can I refuse to serve a customer?

[chenic]

Speak to your manager.

Explain the situation to him/her, and give examples of how they are rude. If your manager agree that they are being rude, then you may be able to refuse to serve them, but have another member of staff serve.

If they are being rude to you AND other members of staff and/or customers, then the manager could have them barred from the store.

Or they could just be barred!

I had a situation with a member of staff in the store I work for. It was a personal issue, but this girl came in to the store, and started insulting the girl on the till (call her Kate)...I (shift supervisor) overheard. I stepped in and asked if there was a problem. The customer continued to insult Kate. I asked her to leave the store, and not come back! I explained the situation to the manager the next day, and he agreed that I took the right steps.

As I understand it, a shop is PRIVATE property, which the owners decide to open to the public. You can legally refuse to serve for whatever reason you like, obviously, as long as the decision is not based on race, religion, sexuality etc etc etc!

The reality of life in the store where I work, is that we only bar people if they are abusive, stealing, or buying alcohol/tobacco for minors....

Hope this helped.