“Every year we just watch videos on active shooters. No verbal communication of what is right or wrong during such situations.”

“The selling floor is not safe at all. We have these people stealing and creating altercations all the time. We are being baited and intimidated. All of us are scared that if we retaliate, we’ll lose our jobs.”

“I was behind the register and a man hit my leg with his cane. There was another encounter when I first started working retail where a teen kept following me throughout the store and came behind the register and rubbed himself against me.”

“The retail store I work in is now a place where aggressive individuals come and steal openly and when security is called upon nothing is done. They get verbally abusive and threaten violence but when you tell security they say they will look into it and never do a thing about it. We are working in an environment where we are not protected nor cared for.”

“The worst time, last year a man came in the store with his phone ready to take pictures and threatening to beat up the girls at the desk. Some of the girls went in the back. But the one that stayed was physically attacked. I saw with my eyes him putting fists and feet on her while she lay there helpless. Security was there the whole time watching. Security did call for reinforcements but by the time back up came and pulled the man off my coworker she was so badly beaten. In the end my coworker was fired. They said she should have deescalated the situation and or went to the back. The attacker was never charged. It was explained that the reason why security didn’t do anything was because they are only there to deter theft, not to protect us.”

“Thieves steal knives, then brandish them at us while they walk out of the store.”