Customers being horrible towards staff losing their jobs

[Aerom]

Bodycare will close their remaining shops on Saturday https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyd9rk3ljko after administrators unable to find a buyer for the chain. They went into administration on 5th Sept

I was in my local one yesterday. Most of the shop was bare. Some customers were generally sorry for the staff. Then one woman quipped "where am I supposed to get (product) cheaper now?. Its £1.50 more at Tesco and Superdrug".

When Wilko went into administration 2 years ago, they had posters such as "up to a third off DIY". I was there to check what gardening stuff they had left. A man picked up something small and he was shouting at the staff why isn't this item only got 25% off, not a third off. Guess what the difference was between the 25% and a third? 20p. Yes 20 fucking pence.

I know/knew a couple of the former Wilko staff (one died earlier this year) who retired a year before Wilko went bust. They said Wilko was going downhill and trouble was brewing. Staff were treated badly. Those former staff they are still in contact with, most are not working in retail. A few decided against working in retail ever again due to customers such as the man above as had these customers many times over the last month of trade.

Retail does have an issue with recruitment as people do not want to work dealing with horrible customers. If you asked everyone who left retail in the last 4 years to name 3 things that made them leave retail or in the case of those made redundant, won't work in retail. Across all retail from boutique shops to massive supermarkets. The number one thing is rude and abusive customers. What do customers want to positively achieve from being rude and nasty towards staff? There is nothing positive to achieve from being rude, nasty and abusive towards staff. Some staff are one crying episode away from quitting their job.

Totally agree. Some people are so self centred. My theory is a lot of people have come out of lockdown absolutely bonkers with angers issues.

Then one woman quipped "where am I supposed to get (product) cheaper now?. Its £1.50 more at Tesco and Superdrug".

What an idiot, the low prices are what probably made the shop unviable. She'll just have to pay more.

It's shocking that people generally are so rude.

I used to work in retail years ago and our training was always be polite even if someone is being rude.

I hope employers now don't expect their staff to tolerate shit like you mentioned op just because they are customers.

Those poor staff.

Why are the anger issues still going?
I have never been rude or nasty towards staff. These customers who are rude etc think that it will increase the speed of being served and treated better. No it doesn’t.

Agree. When I worked at Tesco we were all constantly getting shouted and screamed at over nothing. It was absolutely horrible.

I worked retail. The customers were mostly a delight and the only reason I stayed as long as I did. Can handle rude ones, often customers are only rude when they feel they're not being heard. Rationally or irrationally. Obviously you get some real horrors, but often if you stop and listen and react with empathy, most rude ones calm down. In my experience. I was always sent to the rude angry customers because I could calm them down , wasn't ever even management lol.

What the bigger problem was, was the management. Expectation of working for free in the evenings cleaning the store - it's "voluntary" but you actually have to do it if you want to keep your job. Only being given 15h per week and paid minimum wage, but being expected to be free all wekk, all times to cover (lose the job if you get a second to pay the bills). Not being allowed time off for important medical appointments. Book your holiday days for a week and just get your shift move to another day that week you don't usually work, so your holiday days were approved (so it doesn't look like they're not ever letting you take holiday) but you can't actually take your week long holiday.

And this was a big chain.

So, rude customers sure ( perhaps I just got lucky with our mostly nice ones) but the way things are done in retail is the real issue. Bit suspicious that it's always customers who are blamed for staffing issue in retail... No, it's because management is shit, pay is shit, conditions often shit, and often illegal and coercive practices which impacts staff wellbeing.

Will never work retail again, even if every customer was an angel.

There is little respect in any case for retail staff. I think partly due to people's enormous sense of entitlement these days, also the assumption that retail is a lesser choice of job for people not bright enough to get anything else so therefore can be treated with contempt. Also possibly due to increase in self service checkouts where the only interaction you have with someone is when there's a problem with the till and you're waiting for what seems for ages before a harassed assistant who's probably overseeing several of these said tills, and halfway through a 12 hour shift having started at 6am, comes along to sort out, by which time customers are losing patience and take it out on them. Also, look at the phenomenal amount of shoplifting that goes on, and staff can do nothing but watch it happen. My daughter works at a major supermarket and can tell some tales. I remember years ago when Bon Marche was in trouble and selling off remaining stock at discount. I went in with a "friend" at the time who asked when the store was closing. When told was in two days she replied "that's great I'm going to get some bargains..."

I totally understand this as I used to work for a major retailer who went bust a few years back.When we were closing down we had some really awful customers who seemed to think it was funny that hundreds of people were about to lose their jobs.Had one idiot walk in when the shelves were very empty because we hadn't been getting deliveries saying "Have you been robbed ,"And then laughing about how funny he was.I turned round and said "Yes,of our jobs!Now get out"That was very satisfying.He threatened to report me to head office which made me laugh even harder because head office had closed down weeks before.Another incident was coming out of three warehouse with a trolley piled high with boxes of really old random stock that we'd been told to get rid of.Customers started grabbing stuff before I could get to the shelves and one lady knocked me flying as she tried to grab stuff.Im ashamed to say I lost my temper and yelled at her to back the hell off .She screeched at me that she was going to tell my bossand i said go ahead,He's the oʻne over there laughing because we will be closed tomorrow for good!Look on her face was priceless!I will never work retail again.I was spat at,had things thrown at me,pushed over by shoplifters.I don't miss it.

My friend works for a supermarket. Customers say when are you going to get more staff.

One of her colleagues said to one of these customers “well who wants to work dealing with you. Plus it’s going to get worse as it’s my last day tomorrow”. Customer was struggling to respond.

I am stunned that customers are so awful .I feel upset about this. I always thank people in shops for any help.

Another friend left her supermarket job after she got bullied by her store manager. She was the 10th one to leave in 4.5 months. The combined number of years service of these 10 plus a few more was about 320 years. The store manager bullied a similar proportion of staff out at his previous store.

Many grievances were raised by those who left whilst working. All got blocked as the area manager thought the store manager did a great job. Surely the number of staff leaving would trigger something such as investigations. A larger store the other side of the city has 2.5 times more staff than the one my friend worked at. Only two members of staff left in that time of 4.5 months. If applied the same proportion of staff leaving at my friend’s work to that larger store - they would have at least another 20 staff leaving.

Im also believe that the bully store manager would play the racism card as not white if he was dismissed etc

It works both ways though,I am always polite and wait my turn but when I ask a question or can they tell me where a certain product is,I always get rude or snarky response.

I worked in Argos for 7 years and the last couple had got worse for customers being rude and just no patience. If we said no to a return it was like we needed a security guard for some customers . I remember one time I wouldn’t take someone’s Argos card coz it wasn’t signed and she called me a “jobsworth” and coz another member of staff didn’t do their job properly and didn’t check she came back over to me to shout at me and I said well don’t come back to us when you lose your card and you get someone do fraud on your account.
We had quite a few members of staff who would argue back with them and they would complain or put reviews in about rude or obnoxious staff . It was only ever when they didn’t get their way though .
Like a pp said we always used to get told to go get more staff from “out the back” there was No more staff out the back , I think they still think it’s 10 years ago when there was 20 people on shift .
One morning we had a fire alarm go off and all the staff got evacuated and more staff come from a tiny little van advertising for Coca Cola than our store which was a massive shopping centre store … customers blame us for having no staff but that’s the reality now .
You need danger money now working in retail .

It’s working with the general public that’s the issue, doesn’t matter if retail or healthcare or even teaching. 10% of the general public are dreadful and you wouldn’t come into contact with them ordinarily in your social life. 10% of people make 💯% of the problems in your working life I’ve found.

I worked in different retail sectors for years - never, ever again.

I have never experienced so much rudeness, aggression and superiority from people as I did while at work in a shop. This may offend, but it was almost always from older people, mainly women. I don’t remember anyone under 30 speaking rudely to me. I could write a book on the awful things that have been said to me and my ex-colleagues.

It’s a combination of thinking that retail staff are lower down the social pecking order (I know hospitality staff and cleaners also get it) and bad management. A lot of managers will appease the customers in order to protect the business.

Most of these customers would describe themselves as kind, decent people.

If retail staff are rude or unhelpful to you it is often because they have been pushed to breaking point.

because a lot of people don't care about other people basically.
customers can be absolutely vile to retail staff, they forget they are human beings and only give a damn about their own problems.

I work in retail and I'm the one who is sent to deal with a difficult customer if needed as I have a knack of calming everything down and will do whatever I need to do to sort things out

There's always one-one bloke ordered his food and a diet coke (I took his order on the till-and I always double check that it's right)

He got the food and a diet coke-he then kicked off because he'd wanted an orange juice and I was the evil bitch that messed up his order,he'd asked for a orange juice and I was the 'thick bitch' that pressed the wrong button

When it was pointed out that we have cctv and id done my part 100% correctly,he screamed in my face and slammed my head into the wall

Another bloke ordered a coffee,got his coffee and I asked if he wanted sugar

He kicked off,screaming that he was going to 'follow you home,rape you and then kill you'

All because I asked if he wanted sugar for his drink

It had to be the one shift where I was planning on walking home as dp was at work himself and couldn't pick me up-i walked home terrified he was following me

Another one was just outside our store,two cars crashed into each other

The manager ran outside to see if she could help them while we carried on with our jobs,doing the best we could

One woman started screaming in my face as she had to wait a few minutes in her car on the road outside until the police and ambulance showed up and didn't I know she was hungry now?

One gent died and the other 4 people where seriously injured but heaven forbid she was held up a few minutes for her food (and if she'd had any sense,she would have turned round and gone to the other drive thru that's a 5 minute drive up the road)

Another woman sent her child in with a monopoly sticker for 6 nuggets

I can't take the sticker and serve her as you have to be over 18 years of age-its the gambling laws not my personal take on it (I agree it's daft that I can sell you the food with the winning sticker but you have to be over 18 to redeem it)

All mum had to do was come to the counter with or without her child,hand me the sticker and she would have had the nuggets within a minute

Nope,I was treated to her coming in,screaming at me,finger and spit in my face before flouncing out and coming back to smash our glass door before running off again

Most people are amazing-if they are ranting it's because of frustration and I can deal/help with that and most leave happy but some people are just nasty bastards and the police are useless

More customers need to be banned. If that is your only supermarket you can get to - too bad! Maybe if you thought about what you were going to say or do, you wouldn’t be in this situation.

I used to work in retail and and one the shops I worked in when into administration with immediate effect. We'd had no warning, there were no rumours or any hint the company was in trouble, the regional manager came to store, told us to close the shutter and announced we were all out of a job as of that moment. As me and a colleague were leaving with out coats and bags a customer came for her order. We explained what had happened and who she'd need to contact etc, still with our customer service Heads on as we'd actually enjoyed the job. She went ballistic!! She shouted in our faces "what are we going to do about it". I remember my colleague calmly just said we've lost our jobs, we have bigger to worry about and we just walked off.

Same colleague one Christmas reminded a customer that retail staff have families too after being shouted at for closing at 5pm on Christmas eve.