If you work with the public - are you finding things are getting scarier?

[CurdinHenry]

More aggression, more delusions to a fairly extreme degree?

Isn't there also an issue that customer service is shit or non-existent or confusing to locate, hence people are angry?

Not to excuse abuse in any way but there is obviously an underlying problem. Many public facing companies are just varying degrees of shit and often get away with being shit for a long time.

I have to agree going to the ombudsman wasn’t as common years ago but the services provided is now so poor, and no accountability it’s the only option people have in many situations.
There are layers of people that you have to talk to now, before you can actually speak to the person you need to talk to.

I think you mean mental ill health or mental illness.

Isn't that out and out crime? Or are you saying they are dissatisfied customers robbing the shop?

You were right to so do. Employers actually have a duty to protect employees from abuse.

I remember a year into Covid lock downs, my GP saying she thought the lockdowns needed to end because people were getting so angry. She pointed to a rise in road rage and I immediately knew what she was talking about. I had seen it too. Thing is, it just didn’t go away with Covid. People are angrier, quicker to anger. I see it everywhere. In the street, in restaurants, shops, with trades people, neighbours. It’s like people are braced for a fight. That sounds dramatic but I do believe it’s true

If the comms from school about parent behaviour is anything to go by, then yes.

There’s definitely something to that. People getting frustrated because they can’t follow a series of instructions anymore.

Like, look at map and memorise the route before you head off somewhere. No one does that anymore, they just stare at their phone every two minutes instead because holding a series of turns in their head is too much.

DP and I run a small business together and mostly have really good dealings with the public.

We had one complaint a month ago however where a husband and wife rang up together both shouting at me at the same time so I had to keep asking for only one of them to speak at a time as I couldn't understand/respond to them both. They were accusing me of using AI to fake some photographs I had sent them which was absolutely not the case (completely beyond my skillset) but they weren't having it.

The husband demanded to speak to the managing director immediately and when I tried to explain we were a small family business so there wasn't one he kept shouting over me so in the end I just passed him to DP who was highly amused at his sudden promotion.

Luckily we only get one or two of these a year but people's immediate jump to shouting/bullying/aggression is definitely on the increase.

My friends husband works for an insurance company. They deal with insurance sold through John Lewis. He is a team manager so calls from screamers and shouters eventually come through to him. So many people take out the basic policy on their car and then expect the gold plated all singing all dancing policy when they have an accident. "But I bought it through John Lewis !!!!". Yes you did but you didn't pay for all the expensive stuff you now wish you had .He plays them taped parts of their shouting and screaming episode with his colleagues.

Snap! Know a teacher that does the same. It’s like she’s looking for a reason to be offended or complain. And she’s got that “teacher voice”, you know, the authoritative and slightly condescending voice they use to control a classroom.

Lockdown removed social connections and made people feel more isolated and also out of control. The government was controlling people’s lives much too much. The government has become even worse at listening to the public since then - Labour gaining such a landslide on barely 20% of the potential vote and even then rapidly putting in place policies not in its manifesto. Such a majority has made the official opposition pretty powerless and regardless of whether you support the Tories the lack of opposition holding the government to account is dangerous. Covid also opened many people’s eyes to propaganda they are fed through mainstream media, including the BBC, meaning they feel they can no longer trust anyone making them more angry.

The lack of shame is an interesting point. I’ve noticed people that will lie and when they’re caught out in the lie, they just switch to another tactic. There’s no shame, no apology for lying, no excuses made, just a slight annoyance that they’ve been caught and then they try some other tactic to get their way.

I was going to comment same on this. I went into a store last week to return something I got in the wrong size for my kid and the staff were so helpful, I actually paused before I left and told them so. What struck me most was just how unusual it is these days to see staff so willing to help… not just try to make a sale but help with returns and help me find sizes etc.

Yes it was just a clear cut case of attempted robbery but with police cuts they were reclutant to even come out and take statements once the hooligans had run off. They even said because there were no weapons or threats on life they would chalk it up to pranksters

I think working with the public has always been hard - they were frequently rude and demanding when I and my DMum did it.

However I do think post covid people are often more angry and less polite.

There are aslo more systems that just bounce you between different parts causing frusation - I usually resort to written word e-mail or letter and so far that's never failed to actually sort the issue.

Also I think something going on with comprehension. More people have conversation on what they assume is being said not what is actually being said - seen it with NHS and my family utter refusal to listen to what they were being told so sure they already knew. FIl was doing this but since getting hearing aids stopped.

Also meandering conversations which often seems age related -- mother had months of being bounced round between departments - seeming being told odd things but she insted on going through whole saga every time most of which was comepletely irrelavant. Finally got her to e-mail and it was sorted immediately - I think the could pick out the actual problem from written word when conversation wasn't making it clear.

My niece works in the pub DH and I used to work in and yes. We worked there around 2017-2020 and she started in January of this year - it’s definitely gotten much worse. It’s a city centre pub so it can be busy, but people’s behaviour has gotten way worse.

I have never been spat at on the job - in the past two weeks they’ve had two instances of customers spitting at staff… mininging.

I've not rtft but as a manager in the children's services I have received a LOT of complaints written by AI where people are citing legislation but clearly misunderstanding it. The level of entitlement is outrageous and the threatening language used towards the social workers is an absolute disgrace. I've had workers in tears after aggressive complaints that are sometimes a result of the parents not understanding what we are actually saying and then using chatgpt which seems to act as a reinforcer of their inaccurate understanding of the situation. Parents then start to block any attempt to untangle the misunderstanding and then a simple disagreement about a phrase used ends up leading to a complaint to the ombudsman.

It's really really shite.

Yep. Had exact same experience trying to get travel pass for my daughter and in the end of multiple websites and apps I had to bring the physical pass to a store to get it “applied”… like why not let me buy the pass at the store in the first place?!

I work in food retail and it's definitely got worse after covid (and it was bad before then)

All one shift (yesterday)

I had some woman come in,ordered and paid for 'xyz' and received 'xyz'

She spent 10 minutes threatening me and shouting in my face because she didn't want 'xyz',she'd wanted 'abc' (which cost more and wasnt on her receipt) and it was all my fault I'd got it wrong (me personally,not the people who'd made her food or her for ordering it-it was my fault for handing her the bag of what shed ordered)

She threatened to punch me and has left a nasty complaint with head office (which I'll have to explain my side next time I'm in,while feeling like im in the wrong and could get into trouble)

Another woman comes in and thinks she's the queen and we are her servants

She struts in,ordered my colleague to lay tissue paper down on 'her' seat and table,colleague refused as we where really busy and she physically didn't have the time so this woman kicked off

She finally got sorted with the tissue paper and barked at another colleague to take her order (she pushed in front of the queue) and when it was pointed out there where 5/6 people in front of her,she kicked off again-screaming and shouting at us and then when that failed,she tried to yank on my hair (which is tied back) and threatened to stab me

She finally ordered and got her food,sat down and barked at yet another colleague to open her box for her and then ate it and left whole leaving her rubbish all over the table and floor

I checked the loo,only to find she'd shat all over the floor because we didn't bow,scrape and curtesy to her

She's one of 3 people I point blank refuse to serve (the other two are 2 men,one sexually assaulted me and the other is a pedophile)

And 10 minutes before my shift ended,a woman shat all over a cubicle in the ladies (up the walls,all over the floor and up the door) moved to the next cubicle along and did the same thing

She left,leaving her shit soaked knickers on the floor

All this in one 4 hour shift,I was in 10-2 (it's a filler shift)

I'd love to say this is a one off but it's every shift-our main manager is really good at sticking up for us but she's been suspended and the temp manager just sucks up to nasty customers and we end up in trouble for not doing the same

I had 3 colleagues in tears over nasty customers (2 women and a young lad)

One day I'm going to write a book and bloody shame them

If indeed you can ever reach anyone at all. A lot of companies these days, airlines in particular, don’t have a phone number where you can get through to a human.

I see it from both sides.

As a service provider, I totally agree. Some people are deluded, aggressive arseholes. More so than before.

As a paying customer, I was overly polite and even meek in my younger days, too often to my detriment. Nowadays I am more prepared to speak up if I feel I am not getting good service but I am politely assertive rather than agressive.

That really annoys me how some people are so demanding and want this that and the other but won't engage in even having an email account. No I don't do emails I have heard so many times. Don't know how to use my phone, can't do websites bla bla but still want want want

Please be aware that what you consider polite assertiveness is often actually just passive aggressiveness

Meanwhile approximately 70% to 74% of people who die by suicide in the UK have not been in contact with specialist mental health services in the 12 months prior to their death - so they need to be encouraged and welcomed somehow to access services.