Plea for shoppers to be kind to others and retail staff this Christmas

Shoppers are being urged to be kind to retail staff and fellow customers when doing their shopping this Christmas and play their part in creating a safe and enjoyable experience.

The joint plea from the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and trade union Usdaw comes as figures show incidents of abuse and violence against people working in customer service continue to climb.

A recent survey carried out by Usdaw revealed 69% of retail staff experienced verbal abuse over the last 12 months, and 45% have been threatened by a customer.

SRC and Usdaw are launching a social media campaign to encourage shoppers to be kind and considerate throughout the festive period.

David Lonsdale, director of the SRC, said: “As the clock counts down to Christmas Day, retail stores and websites will become increasingly busy.

“People in retail are doing a brilliant job working hard to look after customers, helping them find what they need, keeping shelves stocked and delivering goods.

“While this time of year can be a little stressful, any mistreatment of store colleagues and delivery drivers will not be tolerated.

“Confrontations, be it verbal abuse or physical assault, can take a huge toll on victims, their families and their colleagues.

“When everyone shows a little Christmas kindness and courtesy, everyone will be better off. That way we can all enjoy shopping over the festive period and support local jobs and the vibrancy of our high streets and retail destinations.”

Tony Doonan, Scottish regional secretary of Usdaw, said: “People across retail work incredibly hard over the busy festive period to make sure everyone can get the gifts and items they are looking for and enjoy the brilliant shopping experiences that Scotland has to offer.

“They deserve to be treated with respect and kindness and there is no place whatsoever for any abuse or violence towards shop workers.

“We urge customers to treat retail workers the way they would like to be treated, that way everyone can enjoy their shopping experience as we celebrate Christmas.”