Working in a threatening environment, any ideas/help please?

dickydonkin

LTL wrote: »

No this isn't a wind up at all.

I work in a situation where I have both internal and external customers and I have to put up with some mouthy language sometimes. It's my job & how I deal with it will show if I am successful at my job.

The OP has not defined the "abuse" received. A bit of foul language or someone bringing in a knife - two very different things.

My view on all of this, especially with the thread title, is that the OP is after a reaction from people to make himself feel more confident and for people to agree with his stance.

I did not say/did not mean it's part of his job to get abused. I did not say/did not mean they had to put up and shut up. Part of the OPs job would be to deal with difficult customers in a professional manner, especially if they are the only one working on site. I cannot fathom how people think that they shouldn't have to deal with it. You can't control what customers will do/say but you have to deal with it when things arise OR go work in an environment where there are no customers.

The OP has stated 3/4 times that his main concern is working alone and that it is "illegal", use CTRL + F on his posts.

This site is about opinions, I am meerly putting mine across.

The OP has stated 3 or 4 times that working alone is his concern - however, I still cannot find where he has stated that working alone is illegal - which it isn't.

He did refer to 'the letter of the law' which may suggest the employer needs to satisfy safety requirements when working alone - which indeed they have to.

And again, everyone is different - some people deal with abusive customers in different ways - some do it very well - some cannot. This may be a confidence or a training issue but very likely a combination of both.

Younger workers may find it difficult to deal with abuse from older customers or colleagues, but I agree that if the nature of the abuse was disclosed, then perhaps someone could offer some advice in that respect.

I think I have exhausted my comments on this thread and I hope the OP gets some joy from the employer and is able to continue in his current role - minus the abuse.

LTL

dickydonkin wrote: »

The OP has stated 3 or 4 times that working alone is his concern - however, I still cannot find where he has stated that working alone is illegal - which it isn't.

He did refer to 'the letter of the law' which may suggest the employer needs to satisfy safety requirements when working alone - which indeed they have to.

And again, everyone is different - some people deal with abusive customers in different ways - some do it very well - some cannot. This may be a confidence or a training issue but very likely a combination of both.

Younger workers may find it difficult to deal with abuse from older customers or colleagues, but I agree that if the nature of the abuse was disclosed, then perhaps someone could offer some advice in that respect.

I think I have exhausted my comments on this thread and I hope the OP gets some joy from the employer and is able to continue in his current role - minus the abuse.

I think there are areas where we agree. One of which is the training/advice etc. required.

I was just trying to be realistic, an employer will more than likely not start employing additional people (especially as they have already cut from 2 to 1) they will be trained how to deal with the situation better. The OP needs to be prepared for this.

An alternative is that they could be told off by their employer for not already dealing with the issues OR it's their own problem, as it's part of their job & if they can't do it to move on.

I get the impression that the OP does not work in a pub but in somewhere like a snooker hall where there is a bar (I may be wrong). In any case the feeling is it's not a large area and therefore not packed full of people - 1 person would suffice (except if a break is required).

I suppose one additional point may be that; yes you are legally allowed a break, but I am sure that there is no requirement when you must take it; they could just say you take it at the end of the shift.

marybelle01

LTL wrote: »

I suppose one additional point may be that; yes you are legally allowed a break, but I am sure that there is no requirement when you must take it; they could just say you take it at the end of the shift.

No they couldn't. The law is specific on the fact that a break cannot be taken at the end of a shift.