Professor Gary Mortimer, QUT School of School of Advertising, Marketing and PR

In November, hardware giant Bunnings shared footage of team members being confronted by aggressive and abusive customers.

A 2023 survey of over 4,600 Australian retail workers found the prevalence of abuse and violence by customers has not improved since the previous surveys. In the previous 12 months, 87% of workers said they had experienced verbal abuse from a customer, and 12.5% had been the victim of physical violence, up from 8% in the 2021.

Abuse and violence by customers against retail staff is increasing. Picture: Flying Colours Ltd, Getty Images

A recent Australian National University survey of 1160 retail, fast-food, and distribution workers found 56% had experienced a notable increase in customer abuse. Similar results of increasing customer violence and misbehaviour have been observed in the United Kingdon and North America.

Why are there increasing rates of aggression and violence towards retail and service workers?

There are often three rationales put forward as reasons for increasing acts of customer aggression – situational, psychological or sociological.

Violent outbursts towards retail staff are becoming more common.
Picture: Ivan-balvan, Getty Images

It has often been suggested a ‘situation’ may cause a customer to become aggressive toward a frontline retail employee. For example, the requirement to scan a QR Code to order a drink, or having a refund refused because they don’t have a receipt.

It is also suggested a customer’s ‘psychology’ may explain violent outboasts, with psychologists suggesting psychopathic narcissism or grandiose egotism may drive such behaviours.

However, considering the frequency of customer aggression, these deviant behaviours can not alone be driven by service failure situations or dysfunctional psychology. Not every customer is a narcissist.

Adopting a sociological view offers four reasons why customer aggression happens:

1. Customer sovereignty – The idea that the ‘customer is always right’ (customer sovereignty) is often used to explain instances of customer aggression and abuse. It has been theorised that customer aggression results when ‘customer enchantment’ turns to ‘disillusionment’. For example, a customer becomes aggressive when they are declined a request (upgrade, refund) that they believe they are ‘entitled’ to (because the customer is always right).

2. Low-status shield held by frontline service employees – Inflaming the aggressive behaviour is the tendency to conflate notions of low-level, low-paid, low-status, and low-skilled work associated with retail service occupations. It has been argued customers are more likely to demonstrate aggressive behaviour toward retail service workers who lack a ‘status shield’, such as young female assistants or international students, rather than at supervisors.

3. Disconnected interactions between service employees and customers – The service interaction continuum may also elevate customer aggression. Consider the isolated, anonymous interaction with a young checkout operator who has packed your groceries poorly, versus the long-term relational exchange you have with a hairdresser or pharmacist. It has been suggested customer aggression is more likely to occur when the service exchanges are simply isolated encounters.

4. Displaced aggression – Displaced aggression theory offers those frustrated individuals, who are unable to retaliate against the provocation (a refund policy), are more likely to respond aggressively toward an innocent individual - often referred to as the ‘kicking the (barking) dog effect’.

Accepting the ideas of customer sovereignty, low status shield and isolated, service encounters, and displaced aggression can provide a robust explanation of aggressive behaviours in a retail services context.

Solutions

Researchers are now shifting their attention to not just understanding the causes of customer aggression, but examining ways to prevent occurrences, or at least mitigate the effects, of customer aggression.

To reduce aggression, it has been suggested retailers might employ coercive power, for example, banning customers who misbehave by using AI to recognise ‘enrolled offenders’ at point of entry before incidents occur.

Gary Mortimer is testing a range of strategies to reduce customer aggression.

Alternatively, others have suggested using reward power, like acknowledging good behaviour.

A third option recognises ‘referent power’, such as motivating a customers' affective attachment or emotional connection to the retailer. For example, ‘humanising’ the service interaction (“I’m a daughter”); and activating feelings of guilt or evoking the negative affect shame.

Servicescape design alternatives have been offered as possible preventative strategies, such as improving visibility and lighting, clear signage, pleasant scents and ‘soothing’ music.

While social and design prevention strategies hold promising solutions, many retailers are now looking to technology to combat customer aggression.

Referred to as ‘servicescape surveillance’ devices, they include RFID technology, body worn cameras (BWC), computer-aided vision, surveillance alarms, duress watches, and closed-circuit television (CCTV).

Despite the growth in these technologies designed to reduce customer aggression and keep frontline workers safe, very few empirical studies have been published.

I am currently working with colleagues and industry to test a range of mitigation strategies to reduce customer aggression and keep retail and service workers safe.

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