SERVICE WITH A SHUDDER(British shopworkers overwhelmingly report rampant physical,verbal abuse)

Sky News ^ | April 21, 2005

[Stoat]

'Customers not always right'

SERVICE WITH A SHUDDER

Shopworkers are often reduced to tears by "cruel" customers who abuse them verbally and physically, new research shows. 

Almost all the 800 workers interviewed by a recruitment website said they were regularly forced to deal with badly-behaved customers.

One member of staff even had to be escorted from work when a waited outside the shop for them.

Another worker was told they would be sacked and have their "face smashed in" because changing rooms were closed.

One woman customer even  slapped an employee in the face after he overcharged her by 30p.

John Salt, director of Retailchoice.com, said: "Clearly, there are times when the customer is not always right.

"In an increasingly consumer-driven society, we naturally think that retail workers should behave exactly as we want them to in order to part with our hard-earned cash.

"Yet it is clear that many customers are taking this beyond the limit of decent, reasonable behaviour.

"I urge consumers to think about their behaviour if they're looking to receive service with a smile."

[Stoat]

Another sign of Socialism draining peoples' humanity away?

[Nathan Zachary]

people ARE terribly rude. My younger son was working for a customer service phone center a few years back. I heard all kinds of stories of rude customers doing everything from threatening to have him fired to coming over and smashing his brains in, even though these "customers" haven't a clue where customer service reps are located. Those 1-800 numbers can be anywhere in the USA or even another country. I can't tell you what company he worked for, but I can tell you that people do the darnedest things, then phone and try to get warranty on the products. he's brought some dandy recordings home, even lonely housewives getting a little frisky on the phone.

[expatguy]

I say the companies need to share in the blame.

A 1800 number or call center is NOT customer service.

[Stoat]

I'm very sorry to hear of your son's unhappy encounters with rude people. I must confess, however, that I am not surprised to hear that sort of thing in the context of a telephone interaction....the telephone provides a form of anonymity, which some spineless and wicked people interpret as license to act worse than rabid animals.

The same thing is true for the internet....we all see it; people saying unbelievably awful things that they most likely would never say to the person they are speaking to if they were face to face.

That's what's different about this story...it is about shopworkers who are dealing with people face to face, and getting treated with breathtaking brutality.

[beaver fever]

"Clearly, there are times when the customer is not always right."

Rules of Retail

1) The customer is always rich.

2) There are no problem customers only problem employees.

3) The word no is not a word in a salesman's vocabulary.

4) An unsatisfied customer = ten lost customers.

5) A satisfied customer = ten new customers.

6) A salesman doesn't own his paycheck. He only rents it.

7) The first step in solving a problem is recognizing that there is no problem.

Please feel free to add to the list.

[Route101]

Don't like the service?...come take to my bosses....Mr Smith and Mr. Wesson......

[1FASTGLOCK45]

Route101 wrote:
Don't like the service?...come take to my bosses....Mr Smith and Mr. Wesson......

--> Does that come with a rebate? ;)

[beaversmom]

I think there are just rude, ill-mannered people all over--doesn't matter if they are customers or customer disservice. I was in Wal-Mart last night looking at some shirts in the ladies section. The "friendly/smiling" Wal-Mart lady comes over and starts to grumble that she had just folded all these shirts. There was quite a pile of shirts there messed up. I told her that I wasn't the one who did it. She shot back, "I didn't say you did!" I then asked her if they had any more pink shirts as the only one out was a super-huge size. She said rudely, "Everything we have is out!" I knew as soon as I asked the question what the answer was going to be. Well she didn't care that I was still trying to look through the pile of shirts. She just took over the table and continued to fold. I had the super-huge pink shirt in my hand and just handed it to her--I told her, "Well you do a better job at this than I do" and left. I thought about complaining, but it doesn't do any good. Wal-Mart's so huge--they could careless.

[Route101]

L.O.L.....the rebate just whizzed by his left ear!

[pleasedontzotme]

8) When in doubt, refer to question. 1.

[pleasedontzotme]

I'm not a Wal Mart fan anyway, but I swear there is something about that store that brings out the worst in people. I hear people screaming at their kids in drastic and frightening manners I don't hear anywhere else, and no one really seems terribly happy there.

I think it's the fact their stores are so...damn...depressing.

[Route101]

Are you kidding???...I love going in there and shopping for fishing gear at discount....Season opener coming up!

[beaversmom]

I have a love hate relationship with Wal-Mart. I like their prices but I can't stand the way they treat people. This particular Wal-Mart is a terrible one. It's old and in the crappy part of town. Your description of Wal-Marts being depressing definitely fits this one. I can't seem to break my Wal-Mart habit, but I should try to quit going to this one as I've had some very not-nice experiences there. This latest incident with the Wal-Mart employee was the least of it.

[Route101]

Hello?...I don't go to WalMart for ambience...I go there for price cuts....