New Nintendo Japan policy refuses repair service to abusive customers
Nintendo Japan has instituted a new policy to protect their employees from harassment by customers. According to the policy, customers seeking out repair of any faulty Nintendo products will be refused service if they engage in certain behaviors. Their official web site has been updated to reflect this, as seen below.
When making an enquiry about a repaired product, please refrain from using any actions (including but not limited to those listed below) that go beyond what is socially acceptable as a means of fulfilling your request. If we deem that any of these actions have taken place, we may refuse to replace or repair the product. Furthermore, if the Company deems the conduct to be malicious, it will contact the police, a lawyer, etc. and take the appropriate action.
[Nintendo Japan]
According to the updated site, actions that will result in refusal of service include the following:
- Intimidation or threats
- Insulting or denigrating remarks
- Invasion of privacy
- Excessive demands, such as for a free repair when the warranty has expired
- Demanding an apology from Nintendo or its staff without reasonable cause
- Excessively repeating the same request or complained
- Defamatory comments on social networks or websites
This new policy was instituted to help protect Nintendo’s staff, as there are currently no laws against this type of harassment by customers in Japan. In a statement to Kyodo News, Nintendo PR rep said, “We made the decision after concluding our customers would understand because of the reputation we have built of faithfully responding to them.”
Most people should agree that resorting to any kind of threats or derogatory comments over a product repair complaint is taking things too far. With this new policy in place, hopefully more employees at Nintendo Japan are treated with the respect they deserve.
