Nintendo Of Japan Will Now Refuse To Repair Your Broken Console If You're A Jerk
Anger issues will now get you nowhere when seeking customer service from Nintendo of Japan, according to an October 19 update to the company's Repair Service Regulations page. The new "About customer harassment" section outlines the new metric of unacceptable behavior as: Intimidation and threats, insults, privacy infringement, outrageous service requests such as free (non-warrantied) repairs, slanderous remarks on the internet or social media, harassing phone representatives with repeated complaints and requests, and unreasonably demanding apology from or disciplinary action of an employee.
Being such a disagreeable customer will, in the least, give Nintendo the right to refuse service or repairs. At the worst, if there's severely malicious behavior, Nintendo will "take appropriate measures," including the involvement of law enforcement and legal counsel.
According to a report in The Japan Times, Nintendo's policy update does what the legal system currently does not do: offer service employees legal protection against harassment from customers or the public. Other Japanese companies took proactive stances against patron harassment in recent years, too, the Times said, despite the lacking support in the law.
The policy update draws praise from the government and the public
Nintendo's stance against abusive customers is a hugely positive move, many say. Hiromi Ikeuchi, a social psychology professor at Japan's Kansai University, said in The Japan Times that the Kyoto-based console manufacturer's decision is well-timed. Social media has pulled back the curtain on the harassment that customer-forward industries are often exposed to, and Nintendo has "successfully kept with the times by making a decision that society was ready to accept," Ikeuchi said.
The nation's Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare developed anti-customer-harassment guidelines in a recent company manual, but those guidelines are not legally binding, The Times reported. The ministry applauded Nintendo's update, stating that this sort of corporate action against customer-to-employee abuse is "effective."
When word of Nintendo Japan's update reached social media users, it was met with more praise. "Regular employees shouldn't have to deal with strangers screaming and yelling at them, or calling them names," commented one Reddit user. "Good on Nintendo for protecting their people," another added on the same post.
There does not seem to be any word on whether other branches of Nintendo will adopt the same policy update.