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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Josh Salisbury

Tesco bans staff from wearing headphones amid customer outcry

Tesco has banned staff from wearing headphones on the shop floor.

The move in the supermarket giant’s updated uniform policy requires staff to not wear headphones while in customer-facing areas on the shop floor.

Although previously part of the supermarket’s health and safety policy, the requirement is now included in the uniform policy. 

The change comes amid declining customer satisfaction scores at the chain, according to an independent industry body.

It is understood to be aimed at making sure staff are as responsive as possible to staff queries, but excludes those using hearing hearing assistance or sensory devices, as well as company headsets.

According to the Institute of Customer Service, which researches retailers’ customer service satisfaction, Tesco’s scores have slipped from 81.7 two years ago to 79.8 in July last year and again to 79.4 this year out of a possible 100. 

Tesco said in its most recent results that its customer satisfaction scores were “continuing to improve”.

It comes after staff at rival chain Asda hit out at a move to play unlicensed music on repeat in the store.

Asda Supermarket bosses swapped over the music on their in-store radio to songs by unsigned artists in an alleged bid to avoid paying expensive royalties.

But staff at the supermarket change have criticised the move, saying it is “repetitive” and “mentally draining”.

In a Reddit forum dedicated to staff, some have hit out at the change, saying it was “corny”.

But an Asda spokesperson said: “We made this change in February to align with our other sites including depots and in-store cafes.

“We appreciate that colleagues have different tastes in music and we always welcome feedback when making decisions about how our stores operate, including the music played on Asda Radio.”

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