Vaccine passport problems spark abuse at garden centre

Workers are being targeted by angry customers turning abusive over Covid rules.

Staff at Selmes Garden Centre, many of whom are immune compromised, have suffered ongoing abuse, including screaming, and shouting.

Selmes Garden Centre second-in-charge Denise McQuade, while not speaking on behalf of the popular nursery, says it’s been a scary time since the Covid traffic light system was put in place.

The lack of respect shown to people doing their jobs has left her “gob smacked” she says.

“Most of our customers are good – on the whole, really good. But the bad people are really abusive.”

And despite many clear signs posted at the entranceway and through the nursery, people aren’t getting the message, she says.

“We work with disabled people and many of them are immune compromised.

“We struggled right from day one on the decision to make this a vaccine passport site.”

The nursery made the decision to require vaccine passports when the country shifted to the traffic light system late last year.

Selmes is the largest retail nursery in Marlborough and provides employment and training for many disabled members of the community.

“I really wish we didn’t have to do this, but we have to protect our employees,” Denise says.

She says the worst abuse, screaming, shouting and name calling, predominately comes from men aged 30 and up.

“I’m gob smacked. Why do they think they have the right [to abuse people]?

“Younger people are very happy to walk in here and show their vaccine passports on their phones,” she says.

“A lot aren’t anti-vaxxers, but anti-government. They don’t want to be told what to do.

“We get vitriol – one man stood here for ten minutes arguing about the government.

“It’s been a really scary time.”

Denise says most people have vaccine passes – they just don’t want to show them. She says she’s also surprised by the number of people who haven’t got a vaccine pass yet.

“It seems to predominately be men that don’t want to play by the rules,” she says.

“But we don’t make the rules; we’re protecting our vulnerable employees.”

She says people not wearing masks is another ongoing problem at the nursery.

“Because it’s outdoors, people don’t think they have to wear masks – that’s another huge problem.

“You can’t get into any retail store without a mask – why a nursery?

“Distancing doesn’t mean anything for a lot of the disabled people we employ – they just rock up to customers.

“Because of that, you would think people would be respectful, but they’re not. We do it [wear masks] for the sake of each other.”

Denise says the best solution would be hiring a security guard that checks passes at the gate, similar to other businesses in town.

But as the nursery is operated as a trust, it makes sourcing the funds for security difficult.

“I think people are struggling with all the responsibility – having to have masks, sign in and show vaccine passes,” she says.

“It has settled down a little bit now, but before Christmas it was happening nearly every day.”

Denise says she has come across a lot of badly-behaved people lashing out at them for government rules, and she’s sick of it.

“And we’re the ones that raised you 30 to 40 somethings, where did we go wrong?”