Final answer:
A customer using abusive language represents verbal abuse and requires employees to manage the situation with professionalism, often involving de-escalation techniques or enforcement of business policies to handle such customer abuse.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a customer swears at you, using abusive language, this behavior is a form of verbal abuse. In a business context, dealing with customers who exhibit such behavior can be challenging and requires professionalism and a calm demeanor. Employees need to remember that this type of conduct reflects more on the customer's inability to handle frustration appropriately than on the employee or the organization. Training in customer service often includes strategies for de-escalating such situations, where the goal is to calm the customer down and address their concerns without reciprocating hostility. However, customer abuse should not be tolerated, and businesses usually have policies in place for managing such incidents, which can include asking the person to leave or calling security.