It’s unfortunate, but in a commercial setting sometimes our interactions with the general public are not always pleasant. It’s still unacceptable but perhaps more understandable why a person could feel frustrated and vent that unhealthily in certain settings – for example after having missed a flight, or if confused and irritated in a hospital setting.
However, regardless of the venue, making certain the staff in your employ are protected by necessary risk assessment and safety-first planning is essential. After all, sometimes negligence or a lack of staff support can potentially be used against you in a legal framework, though it shouldn’t require the threat of such action to spur positive progress.
While it’s true you’ve likely accounted for most issues, such as the potential of fire hazards and pre-planning evacuations, protecting your staff from unruly customers can be a little more difficult. After all, you can never perfectly predict every untoward and unhelpful human action. This is no excuse however, and some wisdom can still be applied to resolve 90% of issues before they begin.
In this post, we’ll offer some advice towards that end goal:
Clear Customer Warnings
Putting up visible signage that outlines acceptable behavior and the consequences for breaking those rules sets expectations no matter what, and it also gives your staff something to point to if things get heated. Just make sure they’re clear and easy to read, placed at entrances and areas where interactions happen, stating things like zero tolerance for abuse, threats, or violence. It sounds formal but it works because people know where the line is before they cross it.
These warnings also protect your staff legally because you’ve made it clear what standards you expect, and if someone does kick off you’ve got documentation that they were informed.
Physical Security
Having trained security personnel on site is one of the more effective ways to deter problems and handle them quickly if they do arise, because their presence alone makes people think twice about acting up.
You don’t necessarily need a huge team or to stroll with intimidation of course, but just enough coverage for your busiest times and high-risk areas is wise, and they should be trained in de-escalation techniques so they can calm situations down before they turn physical. That last part should be a last resort, as physical security is often best when it’s a deterrent more than anything.
Gated Access
Ultimately, controlling who can enter certain areas of your premises is going to help filter anyone who shouldn’t be there to begin with, which could be a simple approach such as locked doors that require keycards or buzzers, or reception desks where visitors have to check in and state their business before being allowed further into the building. This way you gain something of a a buffer zone where problems can be identified and managed before they reach your employees. That in itself can deter the most obvious difficulties which may come from too-free customers gaining access to your personnel.
With this advice, we hope you can more easily protect your staff from unruly customers going forward.