Bullying at 7-11?

A photo of an apology letter a part-time worker at 7-11 was forced to write and tape to the wall at a convenience store in Kanagawa Prefecture:

Attached to the letter is a photo of the worker. The apology states that he/she is deeply sorry for being rude towards a customer and will be careful in the future to make sure such a thing does not occur again.

The apology letter became big news on the internet after Mixi users and 2-channelers discovered it and began declaring it “bullying” and a “violation of human rights.”

According to an investigation by ZakZak, the apology letter was written at the request of a very angry customer. The customer had requested no receipt with his change, but the worker handed him a receipt anyway. He found this to be so offensive that he demanded the store make the worker write an apology letter and place it somewhere visible to all other customers. The store management caved in to his very strong demands.

A 7-11 PR representative has stated that it is company policy to train store workers to hand customers their change and receipt at the same time.

[via Itai News]

—

Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

http://dimesfornickels.wordpress.com/ William George

The manager should be ashamed of themselves for not standing by their employee in the face of an unreasonable asshole.
Vonskippy

Way to toe that company line.
Luke

“The customer had requested no receipt with his change, but the worker handed him a receipt anyway”

WOAH! Jesus Christ, was he planning on getting himself killed?
God forbid he count the change before handing it to him.
http://japanjin.blogspot.com/ Xylo

“The customer had requested no receipt with his change”

Well, what the heck is a guy supposed to do when a customer throws him a curve like that?
Almost as disruptive as speaking while the staff’s trying to recite their lines.
Chinko

I hope that customer will go to Italy someday and get ripped off in a restaurant.

RMilner

It’s illegal not to have a receipt in Italy.

ini

yup,

but do you really think that arrogant customer really has the guts to behave like that in Italy?

lovely

it was bullying by the customer and upheld by the management. no wonder japan is going downhill fast. whoever bullies the most gets the most. sad indeed.
radical pikachu

I agree with angry customer. There people are at the counters that sometimes could not hear anything. When I say that I need a plastic bag etc. I have to repeat several times. Seems that they are in automatic mode. I wonder how long hours they have to work.

My suggestion – don’t ask if customer needs receipt or no. Just give to every customer receipt and they can keep it or throw away if they like.
Level3

I would be tempted to quit if the boss did that to me.
But better revenge would be to just steal from the till and use the 5-finger discount every day.

But anyway, if WE go to that store and DEMAND an apology from the asshole manager, or go to 7-11 HQ and DEMAND an apology from the corporate bigwigs for abusing their employee, will they write a note by hand and put it up on the door?
dave

wow…this is RIDICULOUS and very utterly sad. Someone please slap some sense into these people… for pete’s sake, stand up for yourselves! Just cause ONE asshole customer gets angry, you listen to his demands? It’s not like he had a gun and or knife with him. (as far as I can tell from the article) Excuse me, but seriously, WTF.
longus dickus

hmmm. does it mean they will not dance “naked smurf” dance together next time?
Tom

Wish I was there to see that happen. I’d have quite happily told the customer to stop harassing the worker. I still find it weird when people tell me not to thank shop workers after buying something. Politeness wins. Being a receiptphobic jerk fails.

http://talesovercoffee.blogspot.com Brad F.

People tell you to not thank the store worker? Wow. How rude! Sure it’s the person’s job, but why not thank them anyway? That’s especially important for people working customer service, who often are miserable and deal with people like the customer in this article daily. How hard is it to say thank you? I always do. Well, unless the employee was rude.

http://talesovercoffee.blogspot.com Brad F.

All I got from this is that the store manager is a punk that should be fired.
hushpuppies

Oh gosh..I feel so sorry for this worker. But you know what, nobody has the right to make you feel small unless you give them the permission to do so. I wish more people in Japan would stand up for themselves. I guess Im too cheeky for this culture as there is NO WAY ON THIS EARTH that I would write that letter.
Level3

Unfortunately, there is a small segment of the Japanese population that make bullying shop clerks a hobby.

Purely because shop clerks are trained to do whatever a customer wants and never argue, nor even say “No”.

Typically these kind of hyper-complaining customers are small-minded people who probably are the butt-end of a bit of abuse themselves fom bosses or spouses, probably have no money, no job, no friends, lots of free time, and enjoy screaming at shop clerks to feel big.
Or, they’re professional conartists (atariya, sagiya) who make a living getting themselves “hit” by cars, being offended by “rudeness” of shopclerks and such then demand money.
Both pathetic.

But not as pathetic as a shop that actually bows to such assholes.
jb

does the punishment fit the crime? hell no!

Bullying at 7-11?

Recent Comments

Further Reading

South Korean Government Demands That International Hydrographic Organization Use “East Sea”

Japanese Documentary About Sea Shepherd’s Protest Activities in Taiji (English Subtitles)

Babies Born on March 11th Receive Special Present

Washington Times Freelancer Slams Former Employer, Fails to Ethically Disclose Relationship?

Christopher Johnson Attempts to Silence Criticism of His “Gaijin Gulag” Article (Legal Threats!!!)

Tabloid Reports About Yu Darvish’s Love Life: Kirara Asuka & Miho Koga?

Does K-Pop Group KARA Have Ties to North Korea?

Tokyo Gate Bridge

Sara Errani Admits She Avoided Tennis Tournament in Tokyo: Feared Radiation

Chinese Workers Who Survived March 11th Tsunami Return to Tohoku

Categories

Archives

Subscribe

Japan Blogs

Korea Blogs

Linkroll

Other Asia Blogs