- Retail customers and employees discuss limits of ‘appropriateness’ of conduct following recent controversy, and its relationship to work conditions, ethics, and safety
“’Customer is king’ is still a concept that remains valid in all forms of businesses. But employers and employees are ordinary human beings with a limit to their patience. After all, respect is a two-way street. Customers who do not respect an establishment’s employees, the latter who are forced through employment contracts to respect customers before receiving any form of respect in return, are less likely to be treated in a better manner.”
As per an employee of a Colombo-based branch of a supermarket chain, while that is the general idea of giving and receiving respect between customers and employees of such establishments, there are other factors – working conditions being the main one – that determine how diplomatically employees could deal with their customers.
This relationship, which was not considered special in any way, is now a hot topic. That is on account of closed circuit television (CCTV) camera footage of a popular supermarket – showing employees of the establishment assaulting and forcibly detaining a female customer who was alleged to have stolen goods – going viral, raising questions about patience and respect on both sides. While the conduct of the said employees has been condemned by many parties including customers and the employers, who claim that they had no right to take the law into their hands, there are varying opinions about how the two parties should behave. These opinions were expressed by several employees and regular customers of such establishments who discussed the said relationship with The Daily Morning.
Work conditions and ethics
In response to questions about dealing with customers as per employee guidelines, the above-quoted supermarket employee, 36-year-old Yasith Fernando (name changed on request), said that employees are required to show a receptive, pleasant, supportive and friendly attitude at all times, although in reality, maintaining such a conduct throughout the day is hardly possible. One reason is the nature of their working and living conditions.
“We work long hours. Working overtime is the only way that some of us can make ends meet. We get scolded by our superiors almost every day, and sometimes, several times a day. We get to sit or take a call only during breaks. Many supermarket workers are not from Colombo. They are from rural areas, and are living in shared, congested rented houses. Many of us do not engage in leisure activities. Besides, we do not have money to spend on such things. We are always tired and are in need of a break,” Fernando said, adding that in such a context, being patient and calm regardless of the circumstances is not practical.
Adding that although the behaviour of the supermarket employees who engaged in the aforesaid assault was out of bounds and is highly questionable as far as work ethics are concerned, he said that he would not place the blame entirely on those employees due to the said working and living conditions, which he emphasised are common to many employees of supermarkets.
“We cannot blame them for the entire incident without first knowing what actually triggered the altercation. People would not behave in that manner if there was no good reason. However, they clearly took the law into their hands, which is not acceptable and could have resulted in greater damage if it escalated.”
Meanwhile, an employee of a Mount Lavinia-based branch of a fast food chain, 35-year-old Malith Perera (name changed on request) also pointed out different aspects of the topic. Speaking about the aforementioned assault, he said: “There is no question that those supermarket employees did not have a right to assault a person. While I did not see a reason in the CCTV footage to gang up against one person, even if it was necessary to use some level or form of force, my belief is that they should have let the woman leave the supermarket after obtaining her national identity card or a photo of her face. In that way, they can effectively help the Police, while at the same time prevent illegal assault, damage to that supermarket’s property, or injuries to any person involved.”
While acknowledging a high level of stress among supermarket employees, Perera also pointed out the responsibility-related aspect: “These are adults, and it is wrong to place the blame entirely on work stress. Regardless of the circumstances, they have a massive responsibility to remain calm and act responsibly. Given the stress caused by the economic crisis, if we start assaulting people every time someone does something that antagonises us, half the population would be in jail for releasing their stress on other people.”
Fernando and Perera were also questioned about claims made by various parties on social media platforms that employees who are on duty in businesses – such as supermarkets – are required to cover losses caused by their negligence, and that it was a major reason to provoke employees into assaulting a person who allegedly stole goods. They both concurred that while some businesses have such policies, some do not. Regardless of such policies, they said that assaulting a person is still unacceptable, although their mental state should also be taken into account when looking at the incident.
Safety and professionalism in services
The Daily Morning also spoke to several persons whose main provider of groceries is supermarkets. While some refused to comment without sufficient knowledge about the aforementioned assault, the rest expressed mixed opinions. They too emphasised that the employees involved in the said incident should have been more patient.
Expressing his opinion, 49-year-old private sector employee R.K.N. Ranatunga said: “Supermarkets are not some roadside markets where we don’t expect much professionalism. Some of us go to supermarkets to purchase goods because we expect high quality products and professional services, and we do not even mind having to pay more for such qualities. This incident I think raises questions about what customers should expect and what supermarkets should offer as far as professionalism is concerned. If employees don’t have the professionalism to remain calm and call the Police in the event of a theft, especially when the thief does not pose a physical or immediate threat, I think that it is a serious issue that a lot of supermarket clientele would be concerned about.”
In addition to professionalism, safety was also pointed out by another customer. Incidents such as the recent assault, according to 24-year-old private sector worker Arunika Samaratunga, are a serious safety concern: “Supermarkets are places that some of us visit with our children and elderly family members, and we expect something more than their help to buy goods. I think that this is not a matter of whether the woman in question actually stole something. If a perceived or actual theft can provoke employees in this manner and to such an extent, who can guarantee that they would not behave like that if some other reason provoked them in the same way? What if they take the law into their hands over a suspicion? We would be injured or even dead by the time the Police come, and before we can respond to the allegations.”
Adding that supermarkets should take the recent assault seriously and see it as a reason to provide better training for their staff – especially those tasked with directly dealing with customers, Samaratunga said that customers should demand that supermarkets improve the quality of their services.
In this regard, Perera stressed that raising awareness among employees on handling stressful situations diplomatically should be a mandatory part of employees’ training – especially since supermarkets are businesses that deal with people of diverse backgrounds throughout the day. Sharing Fernando’s sentiments about stressful working and living conditions, he added that while his company has taken several measures to make employees’ working conditions as comfortable as possible, he is aware of various businesses that do not care adequately about their employees’ wellbeing which, he opined, in turn causes severe stress among employees.