BEIJING (SCMP): A Chinese woman shopping at a Fendi outlet in Japan expressed so much outrage at the rudeness of its sales staff that four employees knelt in front of her to apologise.
While some people have criticised the woman for being too harsh, she gained widespread support on mainland social media.
The incident came to light via a series of posts by a Xiaohongshu blogger known as Annie Datouzai, who claims to be a fashion specialist who studied at Columbia University and the University of Toronto.
The blogger has 8,200 followers and is currently based in New York.
While travelling in Japan, she visited a Fendi store in Tokyo to buy a woollen shawl. After trying it on, she decided to buy it and requested a new one from the shop’s stock.
However, a senior sales representative approached her, abruptly removed the shawl from her shoulders without asking permission, and then handed it to his clients, a Chinese couple.
The woman expressed her shock in the post, saying: “I was completely stunned. Why would a male sales representative take the shawl off my body without any explanation?”
When she tried to file a complaint, the process became complicated and delayed due to the poor English of the sales staff.
During the complaint process, she also felt ignored, especially when she witnessed the sales representative completing the sale of the shawl to the Chinese couple.
Eventually, the store manager, surnamed Kaneko, directed her to the second floor, where the manager, two sales staff, and a translator all knelt in a row to apologise.
Although their gesture appeared sincere, the manager justified giving the shawl to another customer after consulting the staff member who was supposedly assisting her.
Also, the manager noted that there were no surveillance cameras to verify the incident. However, the woman later debunked this claim by confirming with another Fendi store in Japan.
Later, she managed to file a complaint with Fendi’s headquarters and subsequently received an official email apology from the head of the shop, Koshimizu.
“We sincerely apologise for the actions of the sales representative who removed the shawl from you while you were still trying it on. We should have ensured your consent before taking the item to show another customer.
“Additionally, we failed to provide you with a clear and professional response when you asked about surveillance footage and customer service contact information,” Koshimizu said.
The incident attracted widespread attention after reports about it appeared in the media.
On social media, some netizens criticised her for being “too harsh” and “making a mountain out of a molehill”.
One comment read: “Actually, the staff were already getting you a new one. Why are you still complaining? They have the right to sell to other customers unless you want to buy two! Making them kneel is too much. Who do you think you are?”
On Oct 22, the woman responded with a follow-up post, insisting that she did not ask any members of staff to kneel, and her behaviour in the store was reasonable and calm.
She also said that her intention was never to fuel sentiments of “Japanese discrimination against Chinese,” adding that the shawl was actually sold to another Chinese couple, not Japanese customers.
“I am satisfied with how the store manager handled the situation,” she said.
“My complaint aimed to enhance staff training and the shop’s crisis management. Many asked what outcome I was seeking. It was simply to improve the shopping experience for future customers,” she wrote.
In 2023, Chinese tourists spent an estimated 286 billion yen (US$1.9 billion) on shopping in Japan, according to Statista.
Many mainland netizens viewed her voice as significant, potentially leading to improved treatment for Chinese travellers in Japan.
“Your story has received significant media attention, where people are criticising you and other mainland Chinese. It’s very strange. Why is it that a Chinese person mistreated abroad ends up being criticised by their people?” one person asked.
“Why are people saying you were too harsh? In reality, because you stood up and insisted on your complaint, the store took action.
“Now, any other Chinese customer who visits that store is likely to be treated with respect. If you had backed down, the next mistreated customer could have been any one of us,” said another person. - South China Morning Post
