By Christine Rush, digital journalist
Earlier this year, One New Zealand shut its central Auckland store after frequent physical attacks on staff. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
One New Zealand has trespassed a customer and banned them from its network for life after an assault on two staff members in Christchurch.
The incident unfolded at a retail store on 11 October, when a customer was reportedly asked to provide their Apple ID.
Addressing customers on LinkedIn, chief executive Jason Paris said the customer would be trespassed and disconnected from the One New Zealand network, and never be allowed back.
"It's not a decision that we take lightly, but although we love our customers, the health and safety of our teams is always our number one priority.
"So as we head into a stressful Christmas period, please remember to give the people that are trying to help you across any industry, your respect - not your aggression."
In a statement, police said they were called at 2.30pm on Friday after two employees at a Riccarton store were assaulted by a youth.
"There do not appear to have been serious injuries to the two victims, however they were understandably shaken by the incident."
Police had identified the youth believed to have been involved and said they were following positive lines of enquiry to locate them.
Knives, balaclavas
The move came five months after One New Zealand closed its Britomart store in central Auckland.
The store closed its Queen Street shop in May, despite still paying rent.
Paris told Checkpoint at the time physical and verbal abuse of staff was a regular occurrence, as was theft.
Some offenders had been bringing knives into stores to steal display devices, cut off their security tags and walk out the door.
"Someone will come in - mostly they have a balaclava over their heads, but sometimes now they're pretty brazen."
Staff were also being abused after asking customers for photo ID - a measure One NZ was taking to avoid identity fraud and scams, he said.
"It's just unacceptable; it's happening too often and so we made the call to shut it down and prioritise our team's well-being."
Increase in aggression "really distressing" - Retail NZ
Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said stores had seen an increase in aggression and violence towards staff, which was "really distressing" for shop workers.
As a result, businesses were trespassing people from their shops or refusing to provide a service.
In September, Young was appointed to the government's new advisory group on retail crime.
Every employer had to comply with laws to provide a safe working environment for their staff, she said.
She reiterated Paris's request for customers to "be courteous to each other".
"If they do have any concerns, take a breath and count to 10. When people get stressed, they say or do things they might regret later, so think about your actions, and the effect they have on others."
Retailers were having to face multiple incidences of unpleasant or illegal behaviour from customers every day, Young said.
"It's really difficult for staff in retail to manage that on an ongoing basis - they've just come to work to do their job."
The closure of One NZ's downtown Auckland store showed just how serious the issue was, she said.
"If you are a very large retailer, and you're in the biggest street in the biggest city in New Zealand, if you close your store you're giving a competitive advantage to your competitors to provide a service to potential customers.
"Businesses don't do that lightly and it just shows you the extent of aggressive behaviour and how staff are feeling about that."
Retail NZ applauded One NZ's leadership in taking action against violent customers, she said.
