Most people assume they are safe in their workplace – sadly, this is not always the case. Recent research paints a very disturbing picture of a rising tide of violence at work.
A study published in January by the Trades Union Congress estimated that as many as one in five workers are likely to be attacked or verbally abused this year. It also found that young women are almost twice as likely as young men to be on the receiving end of violent or aggressive behaviour.
People working in the retail sector are particularly vulnerable. In its most recent report, the British Retail Consortium recorded 13,000 incidents of physical violence against retail employees, a 44% rise on 1996 when there were 9,000 incidents.
While high-street travel agents are clearly less vulnerable than staff working in other retail outlets such as off-licences or banks, they are by no means immune to the risks, as the staff at one of Thomas Cook’s London branches are all too aware.
On April 3 armed robbers burst into the branch. Thomas Cook refused to divulge any details about the incident except to say that staff were left feeling shocked and upset.
The regional sales manager and personnel managers both attended the site and the employees involved have been put in touch with an external counselling service.
A spokeswoman for the charity Victim Support Tamara Wilder said having in place measures to deal with the aftermath of an incident is extremely important.
Without the correct procedures, morale may fall, employee performance may suffer and people may even leave the company, added Wilder.
But it is not just the risk of robberies or raids that worries travel companies. Staff are also at risk of verbal and physical abuse from customers. Holidays are a very emotional issue.
Thomas Cook training and customer service manager Mike Williamson said if something goes wrong it is not always easy to correct. People get especially upset if the holiday is a special occasion like a honeymoon or wedding anniversary.
“Customers are more aware of their rights and are therefore more vigorous in the way they voice their complaints,” he added.
Over the past two years nearly all Thomas Cook’s 400 managers have completed a company training course designed to help them deal with complaints from customers and diffuse potentially aggressive situations. Williamson is now planning to roll out the one-day course, called A Complaint is a Gift, to the 380 Carlson Worldchoice managers following the merger.
Thomas Cook is not alone in dealing with this issue. Going Places national operations manager Daryl Hamlett said: “Society in general is more stressed, which makes people more fraught. Over the past two years, we have become more aware of this.”
In response, Going Places is placing even more emphasis on the sales process in its new induction programme, due to be introduced in July, to minimise the possibility of customers becoming irate.
“There is greater focus on treating the customer as an individual and delivering what they want. We try to ensure our sales people understand the customer before they start selling them something. All this helps minimise the risk of customers becoming irate,” says Hamlett.
Holiday Hypermarket also includes a module on retail aggression training in its two-week induction programme.
Victim Support applauds these preventative measures but it also urges companies to put in procedures to deal with incidents. Having procedures in place to deal with incidents of verbal or physical abuse are just as important as having measures to deal with serious crimes such as robberies.
“Companies also need to recognise that the severity of the attack does not necessarily reflect the severity of the reaction. For some people verbal aggression is even more traumatic because the abuse is aimed directly at them. In a travel agency, for example, employees have time to build up a rapport with their customer. If the customer suddenly turns on them it can be very frightening,” said Wilder.
Victims of violence or aggression can call Victim Support’s helpline on 0845 3030900 for confidential support and advice.