A shop in Japan is very disturbed by the behaviour of tourists coming into its shop.  According to the shop owner, tourists come in with food and beverages, leave litter in the aisles, open packages without their permission before purchasing them and put items back on the shelves either in the wrong places or facing the wrong direction. They were so disturbed by this behaviour that there is now a notice on the door instructing customers not to do any of the above.

Is this reasonable of the shop owner? Are the tourists wrong? Hands up whoever is guilty of at least one of the above transgressions. To be honest, depending on what I’m looking to buy, yes I’d like to have a quick look inside to see if the item contains exactly what the packaging says. This might be for something like a new watercolour set where, although the packaging says it contains 20 colours and a brush, I would like to see what both look like inside the container. Nevertheless, here is the big but. I never do it without the permission of the staff manning the shop. Often I will ask the staff themselves to open the item for me, especially if the item can be opened and resealed. And many a time the staff are more than happy to oblige, even if it means prising open the very sticky tape. However, if the packaging can’t be opened then I won’t purchase it and I certainly will not try to prise open the packaging. Just 2 weeks ago I saw these paint brushes that resembled their expensive counterpart.

They were in a sealed packet that could be easily opened and resealed. Now normally, paint brushes in art shops are sold loose so that the buyer can pick them up, feel the bristles and try a few strokes. I needed to feel the bristles and see how the point formed. The staff opened the pack for me and I liked it so I bought it.

 Many critics of the shop owner say they don’t know what the big deal is and they didn’t know how to run a business. One even asked why customers could not take beverages into the shop. How is that so hard to understand? If accidentally spilled, a beverage, even water, can not only be a slipping hazard but if it’s spilled on groceries it can cause damage to the item. And what if this were a clothing shop and a beverage spilled on one of the shirts? It’s not so hard to understand.

The fact is that many countries expect certain standards of behaviour from their customers who, I dare say, expect the same from the shop. Customers can often run riot inside shops, or they let their children run riot inside shops. I’ve seen parents let their children loose inside bookshops where toys are also sold and the way the children behave is as though they are inside a nursery. Again they get under customers’ feet and really you want to walk out because of the mayhem they’re causing. And the staff are too timid to say anything to the parents. I’ve seen parents also use the local supermarket as their children’s playground. They allow their children to mess around with trollies and baskets, toy with the goods on the shelves, run around in the aisles and basically get in the way of other shoppers. Again, staff are just too scared to say anything.

I’ve seen customers inside supermarkets eating the fruit that’s on display with full gusto. They think that it’s a buffet and eat like they’ve not eaten at all. I’ve seen orange peels and empty food wrappers everywhere and it was usually the same few customers, but, again, the staff were just too timid to say anything.  One time I saw a young girl openly vaping in the fruit and vegetables area. I saw this billow of smoke and I admit I did bring it to the attention of one of the staff because I didn’t want to be inhaling that chemical while I was shopping in the same area. If customers, even if they’re not tourists, behave this way, or allow their children to behave in an uncouth manner, then I believe that shop owners have every right to ask them to stop. I do not see anything wrong in that and I certainly do not think that they don’t know how to do business.