Merton council launches investigation after viral TikTok shows staff member shouting at resident
A video appearing to show a member of the public being shouted at by a receptionist at Merton council has gone viral on social media.
The clip, posted on Monday, August 2, seems to show the member of staff raising his voice, throwing a letter towards the person and telling them to “shut up”.
But the council says the video does not show the full story.
It claims the member of staff was subjected to “sustained verbal abuse” before the recording started.
The video appears to show a man at the reception desk trying to help a woman with a letter from the council.
The recording shows the receptionist cutting off the man repeatedly, saying: “Read the letter or call them. What are you not understanding?”
The member of the public is seen trying to show him the letter, but the staff member pushes it back so hard it falls off the desk.
The man can be heard asking why the receptionist is shouting, to which he replies “Because you’re not understanding.”
The man is then heard saying “don’t shout at me” to which the receptionist replies “or what?”.
Towards the end of the video the woman says “let’s go” and the pair appear to begin to leave, with the man still protesting at their treatment.
The receptionist is then shown saying “Shut up. I don’t care.”
The council have said that is was a “regrettable incident” and have launched an internal investigation into what happened.
Just seen this video of @Merton_Council staff member shouting at a member of the public. Merton Council is this acceptable behaviour? pic.twitter.com/DGDbqCgL1L
— Billz (@UKBillz) August 2, 2021
The video has been viewed 200,000 times on TikTok and has over 3000 comments.
One comment read: “That worker needs to get fired. He does not belong in customer service let alone in the council.”
Another read: “They always take advantage of people that struggle with English because they know they’re helpless and they’re an easy target.”
A spokeswoman for Merton Council said: “This was a regrettable incident for all involved. However, the footage on TikTok does only show part of a longer conversation.
“The film doesn’t show that the member of staff was subjected to sustained verbal abuse prior to the start of recording, nor that a manager quickly became involved and helped to resolve the issue to the customer’s full satisfaction.
“We of course expect the highest standards from our staff when talking to customers. We have launched an internal investigation into exactly what happened, and will take any necessary steps to ensure that it does not happen again.”
The original poster of the video has not responded to the South London Press’s request for comment.