Nintendo Co. Japan has announced on its official website that it will update its product repair service/warranty rules to involve terms and regulations regarding customer harassment. Per the October 19 update, Nintendo will now refuse to accept repairs if customer misbehavior exceeds normal standards accepted by society, and the company may have to take appropriate legal measures as well depending on the severity of the misconduct.
The main content of the new customer harassment section lists multiple ways of conduct that are sure to revoke a customer's request for a repair. Nintendo has also warned about exceeding levels of malicious acts that will warrant reporting to the police or other appropriate authorities. The acts include (but are not limited to) intimidation, threats, insults, baseless demands for an apology or requests for free repairs, repetitive requests for long periods of time, and slander on social media websites.
In addition, it was determined that if there is a suspicion of repair applications for commercial purposes, such as multiple repair applications for multiple products within a short period of time, it will also count towards actions that may cause the possibility of refusing repairs. A Nintendo representative has spoken to FNN Prime Online, a Japanese news outlet, about the purpose of adding this new section, saying that the company's mission is to bring smiles to the faces of everyone involved in the company, including customers, employees, and developers, and doing so is naturally part of its mission to satisfy its employees.
Digital+ has reported that the Japanese online community has been very supportive of this decision, giving the company kudos and pleading for other companies to take similar measures. The clause about social media harassment in particular has earned the praise of many Japanese people, including Kansai University social psychology professor Hiromi Ikeuchi, an expert in customer psychology. As reported by Kyodo News, Ikeuchi said that social media harassment in various industries is more visible than other kinds of harassment and can, therefore, more easily influence potential customers' attitudes.
A recent paper by Ikeuchi — published in the Japanese Journal of Social Psychology — directly tackles this topic. The paper is titled "The psychological mechanism of complaining behavior," and it reflects how consumer complaints and claims have become a major social issue in Japan. The reasons behind such acts were gathered from a survey and summed up in three main points: self-esteem and self-control levels, attitude towards complaining behavior, and the differences between customer expectations and performance of products. All of this, he says, leads toward a dangerous cathartic effect that is closely tied to violence against taking negative feedback, and it requires immediate intervention from companies and organizations.