Scots have been urged to “shop kind” over the festive season in a joint message from a retail industry body and the union Usdaw.
Polling published earlier this year by the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) found one in six Scots had witnessed abuse of shop staff in the past 12 months, while Usdaw’s latest survey shows more than two-thirds of retail workers were abused by customers in the past year.
Last week, the SRC and Usdaw met with Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes to unveil a “’tis the season to ShopKind” poster as part of an industry campaign to urge shoppers to consider their behaviour, as levels of shoplifting and abuse towards shop staff increases.
Retail is Scotland’s largest private sector employer with 235,000 people directly working in the industry, and shoppers are reminded that everyone is working extra hard to keep shelves stocked and to deliver products on time during the period of increased trade.
The campaign urges shoppers to create “a friendly and enjoyable environment for other customers and workers this Christmas”, by exhibiting “patience, kindness and consideration”.
SRC director David Lonsdale said: “As the clock counts down to Christmas Day retail stores and websites will become increasingly busy.
“People in retail will again be doing a brilliant job working hard to look after customers, helping them find what they need, keeping shelves stocked and delivering goods.
“While this time of year can be a little stressful, any mistreatment of store colleagues and delivery drivers will not be tolerated.
“Confrontations, be it verbal abuse or physical assault, can take a huge toll on victims, their families and their colleagues.
“When everyone shows a little Christmas kindness and courtesy, everyone will be better off. That way we can all enjoy shopping over the festive period and support local jobs and the vibrancy of our high streets and retail destinations.”
Tony Doonan, Scottish regional secretary of Usdaw, said: “People across retail work incredibly hard over the busy festive period to make sure everyone can get the gifts and items they are looking for and enjoy the excellent shopping experiences that Scotland has to offer.
“They deserve to be treated with respect and kindness and there is no place whatsoever for any abuse or violence towards shopworkers.
“We urge customers to treat retail workers the way they would like to be treated and to shop kind this festive period, that way everyone can enjoy their shopping experience as we celebrate Christmas.”
