A top recruiter has criticised the way Australians treat workers in the retail and hospitality sectors amid rising costs of living.
Tammie Ballis, a specialist recruiter, says many Australians don’t understand how challenging customer-facing jobs can be.
“If you’re complaining that customer service doesn’t exist anymore, it’s probably because you’re a bad customer,” she said.
“If you haven’t had those kinds of jobs, you don’t realize how hard they are,” she added.
Ms Ballis recounted a recent incident at Kmart where two young employees responsible for checking bags at the front door were confronted by an angry customer.
The customer became angry at the couple when they tried to inspect her bag.
“She took their names and wanted to file a complaint with Kmart customer service about these young boys doing their jobs,” she said.
‘They were literally doing their job, and there’s a lot of theft in the area.
“But they are dealing with egocentric people who think the world revolves around them.”
Tammie Ballis, a specialist recruiter, said many Australians don’t understand how difficult customer-facing jobs can be
“If that’s someone like you, then you’re the horrible customer. I hope you’re never served again, and I hope you’re thrown out everywhere you go.
“Stop being mean, stop being rude,” she said.
She said the rudeness increased as the cost of living crisis worsened.
‘My parents have a takeaway shop and customers have been really rude lately. They walk in and say things like, “The shop is quiet, give me a discount.”
“I know we are in a cost of living crisis, I know everyone is struggling right now, but they don’t get paid enough to deal with your crap.”
She said many employers accept bad customer behavior simply to attract customers.
“They want to maintain their KPIs and meet their budgets, so the staff just accepts it. It seems like no one is protective of the staff anymore. It’s really sad.
‘And employers wonder why people want to work from home.’
Australian employees welcomed the recruiter’s comments.
“Thank you, everyone must work in the hospitality or retail industry for at least three months,” someone said.
“If you get booed or spat at, you have no respect for store staff,” added another.
Many Australians agreed with the recruiter, with some saying that working in retail had affected their mental health (above, a stock photo of a store employee)
“I worked at Kmart for 6 years and it really took a toll on my mental health. I’ve been through so much, things being thrown at me, verbal abuse and more. It’s been absolutely horrible and I feel like I need therapy just because of my job in retail,” said a third.
However, some Australians said they were always ‘nice’ to staff, but it was the workers who showed no manners.
“I’m always very nice to people in retail because I work in their position myself, but rarely is my response reciprocated,” one person said.