"Nintendo praised for new rules against customers who harass staff" 12 November 2022

Nintendo Co. has come in for praise after updating its customer service terms and conditions to allow it to refuse repairs and replacements to clients who are abusive to or make unreasonable requests of its staff.

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In it, Nintendo states it reserves the right to refuse to replace or repair products in cases including where a customer threatens, verbally disparages or intentionally keeps them on the phone for an extended period.

"We made the decision after concluding our customers would understand because of the reputation we have built of faithfully responding to them," a PR official at Nintendo said.

An official at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare praised the company's initiative, saying, "Some corporations began taking a resolute stance against the issue, which is effective."

But unlike sexual harassment or workplace bullying, there are no legal controls on harassment by customers in Japan. And while it was mentioned in the guidelines manual for companies compiled by the labour ministry in February, the text is non-binding.

Despite the lack of legal limits, companies in the services industry, where workers spend much more time interacting with customers, have taken progressive steps to prevent harassment from clients.

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