Michelle Hooper has experienced her fair share of abuse from customers at the fast-food store where she works in Sydney's west.
The 29-year-old says she and her colleagues were routinely abused by customers for simply doing their job.
She says the abuse has often left her in tears and she even once suffered an asthma attack.
A national survey has found more than 85 per cent of retail and fast-food workers have experienced abuse from customers
Almost a quarter of workers say they have been subjected to verbal abuse every week, and more than a third have felt threatened by a customer once or twice in the last year.
The fast-food, retail and warehousing union has launched a national campaign aimed at stopping customer abuse and violence towards workers this Christmas.
Bernie Smith is the New South Wales secretary for the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association.
He says the impact of abuse on workers can be detrimental.
While retail and fast-food workers are trained to provide good customer service, they say there is no excuse when it comes to physical or verbal abuse.
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