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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Guardian community team

UK shop workers: have you noticed a rise in difficult customer behaviour?

An employee works on a checkout till at the Asda superstore in High Wycombe.
Has your employer introduced any measures to help? Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters

Violence and abuse against shop workers rose last year to 1,300 incidents a day, according to research by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

Incidents ranged from racial abuse and sexual harassment to physical assault and threats with weapons. Thefts have also more than doubled to 16.7m incidents since last year.

Several business leaders as well as the BRC have called for violence against shop workers to be made a standalone offence in England and Wales, as it already is in Scotland.

If you work in retail, have you noticed a change in customer behaviour? How has it affected you and your colleagues? Have you considered leaving your job due to your experience? Has your employer introduced any measures to help?

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