Action plan to protect retail staff from abusive shoppers snubbing Covid conditions

Tighter security measures will be introduced to protect staff from abusive shoppers who refuse to comply with strict Covid regulations.

Tighter security measures will be introduced to protect staff from frustrated shoppers after a customer wielding a coat hanger threatened staff and another “smacked” a ­retailer’s phone out of her hand.

The Australian Retailers Association, the National Retail Association, the SDA union for retail workers, the Pharmacy Guild and the Shopping Centre Council of Australia have banded together to formulate a five-point action plan to protect staff from customers refusing to comply with regulations.

An action plan will be put in place to ensure workers in essential stores do not cop abuse from customers. Picture: iStock

The “check your behaviour when you check in” action plan will ­involve security guards monitoring and enforcing public health guidelines, and regular police visits.

There will also be daily check-ins with employees on their wellbeing, ensuring employees and contractors are properly trained and have access to relevant information and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Customer behaviour will also be more closely monitored to ensure retail workers are being treated with respect. Abusive and violent behaviour towards staff will be dealt with, and the one person/4sqm limit will be enforced.

While some stores have been forced to close under the new health orders, pharmacies and other critical services such as grocery stores are to remain open.

The plan, which will remain in place as long as the pandemic continues, follows dozens of incidents of abuse and violence towards staff since the lockdown came into effect.

In Parramatta, discount store staff were recently threatened by a customer wielding a coat hanger. In a separate incident, a staff member injured her wrist after an angry customer smacked the phone she was holding out of her hand.  

Australian Retailers Association chief executive officer Paul Zahra said customer aggressions had been an ongoing issue throughout the pandemic.

“Frontline retail staff have played a vital role throughout the pandemic under the most challenging of circumstances,” he said.

“We are all in this together. Unfortunately, customer aggression has been a big issue throughout the pandemic and can be heightened when new health measures are introduced.

“We understand it’s an anxious time for people, but our retail staff are simply doing their jobs.”

National Retailers Association chief executive officer Dominique Lamb said retail businesses and their employees were operating under a “particularly stressful environment”.

“The retail sector has shown repeatedly that it can be trusted to enforce the necessary measures during Covid lockdowns and this is the latest example,” he said.

Woolys Wheels owner Michael Kamahl will have to close his Paddington store after the new Covid restrictions were announced on Saturday. Picture: David Swift

Pharmacy Guild national president Trent Twomey said he acknowledged that shopping under the new regime could seem confronting and uncomfortable, “but the measures are necessary to protect the community”.

“Bad behaviour towards pharmacy staff simply will not be tolerated,” he said.

“We must work together to help manage the virus.”

SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer said the more closely shoppers followed health and safety measures, the safer shopping for essentials would be for both consumers and retail workers.

“Wear a mask and check in with the QR codes. Check your behaviour when you check in to a store,” he said. “No retail worker deserves a serve.”

Shopping Centre Council of Australia executive director Angus Nardi said it was sad to hear some shoppers did not appreciate the efforts staff were going to in ensuring the community was safe.

“Sadly we’ve seen anti-social behaviour in areas such as food courts along with road rage incidents within carparks,” he said.

“We are focused on doing the right thing and in some cases, abuse and aggression towards our staff is the result of them simply reminding people to follow government rules such as wearing a face mask or using a QR code check-in.”

Meanwhile, a Sydney bike shop that has traded for more than 40 years is hoping to “ride the wave” of Sydney’s latest coronavirus restrictions as the city’s lockdown continues to bite small businesses.

Woolys Wheels owner Michael Kamahl said he was left with “no choice” but to close the doors of the Paddington-based bike shop and pivot to online-only sales after the latest retail restrictions were announced on Saturday.

“We’ve been part of the community for 42 years and people love to come into the store and see and try the bikes but we have no choice, we have to close,” he said.

“About 60 per cent of our sales come through the door — it will impact us but we’re hoping to ride the wave.

“In the past we were given exemption as an essential service but not this time.

“Since Covid hit there’s been a huge demand for bike shops across the country — I’ve sold bikes to golfers and people switching to cycling because it’s one thing you can do during Covid.”

Mr Kamahl has not applied for any business support measures due to the store’s uptake in trade over the last year.

He said he would keep his six staff on the books with the view to reopen as soon as possible.

“Like all small businesses we have to hang in there. We’re financially sound, we’ve got a lot of history and loyal customers.”

The new restrictions announced on Saturday included requirements for all Sydney businesses deemed non-essential to close for in-person shopping.

Shops that can still operate include supermarkets, chemists, banks, hardware stores, pet suppliers and newsagencies.

The current lockdown is estimated to be costing the state’s economy about $1 billion a week under modelling by AMP Capital, with the construction ban estimated to add another $1 billion a week to that tally.