nana :
Japanese person here. First, yes, using the convenience store’s basket before transferring your items into a reusable bag is completely normal in Japan, especially when you’re being checked out by a cashier. It makes scanning the items easier and keeps the checkout process moving. If the clerk wanted you to use the basket first, he could have simply explained that.
But his attitude? There is absolutely no excuse for that.
If you’re working in customer service, you don’t get to take your irritation out on customers. If a customer doesn’t know the store’s preferred procedure, you explain it. You don’t constantly “tch,” act visibly annoyed, or make them feel like they’ve done something terrible. That isn’t “Japanese customer service.” That’s just plain rudeness.
Being Japanese does not automatically make someone polite, and one rude clerk certainly does not represent Japanese people as a whole. He was wrong, and he should be held responsible for how he treated you.
You were a customer. You deserved basic patience, courtesy, and respect—not someone making their frustration your problem over something that could have been explained in a few seconds.
I’m genuinely sorry that this was one of your experiences in Japan. Please don’t let one incredibly rude employee convince you that all Japanese people will treat you that way. They won’t. I sincerely hope your next experience in Japan is much better, because you absolutely did not deserve to be treated like that. 🫶
2026-09-11 06:23:18