Pulled up for Threatening Behaviour

Post by **woopesh** » 12 Apr 2017, 20:12

A customer made a complaint about me and the DOM pulled me up for threatening behaviour. I have absolutely no recollection of the event and just can't understand where it came from. Is threatening behaviour some catch all term to include rudeness? I remember some people had a moan at me because I didn't hand mail over directly and just put it on a counter in a shop and often I am in a rush so niceties sometimes do go out the window. However I can't ever remember threatening anyone, or behaving threateningly. Will this complaint get logged on my record? The DOM didn't take it any further but honestly, I am worried about complaints building up. There are so many different kinds of people out there who have a go at me for all sorts of reasons (delivering mail too late, dropping rubber bands and littering their garden, misdelivering mail, door stepping, stealing, you name it... it doesnt matter that I've never done the round before and have no idea what they are on about (Im a reserve). Is there a number of complaints you can have against your record before more serious disciplinary action is taken like the stage warnings for taking sick days?

number one · Post by **number one** » 12 Apr 2017, 20:17

Deny everything, let them prove it.

datasaint · Post by **datasaint** » 12 Apr 2017, 20:44

Ignore it. Like most things in this company it's forgotten about in a week.

Have your say surveys, a case in point.

Post by **greengiant** » 12 Apr 2017, 20:56

I've had customers come out to complain I rang the door bell too loud!

ScousePostie · Post by **ScousePostie** » 12 Apr 2017, 21:18

DOM questioned me about a complaint that was made. Apparently customer said I didn't ring bell or knock and left a 739. I told him, if I'm being honest, I rang the bell, knocked on the door 3-4 times and knocked on the front window too. Didn't knock though.

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 13 Apr 2017, 16:00

To the OP, no as far as I know there isn't a set number of complaints that will trigger a disciplinary. Only if a pattern develops that raises concerns for the manager over your actions, or perhaps if a single incident is serious enough would a complaint become a disciplinary. Of course how you respond to both customers and the managers when a complaint is made my colour the managers decision.

number one wrote:Deny everything, let them prove it.

Worst advice possible I am afraid. Denying it happened can look like you are trying to hide something. Saying you can't recall the incident and could they furnish more details to make it clearer for you. Of course, if you can't recall the incident, or it didn't happen to you, tell them that, but don't just deny it outright.

Why. Well despite everyone's hopes and wishes, employers, as I and others have warned on numerous occasions, don't need PROOF, all they need to do is make a REASONABLE decision, based on information that is REASONABLY available. There is no burden of proof on the employer, only a balance of probabilities. However, employers should pursue lines of enquiry which may prove an employee’s innocence as well as those which establish their guilt.

rubberbond · Post by **rubberbond** » 13 Apr 2017, 16:37

number one wrote:Deny everything, let them prove it.

They can't prove anything,that's why he took it no further.
Don't worry about it,is it in your contract that you havevto be nice to people? It's only a perception anyway, it's all very well talking about reasonable, but one persons word against another,is hardly reasonable,unless there's a pattern of behaviour , or witnesses. Threatening behaviour is a criminal offence, I believe , section 5 of the public order act,I think. Something about causing alarm and distress.

fishtank · Post by **fishtank** » 13 Apr 2017, 17:15

In a reasonable belief scenario a customer's word will carry more weight than a member of staff based on the logic that if you are guilty you have something to lose by telling the truth and the customer it is presumed (in cases where compensation is not involved ) has nothing to gain from telling lies.

As you can see it's obviously not just a case of one word against another.

sussexlad · Post by **sussexlad** » 13 Apr 2017, 19:02

My best complaint was when I had left a D/L for a special after ringing the bell and knocking the door in the morning and they guy came into the callers office in the afternoon waving his D/L card complaining that the postman had not rung the bell or knocked. I was working the callers office that afternoon and he didn't know I was the postman who tried to delivered. So I let him rant on for a minute then told him I was the one responsible and that I did knock and ring. The colour drained from his face and he suddenly came up with a few excuses why he didn't hear me ringing!
I bet he could hear me laughing as he got back in his car!

rubberbond · Post by **rubberbond** » 13 Apr 2017, 19:27

fishtank wrote:In a reasonable belief scenario a customer's word will carry more weight than a member of staff based on the logic that if you are guilty you have something to lose by telling the truth and the customer it is presumed (in cases where compensation is not involved ) has nothing to gain from telling lies.

As you can see it's obviously not just a case of one word against another.

Having thought about it , I concede your point,I suppose they have gone to the effort to ring in or whatever,so ,like a man in orthopaedic shoes, I stand corrected.

Izzy · Post by **Izzy** » 13 Apr 2017, 21:51

Years ago my manager spoke to me about about a customer complaining about a redirection failure. The customer claimed the new occupier of his old house was regularly receiving post that should have been redirected. This was in the days of working 6 days a week and I hadn't recently been on holiday and I knew how to redirect mail so it was a mystery as to why the customer was reporting redirection failure. For a week I showed everything I was redirecting and everything I was delivering to the address in question. The customer said the problem was still happening. My manager stood by me but customer services refunded the cost of the redirection. We concluded he was a serial complainer who knew he'd get his money back if he kept complaining.

NWpostie · Post by **NWpostie** » 14 Apr 2017, 11:12

One thing I know in my experience, admit nothing, you will only get screwed over, there's no prizes for telling the truth.

Best course of action is to claim ignorance and ask if they have any evidence to back the claim up, put the ball in their court.

dennyboycox · Post by **dennyboycox** » 15 Apr 2017, 14:34

greengiant wrote:I've had customers come out to complain I rang the door bell too loud!

lol thats a belter

Post by **Lounge Lizard** » 17 Apr 2017, 20:39

dennyboycox wrote:
greengiant wrote:I've had customers come out to complain I rang the door bell too loud!
lol thats a belter

"You'll wake the dead"

bogstandard · Post by **bogstandard** » 18 Apr 2017, 09:25

As you've said and as has been posted, you have no memory of this event. You couldn't deny it categorically, but nothing out of the ordinary stands out. You could have asked for more info, maybe you did and still nothing. Its been "forgotten" but keep a diary of this, it can only help.