Hill Street Supervalu staff accosted at least once a week

ONE member of staff at the Supervalu situated on Hill Street in Newry has shared in the fact that there is not a week goes by where either he or one of his colleagues are subjected to some form of abuse by members of the public.

The member of staff, who wished to remain anonymous, was speaking in the wake of data published on the part of  the Retail Trust  which showed that  43% of shop workers are shouted at, spat on, threatened or hit every week.

The Trust  has launched a new “ help restore humanity to the high street” campaign to try and improve conditions for retail workers in the run up to Christmas.

 Regrettably  the Hill Street Supervalu is no exception when it comes to the level of abuse directed towards their staff, with the anonymous employee in question stating that incidents of he and his colleagues being accosted occurs at least  once a week, if not everyday. 

Weekly Occurrence

“This happens at least once a week and there have been instances were it has been everyday.” said the staff member.

“There has not been a week yet since I have been in here where this has not happened. It is not just the one person either we have had multiple people in here who have tried to lift alcohol.

“There was an individual who came into the store who had been bared a couple of months prior. We went up to him and told him that he had to leave as he was barred and tried to steal. “He became abusive and it escalated really quickly. I moved in and tried to deescalate the situation, calm him down and usher him towards the door.

“However it just kept getting worse and it kept getting irate. I told him that he should either walk out by himself or he was going to be carried out. When we ushered him out he was threatening my wife and kids saying “I know where you live.”

“I lifted him, took him out and he called the police. The police told him that he couldn't go into the shop as he was barred. However he came back and the same thing happened. He was up in my face really laying it on. Saying things like "I will do this to you, I will do that to you." I will hammer you, kill you. I could feel the slabbers going all over my face where he was shouting and roaring. The last time he was escorted out he threw three punches. Because he was intoxicated I saw them coming so none of them landed but it was still three punches that could have connected and landed causing problems. There was another member of staff that had been levelled by a homeless person, knocked straight to the ground. This happened just before we started here. The fellow who did this still comes and tries to get in but since he came back I have told him that he is not allowed in anymore. However he still tries.”

According to the anonymous staff member the situation he and his colleagues find themselves in is only exacerbated by the fact that they have to remain restrained in the amount of force the use to deal with problem customers and that by his own approximation the level of deterrents currently in place is not enough to dissuade shoplifters from repeat offending once they are caught.

Slap on the wrist

“I once asked a police officer how far can I go when it comes to defending myself? This guy is throwing punches, shouting abuse. If I think I cannot get him out, how far can I go to forcibly remove him. I can't throw punches back. I can only grab them and throw them out. All I can do is try to get him out and if I am the only man in the shop and he is bigger than me that is not going to end well.

“If they are under the influence they will get a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again whereas I will get brought up to court. The victim is not looked after in the law, it is the perpetrator apparently.  

Whereas some  staff members may be inclined to try and reason with violent perpetrators or shop lifters  in store according to the staff member those who engage in these types of activities are of such a  mental disposition that they are beyond reason.

“They think they can intimidate the workers and get away with it. They also do this out of necessity because they can't afford the drink that they want or they have just drank all their money away.

“There's no talking to people like this, they have got the mentality of I am going to try my best to get what I want because I cannot afford it. It is your fault that you are stopping me from coming in here. However they are trying to steal from where I work. If we let everyone do this then I would not have a job.”