Empty shelves and a busy Christmas period have caused a spike in retail staff raising concerns about growing abuse from customers. Photo: Shri Gayathirie Rajen.
A few weeks after Christmas, shopping centres, malls, and even fast-food venues tend to see a lull in trading.
All the commotion of the festive season and trying to find your loved ones the perfect gifts results in most stores’ stock taking a hit and it normally takes several weeks to replenish what was lost.
Although it sucks for us as customers and consumers not to get exactly what we want, straight away, spare a thought for those who are trying to serve you to the best of their abilities.
Retail staff cop a bad rap and it’s not their fault that money talks for their higher-ups.
How does a 14-year-old whose first job is packing shelves influence the country’s warehouse staff to go on strike? They don’t, so why do some people feel compelled to treat them like they do?
There’s plenty to be said about big retail and supermarket companies abusing how much they buy and sell their stock for and that’s a debate for another time, but very rarely are the people responsible for these issues actually copping the frustrations of customers face to face.
Instead, the retail workers, who are no different to you and me in trying to make ends meet, cop the brunt.
Take James for example.
James worked as a supervisor at Woolworths for five years. He would close up shop at the end of the night, between the hours of 11 pm and midnight.
One night, five minutes before he was ready to close up, a woman asked him for a packet of cigarettes. Upon learning that the price had once again increased, the woman became angry and started blaming James for the increase.
James tried defusing the situation, but the crazed woman refused to settle down, throwing her scooter that she rode in on over the counter and hitting the young man. There was no security, no duty manager and no one else older than the age of 18 to support James.
Now, I know this is an extreme case, but it’s important to highlight because these things happen.
According to the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employee Association (SDA), 87 per cent of its members reported abuse from customers in 2023. This figure is expected to grow for the 2024 survey due to ongoing warehouse strikes across the country.
The issue has become so dire in places that the industry groups listed below all combined to launch the ‘Be Kind in Retail’ campaign to remind people to be respectful of staff during the holiday period.
- Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA)
- National Retail Association (NRA)
- Australian Association of Convenience Stores
- Australian Security Industry Association Limited
- Pharmacy Guild of Australia
- Building Service Contractors Association of Australia.
“It’s really pleasing to launch the Be Kind in Retail campaign with our partners from the retail, pharmacy, fuel and convenience, security and cleaning industries, with a simple message for the community to be kind and show respect in our retail environments this holiday season,” said SCCA chief executive Angus Nardi in a statement.
“Any incident that causes harm to someone is simply tragic, and we are calling on the community to help stamp out needless aggression and violence against workers in retail settings.”
It’s sad to hear that a campaign like this needs to be made to re-educate people on how to act appropriately.
I don’t know about you reading this, but to me, this feels like an issue that can be solved purely by presenting patience, restraint and understanding.
If you’re upset with staff’s performance or are looking to inquire about certain products or whatnot, there are avenues you can take to vent these frustrations properly. But, calling out staff who are doing it tough during a difficult time of year, surely isn’t going to help anyone.
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