For South Western Railway workers, working with the public can be challenging and often staff are subjected to abuse for situations beyond their control. To shine a light on some of the verbal abuse its workers face, South Western Railway (SWR) has launched an out-of-home campaign using some of the phrases used by frustrated customers.

The campaign underlines the fact that while customers may be angry in the heat of the moment, abuse stays with staff long after their working day is over.

The out of home campaign, which is called  ‘Abuse stays with our staff’, has been made with the help of St Luke’s and will run across owned poster sights in the SWR network.

The creative captures moments of everyday life such as making a cup of tea, preparing soup, or taking a shower with images taken from a first-person point of view. In each of the shots, the abuse the staff faced is written on the everyday items. The phrase ‘you dumb cow’ can be seen on the doormat as someone returns home and ‘you absolute moron’ is written on the shower gel as someone gets ready for the day.

The creative brings to life the idea that these words stay with people throughout the day, at home and away from work. The campaign acts as a visual reminder that the harsh things said to staff can creep up on them and stay with them for a long time afterwards. All four executions feature the words “The thoughtless abuse given to our staff can stay with them. Be kind.”

“As frontline workers, our colleagues can unfortunately often be the receivers of verbal abuse from agitated customers. This campaign uses powerful imagery to educate people about how colleagues endure the lingering emotional damage of the abuse they receive in their everyday life. We want people to think before they take their agitation out on colleagues, and also remind them to always be kind,” explains Peter Williams, Customer & Commercial Director at South Western Railway.

Putting people first

The campaign champions the staff that work on SWR and aims to remind customers of the dedicated team of real human beings that work to ensure the service runs.

The campaign comes following research into the experiences of SWR employees, where workers shared stories of the abuse they had received and how it has affected them and their lives.

The creative brief to St Luke's was to encourage non-abusive behaviour towards SWR colleagues and, in doing so, alleviate the long-term impact insulting words have on them.

“People travel by train for a variety of reasons and sometimes when they are feeling stressed or are wrapped up in their own problems, they don’t always realise that what for them is a throwaway comment said in a moment of frustration can really hurt someone. The aim of this campaign is to make people stop and think about how their words can affect others.” added Richard Denney, Joint Chief Creative Officer at St Luke’s.

By holding a mirror up to the public and reminding people of the humanity of the organisation, the campaign builds mutual trust and respect. Standing with its employees, SWR reinforces the importance of its people and of kindness.