Man complained about me re yoghurt brand stopped doing a flavour

[Auburngal]

I was at work. Man (early 80s) asked me why we stopped doing a certain flavour yoghurt and the other two supermarkets stopped selling too.

Had my work’s handset on me and went onto the brand’s website and there wasn’t the flavour listed. Brand have dropped the flavour. On hearing the news - he flipped

He then went to the CSD asking for a manager. Manager said the same thing as me.

Do people realise that behaving like this is making staff leave retail?

I bet it won’t be. I was similarly dismayed when the Onken fruit yoghurts dropped pear flavour.

didnt shout at anyone though!

I’m with you but I also think everyone should do a stint in a customer facing role, my naive mind thinks it may make people more compassionate.

Hospitality is probably the worst of the bunch IMO, I did it for a little while until a customer waited for me outside an hour after closing. After that I decided being behind a screen was better.

@Auburngal i know this can be a serious problem….

but can you please tell us the flavour! 🙏

Pharmacy customer definitely a MNetter, there's been threads! 😆

I've stepped in before when twats are giving abuse to staff. I've said to them you know full well the staff can't tell you to fuck off but I can so do it - shock horror looks all round.

@Wagonwheelforme
Onken passion fruit. They do one with PF, mango and papaya. But customer doesn’t like the other fruit

Well I see his point then, you're lucky he didn't set fire to the store. Not really of course but if he did, according to some posters you should give him a break because he's old and might be having a bad day 😅

I wouldn't bat an eyelid at such an idiot. Report to security and move on, you have to deal with some awful individuals in any public facing jobs unfortunately, I don't know if they should be enough to make you want to quit. Retail bosses (in my experience) can be worse, the majority of staff I saw leave was down to management wanting more and more of their time for a pittance and I think the general public are just the icing on the cake. You need a thicker skin than you should for the payscale imo x

Was it rhubarb? I’m annoyed it’s not there anymore too. Haven’t shouted at anyone about it though…

Just noticed it’s passion fruit - liked that one too 🤦🏻‍♀️

I can actually understand that one a little more, if I'm honest. Obviously, nobody should be shouting, but my local Boots is often very unapologetic about its stock issues and there are a lot of gaps. It gets very annoying and I can see why people get snippy. Losing your shit over yoghurt is one (ridiculous) thing, being faced by an unbothered pharmacy assistant when it is your medication at stake is quite another.

The thing is you need to grow a thick skin because, unfortunately, there will always be, and have always been, people like this. It's good if the store back you up but obviously that's not always the case. So learn tactics for dealing with it or leave are your only options.

We don't and can't control how other people speak or behave, we can only control our own responses to such behaviour.

I am astounded to hear the awful tales of abuse and assault suffered by staff in shops! Hand on heart I can honestly say the worst I have EVER been when something has gone wrong in a shop is slightly irritated and its never led to insults swearing or assaulting staff! What is wrong with people😳

Just in case you are asked again EasiYo have passion fruit sachets and rhubarb too. You have to make it yourself but it is easy. The maker costs about £20 and sachets to make 1kg yogurt cost around £3.40 and the cost of boiling a kettle. It lasts longer than an opened yogurt.

And as the OP said, it didn't used to be this bad in terms of aggression and abuse and she's had it for so long and to such an extent that she's on antidepressants.

Because it's been so bad for so long.

She had a thicker skin before it was worn thin by such frequent aggression and abuse when she's just trying to do her job in a supermarket.

I wish people would stop making excuses for terrible behaviour and victim blaming.

Because that's what it is, victim blaming. She should think about what he might be going through, not take it to heart I.e stop being so sensitive, it's to be expected in your job, get more training, some people are just like this so accept it or move on and get another job.

How about expecting other people not be aggressive and abusive and not tell the victim to be nicer, or it's bad but that's just the way it is...

Millions of women are victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. That is 'just the way it is' in our world.

It's still not okay and still should be railed against.

As should ALL aggression and abuse. It's ALL unacceptable.

Well you could present that the other way around, maybe customer facing staff's lack of engagement is a result of how they're treated?

If customers are coming at me with sarcasm, aggression, being rude, dismissive or attempting to humiliate me straight off the bat, or turn that way when what they want isn't going to happen because I'm not a magician, then they get the bare minimum of engagement from that point.

I'd say if you're experiencing that a lot it's more likely that you're approaching with an attitude that causes them to withdraw rather than engage.

An example from the past few weeks when I was serving behind a bar and completing the transaction of the customer I was serving, that customer had taken the drinks to the table and was returning to collect more and to pay, I was putting everything into the till and someone else approached, I made eye contact about to say "I'll be with you in a moment" to be met with "Is anyone actually serving customers today?" Little head tilt. Before I could open my mouth.
"Yes, yes I am, I'm currently serving another customer who is just back just now, so I will be with you in a moment, sorry for the delay"
And when it was her turn she got polite, but wooden service, no interaction. Not a customer who was abusive or shouty but condescending and patronising.
Why should I give anything more to someone who thinks it's appropriate to treat me like that? Why do they think it's appropriate to try and belittle me in that way? What's the point of it other than trying to feel a bit superior to someone else?
They got what they came for, they got a smile and they got served with manners, but like fuck am I going to fawn over someone who has decided that I should be humiliated and belittled because of the job I'm doing.

So maybe if you're getting disengaged service wherever you go then it's the attitude you're displaying towards them.

Elderly men are definitely awful, I've got one living next door giving me hell!!

Why should retail staff have to be thick skinned to do a job.why can't customers be more reasonable,my dw told me of one where a customer was berating someone for the lack of Warburtons on the shelf.i was lucky in the retail field I was in I could fight fire with fire if needed.

Try being a social worker in a housing crisis. I got called a cunt twice this week. Threatened with violence once. And told by another ‘professional’ that it’s my fault if a particular client ends up dead this week. I don’t even work in the housing sector. Apparently they are hiring though, profusely.

😂😂

yes - OP, obviously not your fault. This guy is totally nuts, but Onken should be made aware of the consequences of their careless conduct!

first pear, now passion fruit!

they’ve get the toffee one too!!

I'm still sad that they discontinued Mr Men fudge flavour yoghurt (with Mr Uppity on the label). That was my favourite of all time, but I don't go round squaring up to the shelf-stackers in Morrisons, because I'm not a total dick.

People having a go about his age, it IS relevant.

There is a certain kind of person who is the worst for this. Met them in retail since Covid and in Hospitality before that. And it is always pension aged men, usually of the richer sort.

Total conjecture on my part but given my experience within my own family and in my working life......

They have spent their entire professional lives being said "yes" to. Wives who had to do everything with the home and kids, even if she worked due to the Big Important Man doing the Big Important Job so his every need would be catered to because if they didnt cater to him they worried about losing their homes kids etc. Abuse of every sort was employed to make sure that this happened. Lower orders at work doffing their caps and making the sure that their every demand was catered to (see above).

And then they retire and there is genuine bafflement that they cannot do the same with the rest of the whole fucking world. Seen this with the rat faced abusive cheating maggot my aunt married. He really doesnt fucking get that his bullying doesnt work on anyone who isnt relying on him for a wage or a home. He hates my and my mothers guts.....cant imagine why

They reserve a special hatred for anyone who is a) a woman b) someone who ) athey think is less than them, c) both or the special d) a woman in a position of power above them that they cannot take down. Saw it with my uncle, his loathing of his woman boss had him foaming, she was less than him as a woman, had power over him as his boss and the killer.....she got the promotion he didnt get.

Point is, that poor cow on the tills get the shit that these pathetic specimens know that they cant mete out to anyone else anymore.

he’s clearly nuts. Don’t take it so personally

Customers need to understand that Warburtons, Kingsmill and Hovis deliver in their own lorries. Plus the own label!

These plus newspapers/mags are delivered by usually Smiths News.

We have zero control over our own deliveries too as the depot is 35 miles away. There was a RTA last year closing a road about half a mile from depot A few customers on hearing the news from us “That’s not good enough” Then idiots quip “how come (competitor) have their deliveries” Because their depots are in different places

Any customer who says “That’s not good enough” should be thrown out of the store.

Always get fed up with “You used to sell (product) as I have bought it here”. We never sold it

“You keep moving the eggs!” In the 17 years I have worked there, they have once been moved ONCE!

Gawd! This reminds me of a woman when I was checkout girl many years ago.

She put all her shopping down on the belt, was clearly very antsy. Realised she’d forgotten something, it’s fine I said as there was no one behind her.

5 mins passed and she wasn’t back yet. Queue had started to form. I’m apologising to everyone else. Another 5 mins and she’s still not back, so I give up and start scanning the guy behind who has three items. Having a friendly chat with him, he’s about to pay and she comes back, loses her shit completely, accuses me of laughing at her with the other customer and stomps off to another till.

Turned out she had left her baby alone in the car!