Assignment task: You are working on the door of a retail store. Your role is to welcome/farewell customers and check bags of customers leaving the store. Another team member comes up and explains that they think someone may have placed an item in their bag. They are not sure but the customer was acting suspiciously and there are some items missing from the shelves from the section they were in. They ask you to conduct a bag check if customer tries to leave the store to make sure nothing is stolen. The customer in question does come to leave the store and you politely request a bag check (following store policy). The customer refuses, stating that they haven't had to show their bag before when in store, so will not show it now.
1) What would you say to this customer that refuses a bag search?
2) The customer again, refuses to show their bag and starts getting loud and verbally aggressive to defend themselves. They accuse you of being a racist and only wanting to check their bag because they are from a different cultural background. They are also becoming disrespectful and causing a scene in front of other customers.
3) What would you do next to try to prevent further escalation of the bad behaviour?
4) The customer by now is very angry and pushes their way out of the store and disappears into the shopping centre.
What should you do since you believe the customer has stolen items?
5) How would you document/report the incident?
6) The incident has left you feeling a little emotional as you have not been spoken to in that way before. What could you do to ensure your own personal well-being?