This is the time of year when shoppers in stores begin to tell retail associates and other customers where they can put their holiday cheer.
With just a few days to go to Christmas and so many still needing to complete their shopping, people inevitably begin to show their stress by verbally and sometimes physically acting out.
"We've all done it: I know I've lost my temper, and everyone else has probably done it," Ernest Speranza, chief marketing officer of KB Toys, told The Associated Press. "At this time of year, people start out with all the best intentions. They're busy buying toys for a young child. They're happy about doing that. Then they get caught up in the frenzy ... and a nice experience now starts to spiral out of control."
And get out of control they do. Just ask the grocery store manager who earlier this month had a 59-year-old female customer hit him in the head with a 10-pound sack of potatoes because she was angry about having to wait in line.
A study by ComPsych Corp. found that customers are angrier than in the past. The employee assistance provider said the numbers of acute-stress counseling sessions it has had to provide to retailers is way up over the past couple of years.
"During the holiday season, (retailers) bring on people who are less familiar with where products are, how stores operate," said Richard Chaifetz, chairman and chief executive of ComPsych. "Shoppers are agitated. Put those together and you create a combustible environment."
Adding to the agitation is the decision by many businesses to reduce staffing levels from past holidays. Having fewer people around to offer assistance at a time when shoppers are less patient to begin with is a recipe for creating stressful situations.
On the plus side, retailers have a variety of ways to deal with the conflict that invariably happens this time of year. Many add security staff, while others rehearse stressful situations to prepare store employees on how to deal with irate shoppers.
KB Toys has decided to reduce the stress on customers by keeping really hot items off the shelves so that shoppers won't be wrestling over them in the aisles. For example, T.M.X. Elmo has only gone on store shelves this week. Prior to this, the company created a waiting list and called customers to pickup the toy as shipments were received.
Discussion Questions: Are shoppers (and store associates in some cases) more unpleasant this year than in the past? What do you see as the key factors leading to conflicts in stores? What are the most effective ways to reduce stress and keep shoppers and workers happy during the holidays?