customers abusing shop staff?

speedy2007

was just reading this article about shop staff being abused by customers:

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/shop-staff-sick-of-being-used-as-punchbags-1567937.html

i used to work in a call centre where i was regularly shouted at and abused by customers over the phone, but i always thought that people acted like this because it wasnt face to face, so they found it easier to be rude.
But this story ruins my theory on that.

any people here working in shops that have been subject to this treatment??

jill_valentine

I had customers tell me they were going to kill me. I worked in a toy shop at the time.

You would not believe how unreasonable reasonable people can get with a bit of stress. It's not always the customers you expect, either. The nice, well-dressed lady with the nice, well-dressed kids will eat the f**king head off you if you're the last stop on her shopping trip.

Retail at this time of year is absolutely nightmarish, but it doesn't even compare to what it's like in January. Customers who bought the wrong thing or broke something by accident or otherwise ended up in Christmas trouble will take great pleasure in taking it out on you, personally, as though it was your fault.

I really think a lot of them think it's part of your job to take whatever verbal abuse they care to hurl your way. They think that's what you're paid for.

Monkey61

I've been reduced to tears by horrendous customers many a time and had to call the gardai twice to remove threatening people in the past couple of years.

If you work in retail you really get to see the dregs of humanity - and nine times out of ten it's people who you really think would know better, not drunks and junkies.

The worst part of it is that there is very little that you can do about it once somebody starts off on a rampage. Security guards aren't allowed to remove people and it can be bloody scary. Logical argument never seems to come into play and I can never figure out if it's down to a lack of intelligence or just sheer belligerence that customers will behave the way they do.

A lot if it is born out of the criminally overused "the customer is always right" slogan, which people have been taught to use as a weapon to demand whatever they want.

A lot of blame has to be laid at the feet of shop managers who let this kind of customer behaviour carry on though. A certain Irish supermarket/department store have a policy whereby the staff will always be belittled and humiliated by the managers in the face of misplaced customer rage - which encourages said idiotic customers to carry on behaving like abusive lunatics whilst buying their groceries.

Frisbee

I work in an offo and I've had people threaten to:

"Wait outside and stick me."

"Rip my f***ing head off"

"Have me sued" - (this guy was like 60, completely misread the labelling and wanted a 60euro bottle of wine for 13.99)

"Make sure I never get into a club in Dublin again" - (This one was particularly funny. It was said by a 50 or so year old couple. The husband's a taxi driver and the wife works in Dunnes. Work that one out.)

gerrycollins

i have been

spat at too many times to count.

headbutted 5 times

punched 4 times

callled every name under the sun practically every day

legal action against me(threat of) guess of 50 times

threat of my life once, guy got 6 months for it.

after that stuff happens so many times and so often I tend to forget it happens and walk away, and you wonder why customer service is so poor in this country, and to be honest its not the few who are doing it its the many im sorry, the ones who work with you to sort out an issue are few and far between.

moved from city based to countryside and nothing happened yet thank god

mikemac

jill_valentine wrote: »

It's not always the customers you expect, either. The nice, well-dressed lady with the nice, well-dressed kids will eat the f**king head off you if you're the last stop on her shopping trip.

+1 million!!
In my experience and forgive me for using a stereotype but the most abusive customers are middle aged, middle class women.
I'm talking about rude and sneering, not violent now.

"Did you need a college degree to get your job?"
Have heard that countless times :mad:

And what's worse is you calmly point out why you can't give a refund or maybe an exchange and then your weak-willed and timid manager comes along and apologies and gives a refund. Leaves you looking like a fool but did nothing wrong and was doing your best for the company

pipsqueak

gerrycollins wrote: »

i have been

spat at too many times to count.

headbutted 5 times

punched 4 times

callled every name under the sun practically every day

legal action against me(threat of) guess of 50 times

threat of my life once, guy got 6 months for it.

after that stuff happens so many times and so often I tend to forget it happens and walk away, and you wonder why customer service is so poor in this country, and to be honest its not the few who are doing it its the many im sorry, the ones who work with you to sort out an issue are few and far between.

moved from city based to countryside and nothing happened yet thank god

guess your a bouncer then!

Wishbone Ash

It works both ways.

I've never been rude to a shop assistant but I've met some incredibly rude staff especially during the boom years when the concept of service seems to have gone out the window. At least with a recession, one meets staff who appreciate their position and are polite and interested rather than those who couldn't give a damn and discuss their embarassing social lives across several aisles within earshot of customers.

gerrycollins

pipsqueak wrote: »

guess your a bouncer then!

ha i run a supermarket

wmpdd3

Just look at the consumer issues forum:
Inital posts usually have various personal remarks about the person who served them, later you find out what the actual issue was.

About 25% of my worst customers of all time were in relation to change of mind returns outside the policy,
30% faulty items and
the rest is just things out of the companies control.

Being a manager the really serious stuff ends up with me. I often have to refuse to deal with customers and get them to call the store later when they have calmed down.

Often the real reason they are so angry becomes apparent such as bad day, somebody took my parking space, the original person who dealt with their query.......

We need a degree in retail, we are highly trained people with years of experience and still people think of us as kids on work experience.

I do have a few ways of keeping sane. I never undermine my well trained staff once they have made a decision.

I do not move to a quieter part of the shop I stay in full view so other customers can here them, I have nothing to hide.

If they are making a personal remark about the original person they dealt with I will have them do it when that person is present.

I'm glad we have security in store, I'll never go back to the days when our only defense was to ask the person to leave.

gerrycollins

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

It works both ways.

I've never been rude to a shop assistant but I've met some incredibly rude staff especially during the boom years when the concept of service seems to have gone out the window. At least with a recession, one meets staff who appreciate their position and are polite and interested rather than those who couldn't give a damn and discuss their embarassing social lives across several aisles within earshot of customers.

i would agree fully with you, personally I hate bad customer service and take personal interest in my staff so that they give good service and I like to be told when they are not giving good customer service and I deal with it appropiately including dismissal because its bad for business.

this simple mantra is something i do not understand others in management allow to pass

wmpdd3

Yes agree completely, I have very high standards, I don't kill myself just for the store to be let down by a bad egg.
And yes I do think you should lose your job for bad customer service.
Its your job!!

taram

I work in a shop in a shopping center, and I know the names of every single security guy in the place, since at some stage (working there 4 months), they've had to come to either warn, or remove a person from the shop. Once a lady asked for a pair of shoes in a size, brought them out, turns out the ones on display had a tiny yellow stripe underneath, these had a green stripe exact same shoe otherwise, she turned in upside down, pushed it right up to my face and said 'can't you see the ****ing difference you stupid bitch'. I stepped back, told her to get out of the shop until she learnt manners, then legged it into the backroom :P

jill_valentine

Rude staff suck and all, but you know... in all my years of buying things, I've never had a shop worker tell me they were gonna kill me...

Retail makes you cynical. People will act aggressively and unreasonably simply to get their own way. Even when they know they're in the wrong, they'll still launch into you if they think they can bully money or free stuff out of you. Sometimes, they don't really want anything but to have a go at somebody, and the minimum wage whipping boy/ girl is always available...

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

gerrycollins wrote: »

i have been

spat at too many times to count.

headbutted 5 times

punched 4 times

callled every name under the sun practically every day

legal action against me(threat of) guess of 50 times

threat of my life once, guy got 6 months for it.

after that stuff happens so many times and so often I tend to forget it happens and walk away, and you wonder why customer service is so poor in this country, and to be honest its not the few who are doing it its the many im sorry, the ones who work with you to sort out an issue are few and far between.

moved from city based to countryside and nothing happened yet thank god

Your a shylock then?

*EDIT*

I worked in bars, resturaunts, retail for the past 9 years and one of the worst things that I got was a whistle or raised voices... Never anything you guys have recieved. Then again my build may be intimidating to some

tribulus

The worse and sometimes funniest example is having someone scream at you because the price you're charging is more than on the item, claiming it's illegal etc and the "I know meee roites" spiel.

jill_valentine

tribulus wrote: »

The worse and sometimes funniest example is having someone scream at you because the price you're charging is more than on the item, claiming it's illegal etc and the "I know meee roites" spiel.

If I ever get my hands on Gerry Ryan...

speedy2007

wow some of the stuff here makes my ol call centre job seem not so bad anymore.
As regards it working both ways, i can imagine that a person might go into work in a great mood, then one OTT rude customer will pretty much ruin that for the rest of the day...not an excuse not to show customer service to others, but its only human nature.

Monkey61 wrote: »

The worst part of it is that there is very little that you can do about it once somebody starts off on a rampage. Security guards aren't allowed to remove people and it can be bloody scary.
.

how come security guards cant remove people if theyre being abusive or threatening? i thought that was part of the their job no

jill_valentine

speedy2007 wrote: »

As regards it working both ways, i can imagine that a person might go into work in a great mood, then one OTT rude customer will pretty much ruin that for the rest of the day...not an excuse not to show customer service to others, but its only human nature.

Yeah, that's fair enough. Grinds you down though.

how come security guards cant remove people if theyre being abusive or threatening? i thought that was part of the their job no

There are very strict rules about what security guards can and cannot do in terms of physically removing somebody. Security companies don't like getting sued.

gerrycollins

Nolan Helpful Baboon wrote: »

Your a shylock then?

*EDIT*

I worked in bars, resturaunts, retail for the past 9 years and one of the worst things that I got was a whistle or raised voices... Never anything you guys have recieved. Then again my build may be intimidating to some

ha i am ha, no work in a run of the mill grocery store for over 10 years so its kinda clocked up.

I've worked in bars and nightclubs too in my student days and I never had an ounce of trouble but I reckon its because in the past in nightclubs it was simple, cause trouble and the bouncers bounce your head on the pavement ans they throw you out.

however with all the claimatitis out there secuirity are more careful and normally usher the customer out the door.

as for size I'm a pretty hefty fecker myself and that still doesnt stop the customer from been abusive.

projectmayhem

If you're in a customer-facing position, my rule of thumb (and I would tend to say this to the people I manage) is as soon as a customer gets rowdy, loud, abusive et al., politely excuse yourself from the conversation, as you are no longer obliged to deal with this person. There's always a phone number for someone outside of the store that can deal with the complaint/issue.

Obviously with this people have two reactions... shock, and they back down suddenly realising their position isn't going to be changed by their shouting, or just to get even more pissed off.

If a person has a complaint then so be it. Things go wrong, mistakes are made, but the moment you become a sub-human animal about it, all bets are off.

The worst I ever experienced was the day-in day-out filth that would come in and bitch, moan, scream and rant when I was a part-timer in xtra-vision. I'd gladly line most of those customers against a wall and have them executed.

The_Conductor

I worked in a callcentre for about 4 years in various tech support roles- including more latterly as a technical specialist, but also as quality control, randomly listening into calls in a variety of languages.

I'm well used to abuse because I'm Irish (I've been called all sorts of names under the sun because I worked in a call centre belonging to a US multinational who outsourced their support to Ireland (and subsequently re-outsourced those Irish jobs to India)). I'm not personally responsible for taking your job.......

I've had some of my staff abused and customers refuse to accept support from them- because the support agents were women...... hell- some of the female support agents we had made rocket science sound really interesting, and my wife is doing a masters in electrical engineering.......

I've been grilled on the troubles in Northern Ireland so many times by US customers- who seem oblivious to the fact that its more peaceful here than in most of their major cities. From some of the comments, I'd half suspect Ireland to them is akin to Beirut in the late '80s......

I've learnt to appreciate the blunt, no-nonsense approach of German customers- who want information and are happy to go and do their own thing, without unnecessary hand-holding. I used to pray that my next call up on the phone display was on one of the German lines........

I've had my education questioned more times than I care to remember (mostly US calls). We do have universities here too, you know- and no, its not unfortunate that I never had the opportunity to experience the US educational system, thankyou very much.

I've also had journalists ring me from the middle of nowhere on satellite phones in tears because they can't get their equipment to work. The relief and happiness when we get them up and running is a joy to behold.

I've had several customers who you'd imagine were delibertly trying to wind you up- with stories so far fetched. I've had to call the emergency services for 2 customers, and seriously advise another to bring her child who managed to get itself hopelessly attached to part of a working computer to go to A & E immediately.

I've had people call me with smoke bellowing from equipment, and equipment in flames on at least one occasion. They've refused to unplug computer peripherals or the computer itself- as they haven't saved their information yet. Saving themselves or their house doesn't seem to have entered the equation......

I've been called every expression under the sun- had abuse hurled at me, and been blamed for everything short of shooting JFK.

On the brightside, I've had a food hamper sent to me out of the blue by the BBC, signed books by two different authors and lots of thankyou cards from grateful customers.

Weird things include a guy randomly taking a flight over from London to where the call centre was- on the offchance I'd look at his laptop for him (despite my guaranteeing him it had to be replaced). I took the hard-drive out and put it in a spare caddy for him- what he thought I could do with him randomly turning up at reception is beyond me. He seemed happy at not having to send his databack to us........

I'll never cease to be amazed at the ingenuity people will have for making cables and connections fit into sockets that they were not designed for- or the total disregard for their own safety that some people have with live circuit boards, frayed wires, overheating devices, insisting on continuing to troubleshoot despite emergency sirens going off, or the weird places people have called from (abatoirs, hospitals, a court room and elsewhere feature).

I've lost all faith in humanity.

stepbar

Thank God I've had nothing like the sort described above but I'm noticing more and more (since the resession) that it doesn't take too much to get people angry.

Working in a Bank, you tend to come across all sorts of assholes from the ones who will compain about the share price and hope we're all out of jobs next week or to the asshole who will require to be removed by the Guards because we won't cash a certain type of crossed chq for him. In fact it's got to the stage if any of my "quieter" collegues are "under attack" (for the want of a better word!), I'll happily step in and make a show of the customer in a nice calm fashion. Retail staff don't deserve abuse no matter were they work.

Well as the old saying goes "People are Stupid". I'm a firm believer in that.

Emerald Lass

when I worked in retail, I always found that when a customer is going off on one, despite your best efforts to help or be fair, the best approach is to smile as sweetly as possible and be OVERLY polite and nice, to the point of being sickeningly annoyingly nice! Not because I am a better person and don't lower myself to their rude level - inside I am calling them every type of f*£&!r under the sun. The reason for it is that it makes them more wound up but with no justifyable reason! Just picture it - madam is getting more and more irrate and red faced whilst the nice sweet retailer is smiling sweetly and being VERY polite. They either run out of steam or walk off in an even bigger strop - but either way they know they are getting nowhere with you. When you are angry with someone there is nothing worse than the person you are angry with being NICE to you! if they are rude/nasty/impatient back it almost justifies your anger,but when they are nice, then what!???

The satisfaction I got many times from just smiling like a stepford wife at an unreasonably irrate customer - class! and what can they say? "I am very angry and your staff member is being TOO NICE to me? is smiling at me?" makes them look like dicks!

its hard to do - my blood boiled many times and I so wanted to drop the smile and deck the snotty cow, but when you manage to pull it off it is so worth it!

the other good one is when they are on the end of the phone and you can just give them the finger - gets some of the frustration out at least!

the_syco

1) If they look like a skangers, they're from the local travelling community (after working there one month, you get to know their faces fairly well). Don't trust them.

2) If they look like they're trying to scam you, they've already scammed your workplace, and are trying the same trick again.

3) If they look respectable, they're prats, and will try to get something for less than the cost.

4) If they sound like they're chilled, I will treat them with respect.

5) If they start to yell at me, act chilled. This pisses them off even further.

They are the customers, I was the popcorn monkey. F**k them all to hell, cos I was on minimum wage, and not paid to take their crap. They don't like it, calm down, or I'll get the manager at your request. Via the water terminal :cool:

Jaysoose

gerrycollins wrote: »

ha i am ha, no work in a run of the mill grocery store for over 10 years so its kinda clocked up.

I've worked in bars and nightclubs too in my student days and I never had an ounce of trouble but I reckon its because in the past in nightclubs it was simple, cause trouble and the bouncers bounce your head on the pavement ans they throw you out.

however with all the claimatitis out there secuirity are more careful and normally usher the customer out the door.

as for size I'm a pretty hefty fecker myself and that still doesnt stop the customer from been abusive.

Worked the bars for a hile also and had my life threatened by some little cokehead who was torturing customers, it was a sunday night and the doorstaff had not started so being a hefty lad myself i escorted him off the premises in a rather sore arm lock....."i will be back later and im gonna shoot ya"...needless to say he never came back that night.

Met the same lad the next night in the pub next to the one i worked in and i swear he had a brown trouser moment as i was sat by the door and he would have had to walk past me. Little scrote came over and mumbled an apology before he left.

I always found that the bark is always worse than the bite, but maybe his arm was still sore from the night before.