Latest news with #InstituteofCustomerService
Times
12 hours ago
- Business
- Times
Businesses call for action on abuse of public-facing staff
Business leaders are urging the government to broaden legislative action to protect all public-facing workers amid soaring levels of violence and abuse. Some 42 per cent of workers in pubs, restaurants, hotels and transport said they experienced some form of abuse between October and March, a year-on-year increase of 19 per cent, according to the new figures from the Institute of Customer Service. An all-party parliamentary group, which works alongside the industry group UK Hospitality, whose members include retailers, hospitality groups, call centres and transport companies, has been tracking customer service across all sectors over the past five years. • Extra costs holding back hospitality sector, says Whitbread boss Over a third, or 37 per cent, of the 1,050 respondents to the organisation's latest survey said they had considered leaving their role because of incidents which include racial abuse and sexual harassment, while over a quarter said they had taken sick leave after such incidents. One in five workers said they had been threatened with violence, the highest level that the group had recorded. Jo Causon, chief executive of the Institute of Customer Service, said the research showed how 'frontline workers are facing unacceptable levels of assault and abuse from some customers'. Common assault is already an offence and the previous Conservative government had originally rejected calls to create a separate offence specifically linked to shopworkers, arguing it did not think it was 'required or will be most effective'. However, the retail industry argued that incidents were rising and Rishi Sunak's government reversed its position, although its plan to introduce a new offence was abandoned when parliament was dissolved for the general election. • Shops 'at breaking point' as thefts and abuse rocket While there has been a crackdown on retail crime, with a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker in England and Wales set to be introduced as part of the government's Crime and Policing Bill, which is making its way through parliament, businesses are calling for the bill to be amended to include all those working in public-facing roles. In a letter to the government, 76 businesses said that current legislation provided 'only a partial solution to an endemic and preventable issue'. The signatories of the letter include Sky, Hays Travel, Wickes, Virgin Media 02, United Utilities and DPD. 'These professionals form the bedrock to our society and our economy,' the letter said. Causon added: 'Introducing appropriate protection for customer-facing workers is not only the right thing to do on a societal level, it is critical the UK's business performance isn't impacted by workers up and down the country taking time off sick or thinking about leaving their jobs altogether.'
Telegraph
11-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
My week in Bahrain has shown why Britain is going down the pan
All he needed to say was 'I'll be with you shortly'. Not too hard, right? I'd been sitting alone at a bar in Oxford for a good ten minutes when the waiter walked past me twice, just across the counter, without so much as a nod. So, I overcame my British reserve and fear of bothering anyone and asked him if I could order a drink. There was an awful pause. Hostile, it was, followed by a look that said: 'What did you say, slimeball?'. Then finally he uttered a pointed: 'Do you mind? I'm busy'. British customer service can be excellent. And it's tough to generalise. But I'll give it a go and suggest that the instances where it's awful are now more common. The surly ones are getting surlier. The rude ones are more vile. The aggressive ones are more hostile, like the barber whose look when I asked for a scissor cut (as opposed to an electric razor trim) was like I'd told him he was fat, ugly and destined for failure. This isn't my speculation. UK customer satisfaction is at its lowest for a decade, according to the Institute of Customer Service, and falling. In fact, it's only when you leave our shores for a few days, as many are now doing, and go some place with outstanding service, in shops, banks, hotels, you name it, that you realise just how far we've sunk. I'm in Bahrain on business for a couple of weeks, and the contrast is utterly chasmic. Now, okay, I know what some will say. They'll say that the Middle East has a terrible human rights record, with negligible worker protection. Of course, you'll get outstanding service when your average worker has no recourse to union backing, earns a pittance and risks being booted out on a whim. That certainly can be true, despite big advances over the last decade. But if Bahrain can learn from us about rights, we sure could learn from them about responsibilities towards customers. I don't mean anything unctuous, overly familiar or obsequious. I just mean a sense that your customer matters. Like greeting them with graciousness, helpfulness and civility, which is commonplace in this little island. A friendly smile hurts no one. Tell that to my barman in Oxford and he'd chin you. But in Britain the overall standard is lower, and you still get Basil Fawlty horrors. Like the restaurant near me with a waiter who treats you like an inconvenient dolt. Yet even he's a stroll in the sunshine compared with the owner, until recently, of a pub a short drive away. This man was one of the most colossally rude and aggressive human beings I've encountered. He was so hostile (almost physically) to some children that I took to TripAdvisor to pen a review that went as far beyond utterly stinking as I could muster. Not that he seemed to care. In his comment underneath, he called me 'a lying numpty'. Classy. Yes, we in the UK have a lot to learn about service. That nothing-is-too-much-trouble culture in Bahrain translates, in extreme cases in the UK, to a don't-push-your-luck-sunshine feel. Is it because we must all be oppressed victims? Is it too much emphasis on rights, and not enough on responsibilities? Whatever. The trouble is, it's getting worse.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
My week in Bahrain has shown why Britain is going down the pan
All he needed to say was 'I'll be with you shortly'. Not too hard, right? I'd been sitting alone at a bar in Oxford for a good ten minutes when the waiter walked past me twice, just across the counter, without so much as a nod. So, I overcame my British reserve and fear of bothering anyone and asked him if I could order a drink. There was an awful pause. Hostile, it was, followed by a look that said: 'What did you say, slimeball?'. Then finally he uttered a pointed: 'Do you mind? I'm busy'. British customer service can be excellent. And it's tough to generalise. But I'll give it a go and suggest that the instances where it's awful are now more common. The surly ones are getting surlier. The rude ones are more vile. The aggressive ones are more hostile, like the barber whose look when I asked for a scissor cut (as opposed to an electric razor trim) was like I'd told him he was fat, ugly and destined for failure. This isn't my speculation. UK customer satisfaction is at its lowest for a decade, according to the Institute of Customer Service, and falling. In fact, it's only when you leave our shores for a few days, as many are now doing, and go some place with outstanding service, in shops, banks, hotels, you name it, that you realise just how far we've sunk. I'm in Bahrain on business for a couple of weeks, and the contrast is utterly chasmic. Now, okay, I know what some will say. They'll say that the Middle East has a terrible human rights record, with negligible worker protection. Of course, you'll get outstanding service when your average worker has no recourse to union backing, earns a pittance and risks being booted out on a whim. That certainly can be true, despite big advances over the last decade. But if Bahrain can learn from us about rights, we sure could learn from them about responsibilities towards customers. I don't mean anything unctuous, overly familiar or obsequious. I just mean a sense that your customer matters. Like greeting them with graciousness, helpfulness and civility, which is commonplace in this little island. A friendly smile hurts no one. Tell that to my barman in Oxford and he'd chin you. But in Britain the overall standard is lower, and you still get Basil Fawlty horrors. Like the restaurant near me with a waiter who treats you like an inconvenient dolt. Yet even he's a stroll in the sunshine compared with the owner, until recently, of a pub a short drive away. This man was one of the most colossally rude and aggressive human beings I've encountered. He was so hostile (almost physically) to some children that I took to TripAdvisor to pen a review that went as far beyond utterly stinking as I could muster. Not that he seemed to care. In his comment underneath, he called me 'a lying numpty'. Classy. Yes, we in the UK have a lot to learn about service. That nothing-is-too-much-trouble culture in Bahrain translates, in extreme cases in the UK, to a don't-push-your-luck-sunshine feel. Is it because we must all be oppressed victims? Is it too much emphasis on rights, and not enough on responsibilities? Whatever. The trouble is, it's getting worse. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
