De-escalation of Aggressive Customer Behaviour:
A Critical Analysis of the Canadian Retail Environment

Register now for a complimentary workshop on de-escalating agression & violence in the retail setting sponsored by Axis Communications

By Stephen O'Keefe - President, Bottom Line Matters

Nowadays, more than ever before, there seems to an increased level of violence in retail stores. Looking at statistics over the years, it seems that shrinkage is on the rise, but crime rates are decreasing. The two appear to contradict each other, so what could be the missing piece of the puzzle? If shrinkage continues to grow but crime rates in retail are showing a decrease, are incidents being reported to the authorities? How is the hand off/no arrest policy adding to this statistic? How involved are the local authorities?

There is an added level of fear or uncertainty regarding retail-related incidents among employees, so what resources are available to ensure staff are equipped to appropriately respond to any incident they encounter? As incidents in the retail space grow, the repercussions around retail theft or violence will have to be addressed to ensure that perpetrators don’t take advantage of the situations while getting away with their crime. The bottom line is that retailers need to be looking for tools and techniques to de-escalate the tension and the aggression that occasionally can lead to violence.

In the context of customer behaviour, there are three basic stages to aggression - emotional, verbal and physical. Subsequently then, there are three equal stages of responding to aggressive behaviour - supportive, assertive, and defensive. When we react on instinct in a situation without taking the time to logically respond, our ego doesn’t contribute to the best outcome because we are not in the right frame of mind. This can often lead to a negative outcome for both parties – the offender and the employee. Employees may have a point in how they react in a situation, but it is hard to tell how the customer / offender is feeling with that reaction which may not produce the most conducive environment to neutralize or deescalate tension. If a customer appears to be emotionally aggressive, and the physiological signs support this theory, then the employee can neutralize the situation by being supportive. If the employee is assertive / defensive, they may escalate the level of aggression to where the customer will become verbally or physically aggressive. If the customer becomes aggressive it will be very difficult to support them from that moment on because the level of their behaviour.

Aggression and violent incidents in the retail setting are increasing around the globe but how can we mitigate these risks as a community? De-escalation techniques are known to be a valuable way to intervene to counter this growing issue of violence and aggression on site. You’re invited to be a part of our upcoming workshop on de-escalation techniques while you prepare for the holiday rush with these tactics to manage aggression or the potential of an escalated situation in your retail space.

Participants will be walked through eight stages of aggression in practical retail situations ranging from feelings of being annoyed, irate, verbally aggressive, through mental health and substance abuse situations, to the extreme active shooter scenario and how to deal with there outcomes. The participants will be provided with the legal foundation to know their rights, and limitations.

I will personally run this session along with my colleague, Bill Davies who is an executive in transition. Having Bill as an integral part of this seminar will allow the industry to take advantage of the skills of a Loss Prevention Leader who may otherwise have been restricted by corporate policy if he was with an organization. The day will close with case studies and some tabletop exercises dealing with typical scenarios that can contribute to escalated tension and aggression, even violence.

We all share this journey to fight retail shrink and provide safe workplaces for all our employees.

Click here to register now for our complimentary event sponsored by Axis Communications on Nov. 13