Nintendo Japan Takes Measures to Prevent Customers from Harassing Their Employees

There is a new policy in place at Nintendo Japan that disallows customers from harassing employees. Repair services for broken Nintendo products will be denied to customers who engage in the prohibited activities outlined in the policy.

When a customer acts abusively toward the company’s repair staff, the company reserves the right to refuse to fix or replace the product. As there is currently no legislation in Japan against this type of harassment by customers, Nintendo has instituted this new policy to help protect its staff.

This means that even though there aren’t any laws about it, companies in the services industry, where workers spend a lot of time with customers, have taken steps to stop harassment from customers.

Nintendo Co.’s new anti-harassment policy is detailed in this screenshot from the company’s website | KYODO

The website outlines the kinds of behavior that could result in Nintendo refusing to repair a product. This includes:

  • 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

According to consumer psychology expert and Kansai University professor Hiromi Ikeuchi, Nintendo’s decision couldn’t have come at a better time, as social media posts have made visible the harassment to which different industries are bound to act on. Also, the consumer attitudes towards these situations are also changing.

In addition to this, a representative from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare praised Nintendo’s initiative, saying that it is encouraging to see corporations taking a firm stance against the problem.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Farhan Ali


Farhan is a passionate writer with an undying love for games, PC hardware, and technology. With nearly 5 years of experience in blogging and over 14 years of experience in gaming, this is what he loves and does best.