Ian, 30, is a delivery driver for an instant-grocery firm, based in south London. Ian experiences verbal and physical abuse from customers which is making Ian’s role dangerous.
“I deliver groceries to people’s houses, and I have had lots of verbal abuse hurled at me. Just recently, a mother sent her child to the door to collect some items, but I needed to see ID. The woman came out screaming and yelling abuse at me because she’d been disturbed, then she snatched the order, pushed me out and slammed the door on me. It’s against the law to distribute alcohol to a minor, so I was only doing my job.
“I’ve been robbed while on shift. I’ve had things thrown at me, including rocks and even fireworks, about a year ago so it’s getting dangerous.
“The worst thing that somebody has said to me is ‘Why don’t you get a proper job?’ That hurts.
“I don’t want to keep facing this, but recently it seems to have got worse. I’ve noticed that there is a lot more hostility now, which is actually very painful. I’ve realised the customer isn’t always right.”
Would you put up with this?
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