Store workers are being bullied and abused by irate customers, new research claims.
According to recruitment firm Retailchoice.com, 95% of retail staff face rude customers on a regular basis.
Over half complain they are plagued by shoppers shouting and swearing at them, while one in five employees have actually been reduced to tears by an angry punter.
When asked to name their worst experience, several workers reported being spat at.
One respondent claimed: "A customer told me they would 'get me the sack' and 'smash my face in' because I'd told him the changing rooms were closed.
"After work I had to get security to escort me to the back of the building as they were in fact waiting for me outside the shopping centre."
Some store assistants, however, have managed to get their own back. Acts of revenge including leaving security tags on goods and banning customers from the shop.
John Salt, website director at Retailchoice.com, said: "In an increasingly consumer driven society, we naturally think that retail workers should behave exactly as we want them to in order to part with our hard earned cash.
"Yet it is clear that many customers are taking this beyond the limit of decent, reasonable behaviour.
"It seems that the professional attributes of Britain's shop workers are being overlooked, and I urge consumers to think about their behaviour if they're looking to receive service with a smile."
