On the radio

[Rapscallion]

You can probably go to the BBC website and head for the radio link and go to Radio 2 to do the 'listen again' feature to hear this argument once more.

Signs in the UK stating that, "Our staff expect to be able to work without abuse or threat of violence," are apparently signs that companies want to screw customers over and not deal with complaints any more. The woman on the pro-customer side was saying how she'd challenged not being able to return an item for a refund without a receipt and that she'd been ushered out by many members of staff in a threatening manner.

Just how much did she leave out of the story?

Rapscallion

[rerant]

Nevermind how much she left out, how much abuse do you think the employees had to take before management finally decided to put up those signs?

At my jobs I've seen coworkers get spit at, shoved, punched, berated to the point of hysterical tears, and threatened with bodily harm or death. And that's only what I've seen, and not to mention what must have happened on my days off.

SCs are often always of the impression that they're in the right, but if you ever went to their job and treated them the way some of them treat us you'd be ushered out the same way they are when they behave abusively.

You know the old comic saying, "How would you like it if I went down to where you work and heckled you?" well it would please me so much to see these types of SCs on the receiving end of the same kind of abuse they dish out to employees.

Abuse should never be tolerated and if a business wants to make it a rule that anyone behaving in that manner will be booted from the premises they have every right to do so and the SCs can just suck it up.

[Rapscallion]

I think those signs started to appear in emergency rooms etc as a direct result of injured people lashing out at those trying to help them. Many of the assailants were out of their skulls on alcohol or drugs, or were family members trying to get the best treatment for their alleged relatives etc (yeah, funny way of trying to get that...).

I've got no objection to them whatsoever.

Rapscallion

[rerant]

I think those signs started to appear in emergency rooms etc as a direct result of injured people lashing out at those trying to help them. Many of the assailants were out of their skulls on alcohol or drugs, or were family members trying to get the best treatment for their alleged relatives etc (yeah, funny way of trying to get that...).

Yeah the only place I've ever seen them is in my doctor's office and on buses, streetcars and subways and in stations (TTC).
The TTC ones were put in place because drivers were getting beaten by passengers. Usually it would be someone trying to use a home-made ticket, token or Metro Pass and, when confronted, reacted violently towards the drivers.
I can't remember when this happened specifically (probably around two years ago) but it was a constant issue that was all over the news for a while.

I personally find it sad that only NOW (and by "now" I mean relative to the time in which the attacks were happening more often) the city is saying that abuse against drivers is punishable by law.
Since when was it ever not punishable by law to beat someone?

I think signs like these are fantastic. It reminds customers that we're not their punching bags and that if they choose to treat us as such it won't be tolerated.
It's sad, though, that a sign has to be put it place to remind people of basic acts of human decency.

[Spiffy McMoron]

"Our staff expect to be able to work without abuse or threat of violence,"

The only place I've seen a sign like that is at the garage section of a local Canadian Tire that my company occationally has business dealings with. I do see the need for it, partly because people seem to scrutenize their auto bills more than other types of bills, and partly because their is a perception (right or wrong) that mechanics try to screw people whenever possible.

I'm just a little surprised that I don't see more of them, actually.

[myswtghst]

"Our staff expect to be able to work without abuse or threat of violence"
Rapscallion

What really saddens me is that this seems like it should be common sense. And apparently, it's not.