EDITORIAL – The next time you want to chew out a store clerk, think twice

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

RETAIL WORKERS have a tough job this time of year. Any time of year, actually, but things get especially hectic during the Christmas season.

The busier things get, the more likely they are to get guff from customers. Everybody’s impatient and maybe a little cranky, and the person at the till is an easy target when the day isn’t going as smoothly as it should.

All those signs we see at stores and offices around town warning that abusive behaviour from the public won’t be tolerated are there for a reason. It’s because frontline service workers too often take the brunt of unacceptable language or worse from customers.

In the U.S., a woman has been sentenced to work in a fast-food place for two months for throwing a burrito bowl at an employee because she was unhappy with the food.

Here at home, a Valleyview restaurant employee was assaulted after a man became angry. He jumped in a vehicle and fled after the incident.

That’s the extreme end of bad behaviour, or course. Most of the time it’s just some verbal invective, enough to ruin somebody else’s day.

Whether it’s restaurant servers, retail clerks, cashiers, airline ticket agents, baristas, courier drivers or many others who interact with customers — whether in person, by phone, or online — there’s no excuse for ill treatment by those they serve.

Occasionally, a service employee will be less than cheerful and even rude. That’s not acceptable either, and we’ve all run into it, but whatever the issue, abuse isn’t an answer.

When there’s a problem with an order or with a product it’s very probably not their fault. Any blame rests higher up.

As Christmas gets closer and closer, customers will get a little panicky and the chances of unpleasant interactions increase. Take a breath. If you must, heap some abuse on the self checkout. It won’t be offended.

Just don’t be yelling or throwing burritos.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.