Abusive & violent customers: don’t support it – report it
The SDA understands that while most of the community is preparing for holidays, retail, warehousing and fast food workers will be working hard across one of the busiest times of the year.
Remember, your employer must provide you with a safe workplace free from abuse, harassment and violence all year round.
It’s important to report all incidents of abuse and violence – even if it’s busy in the store.
A report creates a record of the abuse so that it can been appropriately addressed and provide valuable insight into when, where and how often it is occurring.
What retail and fast food workers told us about customer abuse and violence in 2024
We asked SDA members about customer abuse & violence and the impact it has on you.
Over 1,600 SDA members responded to our poll which shows:
- 87% said they have experienced verbal abuse or violence from a customer this year
- 73% said incidents of customer abuse or violence increase during busy trading periods such as Christmas or Easter
- 90% said abusive and violent customer behaviour negatively impacts their mental health
- Top 4 most effective measures to stop customer abuse & violence according to respondents:
- 1. Banning abusive & violent customers from the store and shopping centre
- 2. Increased security
- 3. Training on how to deal with customer aggression or de-escalation
- 4. Clear customer signage in stores calling for zero tolerance of abusive behaviour
Sadly, these statistics will not come as a surprise to SDA members as shocking incidents continue to occur but we must continue to campaign against abuse and violence in stores.
The feedback provided from this poll helps us inform our work to continue to push for industry-wide change.
While we’ve already been successful in winning harsher penalties for abusive customers in South Australia, NSW, Northern Territory, Western Australia, Queensland – we know there’s more to do.
The SDA will always prioritise your safety and work hard to ensure a wide range of solutions are put in place to stop this unacceptable behaviour.
You can read more about our No One Deserves A Serve campaign at https://www.sda.au/campaigns/no-one-deserves-a-serve/.