‘Please direct your anger in the right direction,’ retail worker pleads
- Replies 9
Frustrated that your local supermarkets are operating in shorter hours and with a skeleton staff? Do you feel irked when shop workers don’t seem willing to assist? The feeling is completely valid, but one employee said they should not have to deal with the additional stress of irate customers.
Posting on the social news website Reddit, the Aussie retail worker said: ‘Have you been pissed off recently at your local shops? Are there not enough registers open? Nobody in the store seems to want to help you in any way? Do staff seem to avoid you at all costs? I completely agree.’
‘I would love to be in a world where I can easily open an extra register for a customer. I would love to help that little old lady find her favourite pasta sauce. I don't want to ignore you! I want to help!’
‘But we can't. We physically cannot afford to move an inch away from where we're standing. We are stretched so miserably thin that it is impossible for us to even provide a modicum of actual customer service beyond the bare minimum. We can hardly afford to squeeze in our breaks most of the time.’
The worker with considerable experience in retail and customer service said that the past year has been affecting workers’ mental health negatively: ‘To have to show up to work every day and face waves of glaring customers, unhappy about the state of the store (rightfully so), is so mentally exhausting and stressful to deal with. And to then have to deal with a portion of those customers directing that anger and dissatisfaction towards me and my co-workers, instead of towards those above me who actually determine staff hours, is a whole other level of stress.’
The poster told Reddit that workers understand what customers feel and that they would not want to be understaffed if they had their way. ‘We would love to be able to do our jobs without the unnecessary stress of a store full of pissed-off customers,’ they said.
‘Customer service is already emotionally exhausting enough. So please direct your anger in the right direction, at the supermarket company themselves. They've been cutting hours more and more aggressively for a while now. Let them know that you're unhappy, be pissed off, I'm there with you! Just please spare us workers, we don't get paid near enough to deal with that sh**,’ they concluded.
Retail workers have reported more stress and incidents of customer abuse since the pandemic. Credit: Shutterstock
Many Redditors noted the record revenue supermarkets have reported since the pandemic. One said: ‘While I totally hear you and agree, it baffles me that you are saying your work is so understaffed when Coles just posted massive profits. Seems like they are understaffing on purpose, not because they can’t afford more staff. If that’s true, we should all be well-pissed off!’
Another Redditor said that while they feel for retail workers, they are not as sympathetic towards corporations and upper management profiting off the labour of their overworked employees: ‘Corporate simply doesn't care. They read numbers and sales figures off a screen for a living and have no understanding of the blood, sweat, tears, and bottles of urine that go into making those figures. The store manager doesn't care either, because a hard-working 25-year-old with experience costs more money than a sleep-deprived 16-year-old that only knows how to operate a till.’
In the financial year 2021, Woolworths reported a total net profit of $1.97 billion, its highest since 2016. In August, the company announced an annual profit of $1.5 billion, although CEO Brad Banducci hoped for more. Meanwhile, Coles gained $1.048 billion net profit in the 2021-22 financial year, which was 4.3 per cent higher than the year before.
A few commenters pointed out that customers can vote with their wallets. One such Redditor said: ‘You have the option of going to a local independent supermarket and getting much better service, but every single time customers decide that they would rather find the sauce and scan it themselves than pay more for it.’
A Redditor responded, saying it’s not feasible for everyone: ‘Our local independent shop is 20% more expensive than Coles. And market stalls are more expensive again. Not everyone has that luxury.’
Many commenters sympathised with the original poster. One said: ‘I have all the sympathy in the world for frontline customer service staff because they're not choosing the conditions they work in.’
Another Aussie reminded us that retail workers are humans, too: ’People ought to remember their manners and know that they are being assisted by real people with real emotions. I am super grateful to the shop staff.’
A comment emphasised retail workers' importance: ‘It is essential work. It's incredible (but not at all surprising) how much essential workers were touted as heroes of the pandemic and were dropped immediately once things started returning to normal.’
Comments were encouraging the author of the post to join a union. The original poster said: ‘I have, I know that unionising is the only real solution, but for the time being, I'd rather negative feedback and berating not be misdirected at undeserving staff.’
At the beginning of the pandemic, the Shop Distributive Allied Employees (SDA), the National Retailers Association (NRA) and the Shopping Centre Council of Australia called on Australians to treat essential workers with respect. Employees worked more to ensure that needs were met, but also faced customer abuse and job insecurity. The Guardian previously featured five retail employees in Australia and their harrowing experiences, if you want to read their stories.
A 2021 survey by the NRA found that an overwhelming 88 per cent of retail workers experienced abuse from customers. Further, physical altercations involving weapons in the workplace rose to 71 per cent, and incidents of physical abuse were up 56 per cent.
Meanwhile, SDA found that 41 per cent of workers who reported customer abuse were under 18 and that 71 per cent of the youth respondents were women. According to the University of Sydney, culturally and linguistically diverse workers were also more susceptible to abuse.
In the past month, South Australia has introduced harsher penalties for customers who assault retail workers. People convicted could face up to five years in prison. The new rules are yet to pass legislation but have already been critiqued for only protecting workers from a particular industry.
What are your thoughts on this, folks? Let us know in the comments below!
Posting on the social news website Reddit, the Aussie retail worker said: ‘Have you been pissed off recently at your local shops? Are there not enough registers open? Nobody in the store seems to want to help you in any way? Do staff seem to avoid you at all costs? I completely agree.’
‘I would love to be in a world where I can easily open an extra register for a customer. I would love to help that little old lady find her favourite pasta sauce. I don't want to ignore you! I want to help!’
‘But we can't. We physically cannot afford to move an inch away from where we're standing. We are stretched so miserably thin that it is impossible for us to even provide a modicum of actual customer service beyond the bare minimum. We can hardly afford to squeeze in our breaks most of the time.’
The worker with considerable experience in retail and customer service said that the past year has been affecting workers’ mental health negatively: ‘To have to show up to work every day and face waves of glaring customers, unhappy about the state of the store (rightfully so), is so mentally exhausting and stressful to deal with. And to then have to deal with a portion of those customers directing that anger and dissatisfaction towards me and my co-workers, instead of towards those above me who actually determine staff hours, is a whole other level of stress.’
The poster told Reddit that workers understand what customers feel and that they would not want to be understaffed if they had their way. ‘We would love to be able to do our jobs without the unnecessary stress of a store full of pissed-off customers,’ they said.
‘Customer service is already emotionally exhausting enough. So please direct your anger in the right direction, at the supermarket company themselves. They've been cutting hours more and more aggressively for a while now. Let them know that you're unhappy, be pissed off, I'm there with you! Just please spare us workers, we don't get paid near enough to deal with that sh**,’ they concluded.
Retail workers have reported more stress and incidents of customer abuse since the pandemic. Credit: Shutterstock
Many Redditors noted the record revenue supermarkets have reported since the pandemic. One said: ‘While I totally hear you and agree, it baffles me that you are saying your work is so understaffed when Coles just posted massive profits. Seems like they are understaffing on purpose, not because they can’t afford more staff. If that’s true, we should all be well-pissed off!’
Another Redditor said that while they feel for retail workers, they are not as sympathetic towards corporations and upper management profiting off the labour of their overworked employees: ‘Corporate simply doesn't care. They read numbers and sales figures off a screen for a living and have no understanding of the blood, sweat, tears, and bottles of urine that go into making those figures. The store manager doesn't care either, because a hard-working 25-year-old with experience costs more money than a sleep-deprived 16-year-old that only knows how to operate a till.’
In the financial year 2021, Woolworths reported a total net profit of $1.97 billion, its highest since 2016. In August, the company announced an annual profit of $1.5 billion, although CEO Brad Banducci hoped for more. Meanwhile, Coles gained $1.048 billion net profit in the 2021-22 financial year, which was 4.3 per cent higher than the year before.
A few commenters pointed out that customers can vote with their wallets. One such Redditor said: ‘You have the option of going to a local independent supermarket and getting much better service, but every single time customers decide that they would rather find the sauce and scan it themselves than pay more for it.’
A Redditor responded, saying it’s not feasible for everyone: ‘Our local independent shop is 20% more expensive than Coles. And market stalls are more expensive again. Not everyone has that luxury.’
Many commenters sympathised with the original poster. One said: ‘I have all the sympathy in the world for frontline customer service staff because they're not choosing the conditions they work in.’
Another Aussie reminded us that retail workers are humans, too: ’People ought to remember their manners and know that they are being assisted by real people with real emotions. I am super grateful to the shop staff.’
A comment emphasised retail workers' importance: ‘It is essential work. It's incredible (but not at all surprising) how much essential workers were touted as heroes of the pandemic and were dropped immediately once things started returning to normal.’
Comments were encouraging the author of the post to join a union. The original poster said: ‘I have, I know that unionising is the only real solution, but for the time being, I'd rather negative feedback and berating not be misdirected at undeserving staff.’
At the beginning of the pandemic, the Shop Distributive Allied Employees (SDA), the National Retailers Association (NRA) and the Shopping Centre Council of Australia called on Australians to treat essential workers with respect. Employees worked more to ensure that needs were met, but also faced customer abuse and job insecurity. The Guardian previously featured five retail employees in Australia and their harrowing experiences, if you want to read their stories.
A 2021 survey by the NRA found that an overwhelming 88 per cent of retail workers experienced abuse from customers. Further, physical altercations involving weapons in the workplace rose to 71 per cent, and incidents of physical abuse were up 56 per cent.
Meanwhile, SDA found that 41 per cent of workers who reported customer abuse were under 18 and that 71 per cent of the youth respondents were women. According to the University of Sydney, culturally and linguistically diverse workers were also more susceptible to abuse.
In the past month, South Australia has introduced harsher penalties for customers who assault retail workers. People convicted could face up to five years in prison. The new rules are yet to pass legislation but have already been critiqued for only protecting workers from a particular industry.
What are your thoughts on this, folks? Let us know in the comments below!
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