UK shop workers and delivery drivers will receive free training to help them handle abusive customers in the run up to Christmas thanks to the Retail Trust, whos new report highlights the problems they face.
Research for the Retail Trust’s health of retail report (above) found that over 1.5m retail workers - some 41% of the workforce - were at risk of quitting last year, due to unhappiness around issues like abuse in shops.
In response, the Retail Trust is offering three online sessions to help shop staff deal with the rise in antisocial behaviour, with the first scheduled for Tuesday 21 October.
Attendees will be shown how to adjust their body language, tone of voice and choice of words to manage challenging situations, and how to recover following an incident.
Four in five retail leaders interviewed for the report said their companies have updated their approach to customer abuse and added or introduced new ways for staff to report incidents to managers. Others said they had reviewed their returns processes to reduce customer frustration, outlawed lone working and stopped selling higher value items most at risk of theft.
The new training builds on further free training provided by the Retail Trust in June this year and November 2024, and nearly 2,000 retail workers have already taken part.
Chris Brook-Carter (left), chief executive of the Retail Trust said: “Thoughtless, unkind and aggressive behaviour is having a significant impact on the wellbeing of British retail workers and could lead to many dropping out of the workforce, so it’s clear we need to take action now.
“Retail leaders we spoke to for the report told us their staff face a wide range of abuse, from disrespectful signs of impatience and rude comments to unacceptable outbursts, violent assaults and theft.
”The new standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker should lead to much-needed shifts in how criminal behaviour is handled by the police.”
“The new standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker should lead to much-needed shifts in how criminal behaviour is handled by the police but it will do little to lessen the impact of what I’ve heard described as ‘everyday abuse’, such as rudeness and hostility.
”We believe that shop workers and delivery drivers must be shown more respect and that training to help them deal with all forms of abuse should now be mandatory.”
The Retail Trust’s free training is being run online on 21, 22 and 23 October, with each 15-minute session also available to watch on demand until 31 October. It forms part of the Retail Trust’s Let’s respect retail campaign to end abuse and support staff and people can register to take part by visiting retailtrust.org.uk/respect.
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