Shopping rage

According to evidence collected in Australia by the University of Queensland, there is an increasing number of shopping rage incidents occurring in retail stores. The research suggests that customers may be more willing to express how they are feeling and take it out on retail/service employees these days, according to UQ director of research Janet McColl-Kenndy.
"Our research in Australia found that many employees feel that they are ill-equipped to deal with these incidents and don't get as much support from their supervisors as they would like," says McColl-Kennedy.
Employees spoke about feeling threatened, that their life was in danger, they were verbally threatened, yelling, swearing, threatening sabotage, finger pointing, strong hand movements, tried to kick products on their way out of the store, hit items on shelves and that customers had stomped their feet.
One employee said: "My manager could have come out of his office and offered assistance, but didn't. I felt abandoned and a little disgusted."
Another told McColl-Kennedy: "At first I felt shocked that he was screaming and threatening to kill me. After the incident was over I felt concerned for my safety."
Another said: "When the finger pointing started I felt intimidated and scared that she was going to hit me."
Employers also reported that customers have come into the store saying they would 'beat them up'.
McColl-Kennedy says the research into shopping rage suggests that frontline staff need training in dealing with this sort of behaviour.
"Employers need to ask themselves if their employees know how to stay calm in these situations, to not take it personally, to seek support from co-workers and supervisors and to use words that are calming and not provocative."