A leading recruiter has criticised Australians for their treatment of retail and hospitality workers amid the cost of living crisis.
Tammie Ballis, a specialist recruiter, said many Australians don’t understand how challenging customer-facing jobs can be.
“If you’re complaining that customer service is no longer there, it’s probably because you’re a bad customer,” he said.
“Unless you’ve worked those jobs, you don’t realize how difficult they are,” he added.
Ms. Ballis recounted a recent incident at Kmart where two young employees, tasked with checking bags at the front doors, were confronted by an angry shopper.
The shopper became furious with the couple when they asked to inspect her bag.
“She wrote down their names and was planning to complain to Kmart customer service about these young people doing their jobs,” she said.
‘They were literally doing their job and there are a lot of robberies in the area.
‘Yet they have to deal with self-centered, entitled people who believe the world revolves around them.’
Tammie Ballis, a specialist recruiter, said many Australians don’t understand how difficult customer-facing jobs can be.
“If someone like you is like that, you are a terrible customer. I hope you never get served again and get kicked out of every place you go.
“Stop being mean, stop being rude,” she said.
‘I know we’re in a cost of living crisis, I know everyone’s struggling right now, but they’re not getting paid enough to deal with their crap.’
She said many employers tolerated bad customer behavior just to make a sale.
‘They want to maintain their KPIs and meet their budgets, so staff just put up with it. It seems like no one is protecting staff anymore. It’s really sad.’
“And employers are wondering why people want to work from home.”
Australian workers were quick to applaud the recruiter’s comments.
“Thanks, everyone needs to work in hospitality or retail for at least three months,” said one.
“They have been whistled at and spat at, people have no respect for retail workers,” another added.
Many Australians agreed with the recruiter, with some saying that working in retail had affected their mental health (stock photo of a retail worker)
“I worked at Kmart for six years and my mental health was greatly affected by it. I’ve been through a lot – things thrown at me, verbal abuse and more. It was truly awful and I feel like I need therapy just for working in retail,” said a third.
But some Australians said they were always “nice” to staff and it was the workers who were unmannered.
“I’m always very nice to people in retail because I work there myself, but I rarely get a reciprocal response,” said one.
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