Latest news with #InstituteofCustomerService
Forbes
06-08-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Tackling The Epidemic Of Violence And Abuse Against Service Workers
There is a growing and uncomfortable issue that we as a society need to address. It's something that impacts some of our most important customer service workers, from those working in retail outlets and hospitality, to employees manning call centers and social media channels, right through to those coming into our homes and working in our public spaces. This issue is the rising levels of abuse, insults, intimidation, threats and physical violence that is fast becoming a normal part of working life. Violence and abuse - the scale of the problem In North America, 75% of workers report being impacted by workplace violence. Meanwhile, in the UK, data from the Institute of Customer Service shows that 42% of customer-facing workers experienced customer abuse and hostility in the past six months, up nearly 20% year-on-year. This is despite many working long hours and dedicating their lives to making sure our homes, stores, third spaces, transport systems, and infrastructure run smoothly, efficiently and are welcoming spaces for the community. This is a societal problem being faced on a global scale and is having a devastating impact not only on a personal level, but also on businesses and public services – and in turn on economies. Distress To Individuals These incidents cause deep and lasting distress to millions of individuals and can lead to increased stress, burnout, anxiety, and fear. There is a clear correlation between being the victim of hostility and suffering from negative mental health or even physical health. According to a study by the European Foundation for Improvement of Living and Working Conditions across 36 countries, people who experience adverse social behavior in the workplace are around three times more likely to experience physical and emotional burnout and almost twice as likely to suffer from anxiety or be at risk of depression. The data from The Institute shows that nearly 40% of people who work in customer facing roles are considering quitting because of the abuse they receive. Furthermore, 26% of those facing abuse have taken time off work of because of the physical or psychological abuse they have experienced. Through this research, we have heard extreme examples such as service workers being spat on, having drinks thrown on them, being physically pushed and kicked, and receiving extreme verbal, racist, and homophobic abuse. This shows that these incidents aren't causing deep distress to individuals, but have a wider impact on workplace morale, staff turnover and business productivity. Addressing The Customer Abuse Issue Despite the clear impact this is having in individuals and organisations, I am deeply concerned that the issue isn't being properly addressed. In the UK, 44% of those who took part in the Institute's Service with Respect survey say their employer has no clear procedures for reporting customer abuse. This suggests a concerning disconnect between some employers and their staff, and that workers in these situations have little faith the abusers will be banned or sanctioned by their employers. There is a strong need to recognize the seriousness of the situation, demonstrate a duty of care and act decisively to put in place compassionate and deterrent led measures to address the issue, including having clear reporting systems, banning offenders or excluding them from organisations, and training staff and management to know how to deal with incidents of abuse and provide compassionate and effective support for colleagues. However, this isn't an issue that businesses can solve alone. It needs the combined efforts and backing of law enforcement and law makers too. Surprisingly , in many countries including the US, standalone laws against abuse of customer service workers don't exist and there is little that authorities can do to hold perpetrators to account unless incidents become physically violent or there is repeated harassment. In many instances, there is a complicated patchwork of protections that varies country by country, even state by state with the onus often falling on employers, rather than on law enforcement to address the issue. That being said, we are seeing long overdue progress in some areas. Driven by spikes in incidents, especially since the pandemic, lawmakers are now playing catch up and introducing specific laws for abuse of workers to punish offenders. For instance in the UK, assaults on retail workers are set to be made a standalone offence under the new Crime and Policing Bill. In 2021 in Germany, their criminal code was updated to provide protections for public sector staff or those working for public services, but it didn't extend to protect private sector workers, such as those who work in retail or other service organisations. Whilst these more specific laws demonstrate progress, they are still stopping short of providing adequate protections for all customer service workers. The UK's Crime and Policing Bill only goes halfway to solving the issue by singling out retail workers, but neglecting all other groups which make up the majority of customer service roles in the country. In Germany, the opposite issue is the case, and legislation misses protections for those working in retail, along with other private workplaces like call centers, restaurants and banks. These attempts to tackle the issue means we are missing opportunities to stop this epidemic from spreading and can appear to be not fully thought through. Respect Goes Both Ways We should not be excusing or ignoring the real, prevalent issue of poor customer service. Respect goes both ways, and customers should expect well-trained, empowered colleagues supported by the leaders, systems and safeguards they need to serve customer well. Indeed, all these things help to reduce customer frustration. There is a big difference, however, between the legitimate annoyance you might feel as a customer who has received poor experience, and allowing that irritation to tip over in abuse or violence. Frontline workers need protecting alongside service levels improving. This isn't just a case of a small number of isolated incidents, but a concerning global trend impacting every sector – from retail to transport and infrastructure, right through to financial services, hospitality, and utilities – that threatens mental wellbeing and health of people globally, as well as having a significant impact on business's bottom lines. This should be particularly concerning when many global economies are facing sluggish growth and low productivity. To address it, we need public and private sector leaders to work together, recognize the role they can play and act to introduce the robust deterrents and protections needed and work to foster a culture of respect, understanding and appreciation for the customer service workers we interact with every day.
Times
22-06-2025
- Business
- Times
Businesses call for action on abuse of public-facing staff
Business leaders are urging the government to broaden legislative action to protect all public-facing workers amid soaring levels of violence and abuse. Some 42 per cent of workers in pubs, restaurants, hotels and transport said they experienced some form of abuse between October and March, a year-on-year increase of 19 per cent, according to the new figures from the Institute of Customer Service. An all-party parliamentary group, which works alongside the industry group UK Hospitality, whose members include retailers, hospitality groups, call centres and transport companies, has been tracking customer service across all sectors over the past five years. • Extra costs holding back hospitality sector, says Whitbread boss Over a third, or 37 per cent, of the 1,050 respondents to the organisation's latest survey said they had considered leaving their role because of incidents which include racial abuse and sexual harassment, while over a quarter said they had taken sick leave after such incidents. One in five workers said they had been threatened with violence, the highest level that the group had recorded. Jo Causon, chief executive of the Institute of Customer Service, said the research showed how 'frontline workers are facing unacceptable levels of assault and abuse from some customers'. Common assault is already an offence and the previous Conservative government had originally rejected calls to create a separate offence specifically linked to shopworkers, arguing it did not think it was 'required or will be most effective'. However, the retail industry argued that incidents were rising and Rishi Sunak's government reversed its position, although its plan to introduce a new offence was abandoned when parliament was dissolved for the general election. • Shops 'at breaking point' as thefts and abuse rocket While there has been a crackdown on retail crime, with a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker in England and Wales set to be introduced as part of the government's Crime and Policing Bill, which is making its way through parliament, businesses are calling for the bill to be amended to include all those working in public-facing roles. In a letter to the government, 76 businesses said that current legislation provided 'only a partial solution to an endemic and preventable issue'. The signatories of the letter include Sky, Hays Travel, Wickes, Virgin Media 02, United Utilities and DPD. 'These professionals form the bedrock to our society and our economy,' the letter said. Causon added: 'Introducing appropriate protection for customer-facing workers is not only the right thing to do on a societal level, it is critical the UK's business performance isn't impacted by workers up and down the country taking time off sick or thinking about leaving their jobs altogether.'
Telegraph
11-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
My week in Bahrain has shown why Britain is going down the pan
All he needed to say was 'I'll be with you shortly'. Not too hard, right? I'd been sitting alone at a bar in Oxford for a good ten minutes when the waiter walked past me twice, just across the counter, without so much as a nod. So, I overcame my British reserve and fear of bothering anyone and asked him if I could order a drink. There was an awful pause. Hostile, it was, followed by a look that said: 'What did you say, slimeball?'. Then finally he uttered a pointed: 'Do you mind? I'm busy'. British customer service can be excellent. And it's tough to generalise. But I'll give it a go and suggest that the instances where it's awful are now more common. The surly ones are getting surlier. The rude ones are more vile. The aggressive ones are more hostile, like the barber whose look when I asked for a scissor cut (as opposed to an electric razor trim) was like I'd told him he was fat, ugly and destined for failure. This isn't my speculation. UK customer satisfaction is at its lowest for a decade, according to the Institute of Customer Service, and falling. In fact, it's only when you leave our shores for a few days, as many are now doing, and go some place with outstanding service, in shops, banks, hotels, you name it, that you realise just how far we've sunk. I'm in Bahrain on business for a couple of weeks, and the contrast is utterly chasmic. Now, okay, I know what some will say. They'll say that the Middle East has a terrible human rights record, with negligible worker protection. Of course, you'll get outstanding service when your average worker has no recourse to union backing, earns a pittance and risks being booted out on a whim. That certainly can be true, despite big advances over the last decade. But if Bahrain can learn from us about rights, we sure could learn from them about responsibilities towards customers. I don't mean anything unctuous, overly familiar or obsequious. I just mean a sense that your customer matters. Like greeting them with graciousness, helpfulness and civility, which is commonplace in this little island. A friendly smile hurts no one. Tell that to my barman in Oxford and he'd chin you. But in Britain the overall standard is lower, and you still get Basil Fawlty horrors. Like the restaurant near me with a waiter who treats you like an inconvenient dolt. Yet even he's a stroll in the sunshine compared with the owner, until recently, of a pub a short drive away. This man was one of the most colossally rude and aggressive human beings I've encountered. He was so hostile (almost physically) to some children that I took to TripAdvisor to pen a review that went as far beyond utterly stinking as I could muster. Not that he seemed to care. In his comment underneath, he called me 'a lying numpty'. Classy. Yes, we in the UK have a lot to learn about service. That nothing-is-too-much-trouble culture in Bahrain translates, in extreme cases in the UK, to a don't-push-your-luck-sunshine feel. Is it because we must all be oppressed victims? Is it too much emphasis on rights, and not enough on responsibilities? Whatever. The trouble is, it's getting worse.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
My week in Bahrain has shown why Britain is going down the pan
All he needed to say was 'I'll be with you shortly'. Not too hard, right? I'd been sitting alone at a bar in Oxford for a good ten minutes when the waiter walked past me twice, just across the counter, without so much as a nod. So, I overcame my British reserve and fear of bothering anyone and asked him if I could order a drink. There was an awful pause. Hostile, it was, followed by a look that said: 'What did you say, slimeball?'. Then finally he uttered a pointed: 'Do you mind? I'm busy'. British customer service can be excellent. And it's tough to generalise. But I'll give it a go and suggest that the instances where it's awful are now more common. The surly ones are getting surlier. The rude ones are more vile. The aggressive ones are more hostile, like the barber whose look when I asked for a scissor cut (as opposed to an electric razor trim) was like I'd told him he was fat, ugly and destined for failure. This isn't my speculation. UK customer satisfaction is at its lowest for a decade, according to the Institute of Customer Service, and falling. In fact, it's only when you leave our shores for a few days, as many are now doing, and go some place with outstanding service, in shops, banks, hotels, you name it, that you realise just how far we've sunk. I'm in Bahrain on business for a couple of weeks, and the contrast is utterly chasmic. Now, okay, I know what some will say. They'll say that the Middle East has a terrible human rights record, with negligible worker protection. Of course, you'll get outstanding service when your average worker has no recourse to union backing, earns a pittance and risks being booted out on a whim. That certainly can be true, despite big advances over the last decade. But if Bahrain can learn from us about rights, we sure could learn from them about responsibilities towards customers. I don't mean anything unctuous, overly familiar or obsequious. I just mean a sense that your customer matters. Like greeting them with graciousness, helpfulness and civility, which is commonplace in this little island. A friendly smile hurts no one. Tell that to my barman in Oxford and he'd chin you. But in Britain the overall standard is lower, and you still get Basil Fawlty horrors. Like the restaurant near me with a waiter who treats you like an inconvenient dolt. Yet even he's a stroll in the sunshine compared with the owner, until recently, of a pub a short drive away. This man was one of the most colossally rude and aggressive human beings I've encountered. He was so hostile (almost physically) to some children that I took to TripAdvisor to pen a review that went as far beyond utterly stinking as I could muster. Not that he seemed to care. In his comment underneath, he called me 'a lying numpty'. Classy. Yes, we in the UK have a lot to learn about service. That nothing-is-too-much-trouble culture in Bahrain translates, in extreme cases in the UK, to a don't-push-your-luck-sunshine feel. Is it because we must all be oppressed victims? Is it too much emphasis on rights, and not enough on responsibilities? Whatever. The trouble is, it's getting worse. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
