Shop staff 'bullied by customers'

Angry shoppers use their hands for more than carrying bags

Shopworkers are the regular victims of bullying and physical attacks by "cruel" customers, research suggests.

A survey of 800 workers by recruitment website Retail Choice found that almost all of them had regularly suffered at the hands of rude shoppers.

Almost two out of three said they had been shouted and sworn at.

In one case, a shopworker said a woman became angry when she could not reach a shelf because an older man had collapsed and was being resuscitated.

'Beyond limit'

In another, a worker had to be escorted from a building by a security guard because an irate customer was waiting outside a shopping centre.

We urge consumers to think about their behaviour if they're looking to receive service with a smile Retail Choice

Website director John Salt said there were times when the customer was not always right.

"In an increasingly consumer-driven society, we naturally think that retail workers should behave exactly as we want them to in order to part with our hard-earned cash," he said.

"Yet it is clear that many customers are taking this beyond the limit of decent, reasonable behaviour."

HAVE YOUR SAY How about bad mannered sales staff who would rather gossip with their mates? Carolyn, England Send us your comments

He urged consumers to think about their behaviour if they wanted to receive "service with a smile".

One worker surveyed said a woman slapped him in the face because he overcharged her by 30p.

And one customer told a worker he would get him sacked and "smash his face in" because changing rooms were closed.