Found out customers are rudest between 2-4pm, according to some stat I saw

Was reading a retail industry blog yesterday. They had a study. Said 60% of angry customer interactions happen in that window. That's my whole shift. No wonder I'm drained by 3. Makes sense. People hangry. Tired of their day. Anyone else notice a specific time when customers get worse?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_xena24d ago

Not really buying that study to be honest. Afternoon slump is probably more about employees getting tired and losing patience than customers suddenly turning into monsters. Maybe the real problem is low blood sugar and bad attitudes on both sides of the counter. Every time someone blames a specific time window, it just feels like an excuse to write off the whole afternoon shift instead of asking why people are cranky. That two to four window could just be when everyone hits the wall and nobody wants to fake being nice anymore.

johnflores24d ago

That two to four window is also when lunch wears off and the caffeine crash kicks in for a lot of people. I work in an office and we all notice the same thing - tempers get short and nobody wants to deal with anything complicated after eating. The study probably just tracked the natural dip in patience that happens every afternoon, not some mystical customer switch flip.

the_piper23d ago

What if the data actually holds up though? I've seen enough grumpy customers roll through hardware stores in that exact window to think it's maybe more than just a coincidence. @the_xena's right that afternoon slump is a factor, but I'm leaning toward the study catching something real on the customer side too.