John Lewis Boss Calls For Abusing Shop Workers To Be An Offence

[Chekhov]

12 minutes ago, HeHasRisen said:

It doesnt mean they can treat shop staff like dog dirt though. I hope you dont.

I cannot remember when I last saw any staff "being treated like dirt" much less done so myself. That said, if one is under a hell of a lot of stress from bad service and shows ones feelings with a "tone in one's voice", is that "treating staff like dirt" ? I'd have thought it was to be expected, I certainly expected it back in 1985 !

TBH I would associate the term "treating like dirt" with treating people with a lack of respect, or even ignorance / rudeness.

Is that "micro aggression" or just rudeness ?

Or ignorance ?

Or are they, and so called "micro agressions", the same thing ?

 

14 minutes ago, Irene Swaine said:

I am so sick of this playground policing over hurty words. It's customer service, the clue is in the name - the employee is there to serve the customer. Some customers will be sweetness and kindness, others will be rude, sarcastic and annoyed if they are not satisfied with the product or service. The customer is the most important person in the building. 

I cannot help but think that in the vast majority of cases if a customer is acting with so called "micro aggression" there is probably a reason for it. In my experience people are almost never unpleasant to other people without some cause, justified or not.

Edited August 30, 2023 by Chekhov

[HeHasRisen]

5 minutes ago, Chekhov said:

I cannot remember when I last saw any staff "being treated like dirt" much less done so myself. That said, if one is under a hell of a lot of stress from bad service and shows ones feelings with a "tone in one's voice", is that "treating staff like dirt" ?

Ive seen videos the last few days of people screaming in the faces of employees in airports. There is absolutely no excuse for it, its not their fault NATS had a breakdown on Monday.

 

Its a fine line between aggression and "treating like dirt", but I see it as treat someone how you like to be treated yourself. Screaming in their faces isnt likely to be productive.

 

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by HeHasRisen

[Irene Swaine]

16 minutes ago, HeHasRisen said:

It doesnt mean they can treat shop staff like dog dirt though. I hope you dont.

It's not illegal if I do, nor should it be. 

[HeHasRisen]

Just now, Irene Swaine said:

It's not illegal if I do, nor should it be. 

Oh thats fine then 🙄

[Irene Swaine]

Just now, HeHasRisen said:

Oh thats fine then 🙄

Customer service staff are there for me. I am not going to butter up anyone when I am not at work, off duty and most importantly, am the customer.

[HeHasRisen]

Just now, Irene Swaine said:

Customer service staff are there for me. I am not going to butter up anyone when I am not at work, off duty and most importantly, am the customer.

Which still doesnt give you carte blanche to talk to people like dirt.

 

But you clearly dont agree.

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, Irene Swaine said:

It's not illegal if I do, nor should it be. 

That's your view,  others will differ.

Shop workers should refuse to serve customers who behave badly.

[HeHasRisen]

Just now, Organgrinder said:

That's your view,  others will differ.

Shop workers should refuse to serve customers who behave badly.

Absolutely agree. 

[The_DADDY]

17 minutes ago, HeHasRisen said:

Absolutely agree. 

In my retail days that's exactly what we'd do. It was rare but it happened occasionally 

[Chekhov]

2 hours ago, HeHasRisen said:

Ive seen videos the last few days of people screaming in the faces of employees in airports. There is absolutely no excuse for it, its not their fault NATS had a breakdown on Monday.

 

Its a fine line between aggression and "treating like dirt", but I see it as treat someone how you like to be treated yourself. Screaming in their faces isnt likely to be productive.

TBH some of the nightmare stories I have heard about the recent flights disruption, and nobody (apparently) can claim any help or compensation for it..... So, whilst I don't condone such behaviour, I have  a great deal of sympathy of those stranded passengers, and I certainly do not think they should be banned from a particular airport or airline as a result of it.

 

2 hours ago, Organgrinder said:

That's your view,  others will differ.

Shop workers should refuse to serve customers who behave badly.

I certainly do, apart from assault (and I mean actual assault not some made up cotton wool cobblers) and threats it should not be illegal.

 

>>Shop workers should refuse to serve customers who behave badly.<<

 

How badly ?

And with what justification ?

My 1985 true story, and I did not object to him screaming his head of at me, though the threats were a bit much..... :

 

I can remember my first job as an HSS tool hire shop assistant manager in the mid late 80s.

We had hired out a power float (a machine for smoothing off concrete floors)  to a bloke who used us fairly regularly.

The customer had hired a load of workers (paying them all at Gawd knows how much per hour) and had to get the job done as it was holding up the site.

Our machine broke down.... And my manager told me we could not do anything about it as we had no fitter available nor a spare machine available which we could get there that day.

The customer was screaming down the phone at me using every word one could think off but I had great sympathy for him and never once thought about terminating the call, not like the cotton wool wazzocks in call centres these days. If you so much as raise your voice or say something mild (like "bloody hell") they threaten to put the phone down !

Then, he gets really upset and says "if you don't get this ******* machine changed in two hours I'm coming down there to lay you out" ! And this wasn't some meaningless handbags threat online, he knew who I was and where I worked, I was more than a bit concerned TBH because he was a big bloke !

My manager took the phone off me and said "you cannot talk to my staff like that". And that was the end of it, HSS even kept dealing with him, and, as it happens, I do not believe he ever caused any more trouble.

 

That said, if a customer is very upset it should be a manager or team leader who talks to them, and not to chastise them  for how they may or may not have behaved to their staff but to listen to the customers complaint(s) and try to sort it or, at the very least mollify them. I have no respect for "managers" who use their staff as a barrier to problem customers.

Edited August 30, 2023 by Chekhov