A top recruiter has criticised the poor treatment of retail and hospitality workers in Australia amid rising costs of living.
Tammie Christofis Ballis, a specialist recruiter for Bossa Nova Talent, 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 an angry customer confronted two young employees responsible for checking bags at the front door.
“She took their names down after they checked her bags and planned to complain to 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, you’re a terrible customer. I hope you’re never served again and thrown out everywhere you go.
“Stop being mean, stop being rude.”
She said the bad behavior is increasing as the cost of living crisis worsens.
‘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.
“They’ve been whistled at and spat at. People have no respect for shop workers,” 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 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.
