Respect retail and stand together against abuse

Help is here

By signing up for a free masterclass with the Retail Trust, you will learn valuable skills in how to manage challenging situations. So sign up now. And tell your colleagues. The more people who share their experiences and talk about customer abuse, the more awareness is raised around the issue and, importantly, the more people can access training and support.

“There is definitely some cause for optimism now that people are becoming more aware of abuse,” says Andrea Woodside, wellbeing training lead at the Retail Trust. “They’re talking about it more and they’re more likely to raise their hands to employers to say they’re struggling. Nobody goes to work to be abused, and in our training sessions we’re keen to take this two-pronged approach – build confidence and build competence. The other thing about training is it helps people recognise that they’re not on their own.”

What’s the training like? 

The session will give you strategies to manage customers, using simple, easy-to-implement techniques, as Jonny, a store manager, an early attendee of the training describes, “I loved the whole thing – the information about understanding how our bodies react in a certain way, how we should not mimic aggression even when our mind is telling us to. And the breathing exercises should be shared with all retailers.” 

It is a sentiment shared with other colleagues: “It was interesting that regardless of what type of retail you are in, premium or value, we are tackling the same issues. I’ve taken loads of notes, so I can feed back to my support network and build on what I have learned,” says Ellen, store manager.

“By the end of the session we agreed it would be really beneficial for senior teams in our stores to be trained to support our teams and colleagues in how to deal with these issues and make them feel safer,” adds Asif, store manager. “When I get back to my teams, I’m now considering how I make it easier for them to debrief at the end of each shift.”

Reassuringly, the majority (60%) of those working for the UK’s biggest retailers say there is enough training. But there’s a gap in support that disproportionately affects independent retailers and the three quarters of shop staff who told us they feel vulnerable because they haven’t received any support from bosses.

Angela is a sales assistant at a clothing retailer in County Down: “I have been in management conference calls and nobody speaks up because they’re afraid of losing their job. I think having a service that allows colleagues to feel comfortable about speaking up would help.” It’s something that makes a huge difference to those who do feel supported.”

In addition, the new masterclasses on managing challenging situations are designed by the Retail Trust to add another layer of protection to hard-working retail colleagues. As lead trainer Andrea says, “Whilst customer abuse is a common experience, people can feel very isolated if being abused. Our training is about raising awareness, allowing people to have a voice, to know that they’re not alone and give them a renewed confidence and sense of achievement by leaving training knowing they have an action plan.”