Shouting, swearing and threats are now common for workers who deal with customers, and 91 percent of workers experienced customer aggression in the past year, according to the ShopCare Customer Aggression Survey, the first national cross-sector study undertaken in New Zealand.
Selena Armstrong, chief executive of ShopCare says in a statement that the scale of abuse is way beyond what was expected and the findings are confronting.
“Customer aggression has become normalised for far too many people. If your job involves serving customers, it is now almost certain you will face abuse. It is heartbreaking that people are being spat on and screamed at, with 10 percent of workers exposed to physical violence, including being threatened with weapons. Workers carry this harm home to their whānau, and the next day they walk back in and face it all over again.”
The ShopCare Customer Aggression Survey found that 91 percent of our workers, who deal with members of the public, faced some form of customer aggression over a 12-month period, with verbal abuse the most common form. Stress and anxiety emerged as the leading impacts, affecting 67 percent and 59 percent of respondents respectively.
Often the abuse is coming from everyday Kiwis, parents, professionals and regular customers who should know better…
Armstrong says that the source of the abuse would surprise many. “What we know from workers, through the work we do in the retail sector and it’s supply chain, is that often the abuse is coming from everyday Kiwis, parents, professionals and regular customers who should know better.”
Armstrong says the scale of the problem demands a national response. “We cannot afford to treat this as an individual workplace issue. This is a national tragedy, especially when, for many of our kids, this is their first experience of work. We can, and we must, do better.”
Selena Armstrong
As one of the ShopCare National Customer Aggression Survey’s founding partners, and a major employer of frontline workers, Woolworths New Zealand has supported efforts to better understand and prevent customer aggression.
Denva Wren, head of safety, health and wellbeing at Woolworths New Zealand, says the findings reinforce what many frontline teams across the country face every day.
“Our team members work hard to serve our communities every day and deserve to be treated with respect. Everyone has the right to feel safe at work and go home safely to their whānau, and acts of violence and aggression are having a real, heavy impact on our people’s mental and physical health, confidence, and safety.
“The value of this research is that it gives New Zealand a shared evidence base and a common understanding of the challenge. No single organisation can solve this alone, but by working together on a joint response, we can strengthen prevention, improve support for frontline workers, and ensure respectful behaviour is the expectation. Encouraging respect across our stores and communities is a shared responsibility.”
The study also highlighted opportunities for employers to strengthen reporting processes, workforce consultation and post-incident support…
The study also highlighted opportunities for employers to strengthen reporting processes, workforce consultation and post-incident support. While 73 percent of respondents reported incidents to their employer, almost one-third did not, with many saying they felt reporting was not worth it.
ShopCare will use the findings to inform future guidance, training, resources and advocacy aimed at reducing customer aggression and improving health, safety and wellbeing outcomes for workers. The organisation intends for the study to become an ongoing benchmark to measure progress over time and support evidence-based prevention initiatives.
Conducted in partnership with KPMG, the research gathered the experiences of more than 2,500 frontline workers from a range of customer-facing industries.
“Customer aggression has unfortunately become a reality for many frontline workers across Aotearoa New Zealand. By establishing a national benchmark for the first time, this research gives organisations a clearer understanding of the challenge and a stronger basis for action,” says Lance Webb, head of customer experience practice, KPMG New Zealand.
Key survey results
- 91 percent experienced customer aggression in the past 12 months.
- 86 percent experienced verbal abuse.
- 67 percent reported stress and 59 percent reported anxiety as a result of customer aggression.
- 27 percent of respondents did not report incidents to their employer.
- 64 percent ranked de-escalation and customer aggression training as the most effective action employers could take.
Click here to see the full report.
