Frontline retail workers are up against a frightening wave of violence from customers, and the industry has had enough. Retail leaders and industry bodies have written a letter to the UK Prime Minister urging action, and it’s something we all need to get behind.
When we hear the words ‘frontline workers’, our minds immediately jump to the healthcare professionals bravely risking their lives to save those in need; less so to the retail workers at supermarkets, banks, pharmacies and other retail stores.
But these workers, too, have put their lives and the lives of their families at risk of infection to provide us with groceries, prescriptions, electronics and other necessities throughout the pandemic, and sadly, the overwhelming majority are being met with violence and abuse.
These surveys highlight the growing wave of violence towards retail workers:
- Before Covid-19: A BRC survey in March found incidents of violence and abuse against shop workers rose to 424 per day in the period from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019, up 9% from the previous year, with an increased use of weapons, particularly knives.
- During Covid-19: The ACS found 83% of people who worked in the convenience sector had been subjected to verbal abuse from March 2019 to March 2020, with an estimated 50,000 incidents of violence, a quarter of which resulted in injury. Almost 10,000 of the reported attacks involved some sort of weapon, and 43% involved a knife (5% involved a firearm).
- During Covid-19: A Usdaw survey which took place in April found abuse and violence towards shop workers had doubled since Covid-19. On average UK retail staff had been verbally abused, threatened or assaulted every week during the crisis, compared with once a fortnight for 2019, and one in six reported being abused on every shift. Well over half (62%) of almost 5,000 workers surveyed said they had experienced verbal abuse since 14 March, while almost a third had been threatened by a customer and 4% had been assaulted. When averaged across all three million workers in the sector, that amounted to more than 3,500 assaults every day over a 34-day period.
Retailers and trade unions appeal to the UK government for change
A number of the biggest UK retail leaders, trade unions and frontline workers have signed a petition asking the UK’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to take legal action to stop the abuse on store associates. The letter is in support of Alex Norris’ Private Members Bill that will provide greater protection to shop workers.
Brands that signed the letter included supermarkets Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, prominent retailers Boots, Dixons Carphone, Homebase, Marks and Spencer, Nationwide and WHS, and major retail bodies including BRC, British Independent Retailers Associates and ACS.
The letter highlighted the frightening reality our frontline retail workers face every day, with the number of assaults on staff at one brand increasing by 56%.
The letter urged the Prime Minister to take action, stating:
“It is now part of the job to face this daily torrent of abuse and threats and we do not believe that this is acceptable and urge you to act.”
Qudini works alongside many of the companies who signed this letter, and are saddened to hear about the growing wave of violence our partners in the retail industry face. Therefore, we also wish to express our support of the appeal for greater legal protection.
Are queues and crowds making consumers more violent?
As the Usdaw survey highlighted, many retail workers face abuse when asking customers to respect social distancing rules such as following line markings, waiting outside of stores to limit the number of customers inside, and using hand sanitizer.
One study published on scientific journal PLOS ONE suggests it could be crowds (or the fear of crowds for the Covid conscious) causing customers to lash out.
The 2019 study found that perceived predicted future wait time for queues can buffer the causes of violence towards service staff. After analyzing the behavior of patients in the emergency department of a large hospital, researchers found a clear relationship between crowded queues and violence towards service staff, and suggested two psychological mechanisms for buffering such violence: reducing perceived future wait and elevating perceived load.
As many of our clients have realized during the last few months, virtual queuing software and appointment booking software eliminates the need for customers to queue outside and inside of stores.
Taking queues online not only creates a more pleasant customer experience, it also reduces violence towards staff as customers feel like the process is fairer, have more control of their time and the situation, and have a lower perceived wait time.
We’re proud that our solutions are helping retailers to support their frontline workers, and hope that the industry’s appeal for greater safety has a difference on the lives of those who are putting themselves at risk to provide us with our day-to-day essentials.
