Hello everyone.
Today, I’d like to share a couple of stories about some of the most unusual convenience store workers I’ve ever met.
I’ve been involved in convenience store work for nearly 30 years, so naturally, I’ve worked with many different kinds of people.
Most of them were perfectly ordinary employees who simply came to work and did their jobs.
But once in a very long while, you meet someone you never forget.
Here are two examples.
1. Mr. A and the Late-Night Toilet
Mr. A was a man in his early twenties.
At the time, the convenience store where he worked did not allow customers to use the toilet after 10 p.m. This rule had been introduced following guidance from the local police.
One night, a somewhat intimidating-looking man came into the store and asked to use the toilet.
Normally, an employee would simply apologize and explain that the toilet was unavailable after 10 p.m.
But Mr. A decided to give a rather unusual explanation.
He told the customer:
“At night, we can only let powerful people use the toilet. For example, the Prime Minister.”
Why did he say that?
I have absolutely no idea.
As you might imagine, the customer became furious.
Mr. A then received a very long lecture from the customer—apparently lasting almost an hour.
But amazingly, that wasn’t his only memorable toilet incident.
On another occasion, a customer asked to use the toilet after 10 p.m. Again, Mr. A refused, as required by the store’s rule.
The frustrated customer then said something like:
“So what am I supposed to do? Do it right here?”
Convenience store workers occasionally hear remarks like this from angry customers.
Normally, an employee would apologize again and explain that the rule had been decided by the store or introduced for security reasons.
Mr. A had another idea.
He disappeared for a moment.
Then he came back carrying a bucket.
“Here you go!”
Unsurprisingly, the customer was furious.
The strange thing was that Mr. A wasn’t a lazy employee. In fact, he worked quite hard.
For some reason, however, his customer service instincts occasionally took him in directions that nobody else could possibly predict.
2. Mr. B Crossed the Line
The second story is very different.
Unlike Mr. A’s stories, this one isn’t funny.
Mr. B was a man in his fifties. Because of financial difficulties, he had a daytime job and also worked the night shift at the convenience store about three times a week.
His work performance was fairly average, but there was one thing he was particularly good at: talking to customers.
Even though he was new to convenience store work, he quickly became friendly with many regular customers.
Unfortunately, one incident went far beyond inappropriate conversation.
One day, he reached across the counter and touched a young female customer’s chest.
The woman appeared shocked and confused and left the store.
Later, her boyfriend came to the store. The matter was eventually settled privately between the people involved.
To be clear, Mr. B’s behavior was completely unacceptable.
Being friendly with customers can be an important part of good customer service. Some regular customers enjoy having a short conversation with familiar staff members.
But friendliness does not mean that normal boundaries disappear.
There are obvious lines that an employee must never cross, and physical contact of this kind is unquestionably one of them.
These Are Extremely Rare Cases
After reading these stories, I want to emphasize something important.
These incidents are not normal at Japanese convenience stores.
I’ve spent nearly 30 years in and around the convenience store business, and even I have encountered cases this extreme only a handful of times.
Thousands of employees work at convenience stores across Japan every day without anything remotely like this happening.
In other words, if you visit a convenience store during your trip to Japan, you are extremely unlikely to meet someone like Mr. A or Mr. B.
Still, after working in convenience stores for so many years, I’ve accumulated quite a collection of unusual stories.
Some are funny.
Some are difficult to understand.
And some, like Mr. B’s story, are simply examples of what an employee should never do.
And believe me, these aren’t the only unforgettable convenience store workers I’ve met.
Maybe I’ll introduce you to a few more in the future.
Thanks for reading!
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