THUNDER BAY — It turns out the customer is not always right. At least when it comes to believing that paying for a service entitles one to treat those providing it like trash.
Since late last fall, customers calling Tbaytel, Thunder Bay’s telecommunications company, have been hearing a recorded message informing them that trash-talk is not acceptable.
In part, the message says that “abusive language and behaviour will not be tolerated,” and that customers “are asked to be respectful to our employees.”
The tone of the message is polite, but no-nonsense.
A Tbaytel spokesman said the message was put on at the end of November. Though the coronavirus pandemic has been accompanied by a rise in tensions at many retail businesses, the spokesman said that wasn’t a factor in the decision to install the message.
“The messaging was put up . . . to ensure we have a respectful environment for our front-line staff in keeping with best practices that many other organizations and businesses have adopted,” the spokesman said Tuesday in an email.
One customer-service rep with the utility said that when customers use profane language they simply hang up.
A Hydro One spokeswoman said that in general, employees with the provincial utility are given training on how to deal with customers who become abusive. The pandemic hasn’t led to a noticeable rise in irate calls, she said.
Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce executive-director Heather Johnson, who worked in the banking industry for 40 years, said employees who hang up on profane or angry customers usually have been told ahead of time that they don’t have to put up with abuse.
Other organizations that regularly deal with the public say the pandemic has created a new layer of tension.
“As we near the two-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic . . . we acknowledge that the pandemic has put considerable financial pressures on many families and businesses, not to mention the negative impacts on mental health,” said a spokesman for the Municipality of Sioux Lookout.
“As we continue to provide the best possible service and support to our ratepayers, we continue to ask for the public’s patience and understanding, especially in the day-to-day dealings with our staff,” the spokesman added.
During the pandemic, there have been several media reports about front-line restaurant workers who wonder why they remain in a sector in which they are often paid poorly and treated rudely by customers.
Johnson said she’s concerned that the frustrations that have come to a head during the pandemic, as well as a drop in basic civility in the social-media age, will continue to drive people away from the retail sector.
“Is this why we’re having such a hard time staffing these positions?” she said. “Many people are thinking of going back to school or changing careers.”
“There are some great people working in retail,” Johnson added. “But sometimes you’re dealing with a tough crowd.”
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