A new study measures customer aggression in an effort to keep retail employees safe. 

Retail workers have reported increased incidents of abusive and aggressive customer behaviour with the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association survey finding 80 per cent of retail employees had experienced customer abuse.

A new study by experts at QUT is the first of its kind to clearly identify the types of aggressive behaviours that employees face, and how these behaviours lead to employees’ emotional exhaustion, job stress and intention to leave.

The research involved five studies, including surveys of 211 undergraduate students who worked in frontline retail and service roles and surveys of over 1,000 Australian frontline retail and service employees.

Lead author Professor Gary Mortimer said while incidents such as a customer violently throwing a product at an employee or yelling to attain a discount are clearly visible, aggression could also be subtle or implied.

“Participants in the study indicated aggressive behaviour with examples of being stood over, stared at, being ignored or having fake poor reviews and negative comments posted on social media,” he said.

The study’s findings identified a four-factor customer aggression scale that listed 19 items for managers to use to survey staff.

“It’s an easy-to-administer measurement tool to assess the extent and type of aggression their employees face,” Professor Mortimer said (pictured left below).

“Once employees are surveyed and the data analysed, managers identify what types of aggression are more prevalent in their businesses, the staff who are more exposed to these hostile behaviours, and where these behaviours are more likely to occur.

“As an outcome, managers may implement mitigation strategies, like increasing the number of supervisors at checkout areas or install video surveillance at refund or return counters.

"It is also important for companies to manage these types of risks to employees’ safety under work, health and safety laws."

The study indicated that increasing abusive behaviour was the result of ‘displaced aggression’ toward retail and service employees.

"The saying that the ‘customer is always right’ is known as ‘customer sovereignty’ and sovereignty relates to perceived relational ‘superiority’. It has been theorised that customer aggression results when ‘customer enchantment’ turns to ‘disillusionment’,” Professor Mortimer said.

The research also coincided with recent calls from Australia’s peak retail body, the Australian Retailers Association, and the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association for state and territory governments to implement tougher penalties for people who assault retail workers.

South Australia toughened its laws to a maximum penalty of five years’ prison for people convicted of basic assault against a retail worker while a New South Wales Labor election promise included harsher penalties.
The study is accessible in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services.