A Woolworths employee has detailed the outrageous insults they continually receive from customers who take out their frustrations with the supermarket on staff.
The 19-year-old part-time worker and university student wrote a note describing the appalling behaviour of customers, including being spat at, hit with shopping trolleys and subjected to a tirade of verbal abuse.
The teen estimated that 40 percent of their interactions with customers were “outright offensive,” sharing five-word messages.
“Why do they hate us?” they wrote.
‘I was once cornered in the back of the cash register by a customer with a trolley because I didn’t open the cash register, even though I was the self-service clerk.
‘(I’ve been) spat at because I couldn’t get a refund for a product I bought from Coles. I’ve had things thrown at me because we were out of stock of a certain item.
‘I was called a C-bomb because I wasn’t allowed to give cigarettes to a guy who didn’t have proof of age. After my shift, I was threatened in the parking lot because I worked for loan sharks, and much more.’
The teenager explained that it was great to work at Woolworths when there was no abuse and said that they enjoy dealing with friendly customers.
A Woolworths spokesperson has condemned the negative behaviour and revealed the supermarket has taken active measures to limit the harm to staff and customers.
Many supermarket workers agreed with the teenager, with one saying the abuse by customers in the store was ‘getting out of hand’ (pictured above in a stock photo of a Woolworths supermarket)
“The abuse my colleagues and I have endured over the past year is comparable to the way we were treated during Covid, if not worse,” the employee said. Yeah.
‘I just don’t understand why so many of you hate us.
By “us” I don’t mean the company, the CEO, the senior management or [the] head office team. I mean the day-to-day workers on the shop floor, cash registers, dock, office, deli, bakery.’
The teenage worker thought it was ridiculous that ‘ordinary’ workers were blamed for things they had no control over.
“We do not make the decisions on behalf of the company, but we are the frontline workers who bear all the criticism,” they wrote.
‘And it seems, at least from what I read in the comments, that many people are not turning a blind eye to it.
“I just don’t understand what it is that we ordinary people (like many of you) do, that you are so angry and cruel to us, because of a decision or decisions made by a company that we simply have no control over.”
The 19-year-old supermarket employee struck a chord with other supermarket workers, who agreed that there is a lot of shocking customer behavior.
“I totally agree with you that the abuse is getting out of hand,” one employee wrote.
“I’ve worked for Coles and Woolworths and have had things thrown at me, dodged a punch from a drug addict, been spat on and shouted at,” said another customer.
They added: ‘(I was) cornered by an angry customer who couldn’t find the expiration date on the honey, I was nearly punched when I emptied the trolley in the car park… the list goes on!’
‘It happens way too often when we just have a job we get paid for… I’ve also been physically attacked and threatened and I’m 70 years old. Some people think they have the right to treat us like dirt,’ wrote a third.
Woolworths recently spent $40 million to protect its workforce, including issuing body cameras, headsets and personal protective equipment.
A Woolworths spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they were “alarmed” by the experience described by the 19-year-old employee.
Woolworths has spent $40 million on security upgrades to ensure the safety of its team members, including body cameras (a Woolworths employee is seen wearing the security camera here)
“The majority of our customers act appropriately, but we have a number of initiatives that we are implementing, both covertly and overtly, to reduce violence and aggression in our stores,” he said.
‘Our entire team is trained and has a number of tools at its disposal to protect them and our customers in the event of conflict or antisocial behaviour.’
The spokesperson said the company “supports legislation” to increase penalties for customers who misbehave or harm staff.
“Violence and aggression in retail is a problem that we cannot solve alone. That is why we are working with stakeholders across the country to actively seek solutions,” the spokespeople said.
Daily Mail Australia understands that all Woolworths team members have access to counselling services.
We also provide ongoing support in the event of an incident.