Watch out, customers—the parents are coming home.
Bad customer behavior is forcing companies to play adult and discipline their customers. In many cases, it’s an effort to protect employees and other customers.
The friendly skies are becoming less friendly with a surge in unruly behavior. Southwest Airlines and American Airlines won’t resume alcohol service on flights as planned due to an uptick in passenger violence. A Southwest passenger on a recent flight to San Diego attacked a flight attendant and knocked out her two front teeth.
The passenger allegedly repeatedly ignored in-flight instructions, but she isn’t the only one—the FAA has received 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since the beginning of 2021, a significant increase from previous years.
Target also recently made headlines when it suspended the in-store sale of Pokémon and sports trading cards after multiple fights broke out. In one case, a gun was drawn as customers fought over the cards. After a two-week suspension, stores are slowly starting to bring back Pokemon cards, but with limits on when they can be sold and how many customers can purchase each day. In parenting terms, we call this kind of discipline “taking away privileges”.
Why the huge surge in unruly customers? After more than a year of lockdowns and the stress of a pandemic, people are on edge. Any little thing can set them off, and companies are catching the brunt of their pent-up emotions.
These unruly customers are forcing companies to change how they do business—and potentially costing them sales. It puts employees in an uncomfortable and undesirable position as rule enforcers who often have to discipline customers like children. Employees in many industries, especially in entertainment and hospitality, are experiencing “enforcement fatigue” after having to police COVID restrictions for more than a year and dealing with the backlash and rowdy behavior from customers.
And as with all types of outbursts and disruptions, the mischief-makers get noticed and pull attention away from the countless well-behaved customers who don’t get the personalized service or full treatment as a result. A few bad apples have changed the experience for all customers.
It’s time for customers to step up and get back to acting like adults. But in the meantime, companies will have to continue the role of disciplinarian to protect the customer experience and safety of all customers.
Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker and the author of the bestselling book The Customer Of The Future. Sign up for her weekly newsletter here.
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June 04, 2021 at 01:26AM
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A Surge In Unruly Behavior Has Forced Companies To Discipline Their Customers - Forbes
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