Those who shout abuse at retail workers

cheesefest

cheesefest

cheesefest

Soldato
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Most of the issues such as fuel shortages, delivery issues, etc - the workers have no control over these.

I work at a supermarket where customers are getting ruder and we are now classed as the invisible key workers.

Like with many employers, people are leaving and not replaced at all or fully. This is causing unnecessary stress.

Wish the general public understand what we are going through. Those who shout at the staff are one of the lowest of the low. Shows that they have never worked in retail or a role involving customers/general public.

Due to staff not being replaced, customers shouting at us for things we can’t change, I had panic attacks (which are made worse by people staring at me), taken a couple of days off to help me and on antidepressants. Plus seriously considering leaving retail. Have submitted my CV to various companies.

There are some really delightful customers which make our days. Though get some horrible customers who tut over everything esp slow elderly customers. One time (just before the selfish buying) a man threw the shopping of a woman in her late 80s (guessing) onto the next till and shouted at her to pack here. This naturally upsetted her, the colleagues that witnessed it - including me. A manager heard this and the man was asked to leave and was banned.

I would like to see customers who hurled abuse at us to have what they said playbacked at them. If they don’t respond in an apologetic or embarrassed manner, they are just nasty.

This isn’t a whinge post, but a post about the stresses retail workers are going through. It doesn’t matter what retailer people are working at, the problems are the similar.

Everyone should work in retail, esp December. I’m certainly not looking forward to this. Esp when got two leaving this month and another retiring end of next month. We hardly get temporary staff.
 
Sure you've posted this before, or something similar - and it defo is a whinge post, whether you agree with it or not.

If you dislike retail that much, leave. It strikes me as not being a job/career/sector for you.
 
It’s not just retail it’s hospitality too and I suspect many other sectors. Sadly it’s a reflection on the British underclass and I suspect you don’t work at Waitrose? Maybe Asda or Tescos?

[Snob] I specifically shop at Waitrose now, purely to avoid the kind of people who shop in Tescos and I refuse to go to Asda point blank. [/Snob]
 
I agree with you. I worked in retail until my mid 20's and it was an experience that has instilled in me a level of empathy I just didn't have until I'd experienced day, after day, of people just being pure horrid to their fellow human with no effort at all to understand people as individuals.

When I'm in a retail environment now (or even any service based establishment) I observe the effort being put in, and just silently appreciate (I tip if possible, I face up a product when I take from a shelf, I put things back where they belong etc) and try not to inconvenience the staff more than necessary as I just know what strains that job and all it entails can put on a person, they are always thinking about the task that isn't being done while dealing with an issue, the manager that asked for such and such to be done 2 hours ago, etc etc.... Yes, ANYONE can do a retail job, it's relatively low skill - however not everyone can stick retail for an extended period of time, and those that do should be appreciated as it is not as easy as you can imagine. They were certainly the hardest work years I've had.

People that abuse or harass retail/hospitality workers and look down on them are saying a lot about themselves as a person. It's really quite an ugly sight to witness.
 
PardonTheWait said:
Everyone should have to work in retail for at least six months, like National Service.
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All those who have never worked in retail get called up like you do for jury service. You get told where to work AND the hours to work. Like jury service, the same exceptions apply and deferred if on actual holiday (not a week off work). If you have worked 6 months plus in retail in the past ten years, you won’t be in the draw.
 
I hadn't realised just how much snobbery existed around which supermarkets people frequent until recently. I was in Lidl and met a female acquaintance of my wife. She spent five minutes giving me a garbled excuse as to why she had to be in Lidl and not the new Sainsbury store. It was quite nauseous and pathetic. All fur coat and no knickers as my dad used to say.

I really appreciate what retail workers have done for us all during the pandemic, if our GP's had been employed to be behind the supermarket tills and in the warehouses we'd all have been eating rats.
 
Fubsy said:
I agree with you. I worked in retail until my mid 20's and it was an experience that has instilled in me a level of empathy I just didn't have until I'd experienced day, after day, of people just being pure horrid to their fellow human with no effort at all to understand people as individuals.

When I'm in a retail environment now (or even any service based establishment) I observe the effort being put in, and just silently appreciate (I tip if possible, I face up a product when I take from a shelf, I put things back where they belong etc) and try not to inconvenience the staff more than necessary as I just know what strains that job and all it entails can put on a person, they are always thinking about the task that isn't being done while dealing with an issue, the manager that asked for such and such to be done 2 hours ago, etc etc.... Yes, ANYONE can do a retail job, it's relatively low skill - however not everyone can stick retail for an extended period of time, and those that do should be appreciated as it is not as easy as you can imagine. They were certainly the hardest work years I've had.

People that abuse or harass retail/hospitality workers and look down on them are saying a lot about themselves as a person. It's really quite an ugly sight to witness.
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Thank you. These are the sort of posts required.
 
I only went into retail in 2008 after redundancy at a bank. Thought it was going to be a stopgap for a few years. Thirteen years later, I’m still here. Reasons that I am still here there are no jobs available, illnesses, Covid etc. Plus have a lovely set of colleagues.
 
It's shocking how poorly some people treat retail workers. I did retail for a bit and my wife was a restaurant manager for a few years so I know all too well what the receiving end looks like, and it can be downright nasty. As a result I'm always friendly to retail workers and will always tip. Walking in to a shop/restaurant/whatever and brightening someone's day a bit is very rewarding and a nice thing to do. People often forget the hours that retail workers work - nights, days, weekends, quite often on zero hour contracts with no consistency, working for as little as the company can get away with paying. These people almost always room-share because they can't afford their own place on their crap salaries.

Walking down the high street, almost every shop/restaurant is crying for staff, but people have learned over the last year or two that they don't need to be sucking up to Karens and Keiths over a cup of coffee for minimum wage at 10pm on a Saturday night whilst the rest of society is enjoying themselves. It's an awful job and I really hope that this staff shortage shines a light on what retail workers go through.

I'd rather sign on than serve the entitles prats who act as if waiting 2 minutes for a big mac is somehow going to be the demise of their entire family.
 
I know someone who's changing jobs after a customer kicked off at the tills, emphasising how essential she was an as NHS employee and how much more she earned than scum retail workers.

For context, that was a grown woman with her kids screaming at another grown woman whose kids are adults.

Funny, every time I've been in a GP surgery or hospital I recall a sign nailed to the reception saying abuse and aggressive behaviour to staff will not be tolerated... clearly this doesn't apply to treating retail workers with respect :cry:
 
Diddums said:
It's shocking how poorly some people treat retail workers. I did retail for a bit and my wife was a restaurant manager for a few years so I know all too well what the receiving end looks like, and it can be downright nasty. As a result I'm always friendly to retail workers and will always tip. Walking in to a shop/restaurant/whatever and brightening someone's day a bit is very rewarding and a nice thing to do. People often forget the hours that retail workers work - nights, days, weekends, quite often on zero hour contracts with no consistency, working for as little as the company can get away with paying. These people almost always room-share because they can't afford their own place on their crap salaries.

Walking down the high street, almost every shop/restaurant is crying for staff, but people have learned over the last year or two that they don't need to be sucking up to Karens and Keiths over a cup of coffee for minimum wage at 10pm on a Saturday night whilst the rest of society is enjoying themselves. It's an awful job and I really hope that this staff shortage shines a light on what retail workers go through.

I'd rather sign on than serve the entitles prats who act as if waiting 2 minutes for a big mac is somehow going to be the demise of their entire family.
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This for sure. I also know how important those 'how did I do' surveys are so I fill them out as much as I can.
 
Without retail workers, lorry drivers, warehouse workers, no one would have anything to do. No one would be posting images of what they have bought in the "what I have bought images thread" for a start.
I think generally most people are polite and show respect to these sectors, its just the few selfish ***** that there will always be.
 
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