Retailers unite against customer abuse

9News

Retail and food workers are facing rape and death threats, threats with a weapon, sexual harassment and physical abuse from some customers.

Industry giants – including Coles, Woolworths, Kmart and Target – have now banded together pledging to eradicate what the retail union has called a “customer abuse epidemic”.

The reporting of abuse will be encouraged and aggressive customers could be banned by stores being urged to adopt a zero tolerance of attacks on staff.

KFC, Hungry Jacks, Myer and Bunnings are among the other companies to have also signed the industry pledge, which was unveiled by the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) in Sydney on Monday.

A survey of more than 1000 workers by the SDA in December last year showed 87 per cent of respondents had experienced verbal abuse or aggressive behaviour.

Thirty-two per cent said incidents of abuse or violence involved behaviour that was sexual in nature, and 28 per cent had experienced physical abuse including punching, hitting and pushing, or threats including deaths threats and threats with a weapon by a customer.

“Some people have actually had knives drawn on them, have been stalked from their workplaces, have had bottles of soft drink poured over their head and in fast food even some people pulled out of the drive-through and into a customer’s car,” SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer told reporters in Sydney on Monday.

“This is absolutely terrifying for people who are working, should be in a safe environment and are subjected to this type of abuse.”

In the survey workers also reported customers threatening to slit their throat, break their kneecaps, kill their family and to rape them.

Tricia Dibley, who has worked in the retail industry for 25 years, said she and fellow workers had been yelled at and abused, sworn at and had items thrown at them.

“People are very impatient and demanding, we are very strapped for staff and we try to do our best because people are abusive,” she told reporters.

Ms Dibley was told by one customer to “Give me the bag you f*ing c*”.

National Retailer Association chief executive Dominique Lamb said the customer was not always right.

“Retailers are committed to changing the way that they receive this behaviour, they’re looking at banning particular customers from coming into store, banning them from coming into centres, taking police action where necessary and they’re able,” Ms Lamb told reporters.