To think that if you’re even slightly rude to retail staff you should be banned from the store.

[ThisAquaCrow]

Based on a conversation I’ve just had with a family member who has left work today again in tears because approximately 90% of the people she deals with range from low level rude right through to ‘you fucking bitch’ rude.

What is WRONG with people and if you are rude to retail staff on a regular basis, WHY?

Please share an example.

People shouldn't be rude to retail staff but banning everyone who is from the store might be counterproductive. Although if you have no customers and no job, you won't have to put up with them being rude any more.

I work on a supermarket checkout and no matter how rude the customer is the management will always side with the customer and then bitch about them when they’ve left the store. It’s infuriating but management in the store I work in are petrified of being reported to Head Office.

There's one in the OP!

YANBU. There's no excuse for abusing retail workers. I would caveat that with retail workers also needing to remain civil, as I've had a few really unpleasant ones lately. We're all stressed, no need to be nasty.

Admittedly banning is a bit extreme but it’s so hard to see somebody so worn down by relentless rudeness.

So sorry your family member has had to deal with that :( not at all acceptable and really sad that it's a regular occurrence.

Some retsil staff are rude too.
We were told to move in a very abrupt way by someone who worked in Lidl. The aisle was empty and my daughter and I were only passing with a basket. I’ve noticed the staff in retsil these days don’t even interact with you on the till, they just blank stare and expect you to beep your contactless.

Sometimes the service we receive is substandard and that should be addressed. Whether the retail worker in question deems that rude would be up for debate. I've been on both sides of it. However there is never any reason to get nasty or make personal insults.

Does it work both ways? Will people be dismissed on the spot for being rude to colleagues and customers?

If so, I think we might face another recruitment crisis.

What is low level rude? Isn’t that just like not saying “you too” when someone says have a good day or are we talking about someone who gives a pointed look at the staff when they are busy talking with a colleague rather than fixing the self service machine?

I've worked in retail, more than once, and I understand it can be a hard, stressful and often thankless job, however I've noticed that an increasing number of staff are actually quite rude to customers these days. Please and thank you definitely seem out of fashion, nevermind the ones who stand chatting whilst also ignoring customers. Everyone can have a bad day and take their stress out on the wrong person, so I'd be wary of excluding a customer based on one slightly rude interaction tbh. When I worked in retail I was extra nice to the rude ones and it was surprising how many folk mellowed a bit when they realised someone was taking the time to be nice.

Maybe they could tie it in to the loyalty card scheme and complete arseholes will lose their discounts.

Good plan-and a red siren goes off when they pick up a handset 😉

Only if retail staff who are rude to customers are banned from the store too

I don’t know… it seems that shops have cut staff and stopped training their staff in basic customer service skills. It feels like the retail industry doesn’t care about the customers anymore, they want the purchase with as little help or interaction given as possible. It’s almost as though the contract between customer and staff member has been broken. I wonder if this is contributing.

Apparently I’ve got a ‘Resting Bitch Face’, so if this was a thing I’d never be allowed anywhere 😝 😡

I say this having worked in retail for years as a student- I know get frustrated when I am treated a lot worse than I would have treated my customers.

I volunteer on the till at a charity shop. Low level rude is customers who don’t say please or thank you. I also dislike the huffing and puffing when we cannot take a donation. We don’t take electrical items because we don’t test them. I tell the customer which shop will take them and yet still they huff and puff at me as if this is my own perverse decision to ruin their day.

Yep. This morning I went to Iceland where the woman on checkout was chatting to her colleague throughout the entire interaction, didn't look at me once just scanned my stuff while gabbing about her plans for the evening and ignoring me. Then in Tesco I used the self serve and needed someone to take a tag off so I pressed the button for assistance and looked around, finally found someone who was facing the other direction on his phone, when he finally turned around I waved to get his attention, he saw me and turned round again, luckily another staff member saw and came over.

Service is shit in most shops now and it feels even more galling when customers are having to do more of the job themselves with self scan.

The only unreasonable part is the feasability of enforcing it.

The kind of asshole who thinks it's OK to tell retail staff to fuck off is also the kind to gloat about getting back in after being barred, I suspect.

I think people are proving your point on this thread by leaping onto "retail staff can be rude too" rather than "yes, some people are really ignorant to staff."

Yep it’s not hard to see where the 90% comes from.

you fucking bitch’ was one example

Calling someone a "fucking bitch" is verbal abuse. Yes anyone who verbally abuses staff should be banned. But rude? Who defines that. Neurodiversity or cultural differences can be at play. I am an immigrant, and ND and often called rude when I am not, I am blunt, factually and not very smily.

I was going to post in the same vein, I’m going to Lidl tomorrow and I’m dreading it as the staff in that store look like they’re only there under duress. If their self service tills are playing silly buggers (every bloody time) they literally huff and eye roll
as they come over like you’ve put them at great inconvenience. I think if any of the staff crack a smile they’ll be fired on the spot.

My local Sainsburys has wonderful staff, always polite and never get arsy even though I always manage to find one item with a missing label or such. Shame it costs a fortune to shop there…

I should add I’ve worked in customer service for years, and yes some can be rude to staff but in general I’ve found most people are just trying to get on with their day. It’s only the ones who I’ve found threatening or perverted that ever bothered my day.