, aggressiveness and just general unreasonableness. It seems to be becoming a very regular thing lately. Anyone else? Broken.

There's definitely an increase in people not bothering to read information provided to them and then getting what they ordered or booked, and then royally kicking off because it wasn't what they wanted, and maybe feel embarrassed or something so feel the need to deflect that onto someone else. And then it's all poor customer service when someone gets what they ordered or booked.......
More than happy to adjust something, help sort an issue, I'll bend over backwards to make sure our guests are happy, I'll listen to feedback and change what I can if you feel you made an error because something wasn't clear or was more complicated than it needs to be.
But come at me with the attitude that we're the ones who have automatically fucked up, shout and ball at me that you just want what you booked or ordered, and then act like I've just sacrificed your first born to Satan when I tell you that's exactly what you've got, and talk to me like an idiot then that's exactly what you'll get, you'll get the idiot who doesn't understand and doesn't know how to do anything when you treat me like that and you'll get nowhere.

The customer is always right has morphed into 'the staff are always wrong' and a growing number of people treat you like you're the enemy, someone they must get one over on. It's pathetic.

The types of jobs we're talking about here are looked down on, they're seen as worth very little, not important, the people doing them have been devalued. They're seen as uninspired, lazy, uneducated, thick, can't do any better - not thought of very highly at all and certainly not professionals - yet professional conduct is required?
People are acting surprised that after years of telling people these jobs aren't important enough to be respected, valued, paid a living wage or treated with at least basic common decency - that fewer and fewer people are wanting to do these jobs and fewer and fewer are engaging with it and actually trying.
And society, the government and companies all have a hand in that.

I don't think you are unreasonable OP - customers can be awful and I suspect I'd be sacked very quickly for giving as good as I got!

But so can retail/customer facing workers and it's such a pain to constantly have to deal with people who won't listen to you or deal with your query the first time.

Many companies seem to refuse to do anything unless someone like Which? or the consumer pages of the weekend newspapers get involved.

A case in point for the decline in customer service. I’ve just gone into Pret for a coffee (nothing complicated - just a latte) got served quickly, not particularly busy but a steady flow of customers. Five minutes later I’m still waiting for my coffee and lots of people, who came after me had been served and left. I said to the lady who served me “I’m waiting for a latte, will it be long?” and the Barista jumped around aggressively and shouted “I’m doing it, I’m doing it! Sorry for the wait but it is what it is!” Then turned around again.
So I said to the lady “could you tell your colleague that there is no need to be rude to customers.” She nodded and I could tell from the look on her face that it wasn’t the first time.
So you can bet that every time someone in the device industry is rude to me, I will call them out on that shit. Every. Single. Time!

that fewer and fewer people are wanting to do these jobs and fewer and fewer are engaging with it and actually trying. And society, the government and companies all have a hand in that

the companies are most to blame for inadequate training and stupid policies

YANBU. Just had 3 weeks off sick due to almost continuous verbal assaults. Don’t want to go back but no other jobs I’m trained for.

And they have. Didn't ask for a refund but got one anyway. Total example of a company not having enough staff on and expecting their staff to run ragged and their customers to get substandard service as a result

At least they dealt with it and turned an annoying story into a better one. I had a similar experience - I went away for the weekend and the hotel do a courtesy transfer from the airport as they are so close to it (but too far to walk with luggage). But they forgot to come and get us. I phoned them and they admitted they'd forgot and came. When we got back, they gave us a room upgrade to say sorry. Totally unnecessary but very welcome.

And the reason they forgot - because the driver had his day off and the receptionist had to come for us and had too much to think about.

Customer-facing staff should have training in resolving conflicts. When I worked in a customer service role, I had customer service training AND conflict resolving training. It should be a minimum requirement, surely (and some accurate knowledge of related law would be helpful too).

I used to work on the phones shall we say and it absolutely did my nut in.

Most people were rude, aggressive, entitled, rambled on and talked at me. It was the reason I left the job!

Sometimes it is because the customer service is truly shit. Some of the staff hired at a pharmacy I used to work in ad hoc should frankly not have been hired.They were truly disinterested in the job, no attention to detail no understanding of how dangerous that could be. People get pissed off if their insert whatever retail shop delivery is late so of course they will be if their medicines are so you need to talk to them and explain, help where possible.

I've had one guy just mouth off to me about his medicines not being ready. I asked when he ordered them and it was a Friday afternoon, from the surgery. I reminded him that it is 2 working days from ordering for the surgery to get to us for regular medication, this isn't new information and he wasn't new to ordering his medicines. Being that it was now a Monday I wasn't surprised that it hadn't reached us and maybe next time he should put a reminder in his phone to order as per the surgery's requirements. He was annoyed at me because he had a busy life, don't we all but he needed to take some responsibility for himself instead of shouting at me. Sometimes they just don't understand what your role entails or think mouthing off gets a response. I can't magic a prescription, I also couldn't give him an emergency supply as we didn't have his medication in stock which caused another sticking point.

Also in shops etc I now am fed up with poor service , I can shop on line so when I go to a shop I think I am paying for good service and that is what I should expect. I do wonder how some workers are employed as their basic people skills are so lacking

But you are not paying for a good service! Shops are conscious of the competition from online shopping, and to keep their costs down, they cut down on staff and their benefits.

Both DD and DIL worked for major retailers. DIL says where she works, every time someone leaves, they are not replaced. The remaining staff are expected to cover their work too!

If private equity investors take over a business, their first thought is to sweat the assets (and that means cut down on staff and make them work harder). DD says the bakery in the supermarket where she worked, had 10 staff when it was taken over. Now, there are 2 - and working in a bakery is hot heavy work, carrying the trays of goods for baking about. They used to have a HR person per store, now one HR person covers a group of stores.

Do you think you could do the work of 5 people? If not, why complain you are not getting a good service, if you couldn’t deliver it yourself?

In fairness if people are using an ambulance it’s probably not for a good reason and they can be forgiven for forgetting to thank the staff if for example their partner is possibly dying

People need to listen to each other ! And stay calm both customer and staff !!
customer must listen to staff and staff listen to customer but stay calm !!
I think if u don’t that’s why people get wound up because they’re not listening 🙉!
I am always nice to staff regardless of how they are that’s my choice I don’t react to other peoples moods ! It’s simple really and when u are calm staff are more than likely to help x

At the risk of sounding like an old curmudgeon it's gen Z that are the issue, and I say this as a proud parent of older gen Zers.

I love that generation, they are, in the main, a generation that is going to change the world but not through how they deal with people. They know all about their rights and nothing about their responsibilities.

I heard them called zoomers recently because of how like boomers they are and I laughed at the accuracy of this. Both self important, pompus and arrogant. The small mercy with gen Z though is they are very focused on fixing the world.

I think people in general are more rude, selfish and entitled.

I don’t live in the U.K. but I see it all the time when British tourists are visiting

The small mercy with gen Z though is they are very focused on fixing the world.

So were boomers in their youth. They were the hippy and punk generations. Youthful idealism rarely survives contact with real life.

I heard them called zoomers recently because of how like boomers they are and I laughed at the accuracy of this. Both self important, pompus and arrogant

Such a load of nonsense - as if everyone born in the same decade or so has the same characteristics. We are all different.

@Eyerollcentral we've tried. The hours are pretty flexible, you can work school hours only, FT, PT, whatever you want. But nobody wants one day a week. I've seen them trying to recruit so I don't blame management at all

So on a Monday calls will queue, I do always tell people who mention the queue that it's our busiest day and if possible to ring later in the week

I think a lot of people on phone customer services are doing the "wfh with my kids here to save on childcare" thing, which really isn't helping. I was trying to sort out three problems on my lunch break yesterday and in each call I could hear an almighty toddler din in the background and the call handler was obviously distracted by it and not listening. I gave up and sent emails, which will be dealt with within 5 working days.

Every company also seems to have unusually high call volumes, too. Almost to the point where it should be described as "usually high call volumes", and anything that isn't high is "unusual".

Nothing justifies being rude to customer service people - I've been there, done the job, it's absolutely awful - but I can see why people get seriously fed up.

I think a lot of people on phone customer services are doing the "wfh with my kids here to save on childcare" thing, which really isn't helping
Agree with this. WFH is great and gives some flexibility at certain times depending on your role.

WFH isn't a convenient way to avoid childcare costs with young children though. Using WFH to avoid childcare means the company isn't getting proper work output and the child/children aren't getting high quality parental interaction. It's the worst of both worlds.

I am always polite with
Customer services but when you have been calling somewhere every two weeks to sort out an issue with a pension caused by the company whose services you are
paying for and they STILL haven't sorted it out nearly a bloody year later, then I can understand how frustrated customers can become. (Yes Aviva- I am looking at you...😡)

I understand that you can only answer one call at a time.
Not so much with the dentist because I only had a simple question, but sometime you have all the information in front of you; you've logged into your account, you have the relevant emails ready to talk to someone. You've taken a break from your work to make the dull call. When they call you back at their convenience you will (if you're even free to take the call) have been logged out, won't have the emails etc.

It just adds to the frustration and tedium of everything.

Thank you to everyone who agreed and disagreed, both opinions being valid. I will just say that staff are human, they have hearts, feelings, mental health that can break, personal problems, etc etc just like every customer that walks in a store. Please treat them as the valuable human beings they are, not as robots who can do everything seamlessly, and take all insults etc without it affecting them.

@PaperFun
That's such a good way to look at it! I work in retail and was feeling really down last night about customer reactions. The rude/ aggressive customers just dominate your thoughts but there are always polite and friendly people every shift.

I've worked in retail virtually all my life. I too have been sexually assaulted, threatened with a knife, shouted, screamed and spat at. Also mugged in my own shop. And I'm a florist, you wouldn't think our industry would incite that kind of behaviour, so it doesn't surprise me in the slightest when I hear other retail staff bemoaning the behaviour of customers.

I have always agreed that respect goes both ways and that I approach each customer interaction afresh. However when someone comes straight at me without a hello or a can you help me and starts barking demands in my face, my desire to help them drops through the floor and they get at best, the stink eye and more usually, a curt reply.

My job is literally to sell people things. I don't care if they get butt hurt because I'm not fawning over them when that's the way they speak to people in the first instance.

Thank you
that means a lot