pesonal/political

Follow-up to Metro: No kids under 1.2M in this Store?——Germans please answer from XIULU

I was about to forget the word ‘metro’ until recently I got to know another Chinese woman¡¯s experience of shopping at Metro Shanghai. Not only her six month old baby was not allowed to enter, Metro staff also shouted rudely at their baby and nanny.
I was very upset by cases like this. When a conflict happens between asymmetrical relationships, it always implies coercive power exercise. In this case, it seems to be a doomed failure to argue with a big joint ventures like Metro.
On the other hand, I do not feel it is right to give up one¡¯s voice only because it can not be heard. I still have to say what I need to say--—-whether Metro will listen is something I can not control and can not predict. I took faith in what Michel de Certeau believes in The Practise of Everyday Life, that the least significant unit of the world can still exercise its power. The housewife¡¯s shopping decision counts.

The voice here might not be heard. But the voice is uttered. And it is the action of uttering that matters.

This is my last email to them which I have not get a reply so far.

Dear XX,
Thank you very much for your email. I could have written to you in the first place if the contact information of Metro China is also made available on your Chinese website. Anyway thank you for your prompt handling of this complaint.
Although I agree with your Health and Safety reasons sounds much better than ¡°security¡± reason, I am afraid that it is still not convincing enough. I guess many other superstore/hyperstore have large trolleys, customers go there to make large purchases, large amounts of stock are also moved throughout the trading hours in most stores that I visited. It would be considerate to put up warning signs so that parents will be legally responsible for any consequences that maybe caused due to their negligence. But what Metro is doing now is inconsiderate, and perhaps even discriminatory for the kids under 1.2M, as well as their mothers (considering the high probability that many mothers need to shop alone with the kid).
And also if you have time to go around the shops personally, I think it would not be hard for you to see what I saw the other day: Kids around 5 or 6 running wildly, and even riding bikes in Metro Cash and Carry; Mothers with 3 mouths old was waiting for her husband outside in the parking lot (repeat, parking lot, not with in store, there was not even a bench for the poor mother). I can not imagine any Chinese woman, no matter how careless she might be, will have her 3-month-old crawling in your store and then accidentally bumping into a pile of stocks). The fact is that 1.2m as a borderline age does not give Metro any ¡°health and safty¡± guarantee, as you might have wished. It¡¯s not like an adult store which might assume any one above 18 as rational independent agent who can take responsiblity for their behavoirs, isn¡¯t it?
I am not interested to know if the rule is also enforced outside China or not. I do not need to know an American/German is also bearing with this rule to feel happier as a Chinese. A rule can not be respected only because it is accepted (in China or outside China). A rule can only be respected when it is reasonable. And in this case, I think this rule of not allowing a kid under 1.2 m to enter a superstore/hyperstore/cash-carry store failed to be reasonable at all.
But I am not trying to argue. I respect your right to feel this rule as genuinely reasonable. Aswhat I have suggested, this rule perhaps can be enforcedly with more concerns for younger kids and their mothers: waiting areas, Kids playground, toy cars, even chairs, whatever that might make the poor waiting mother and young kids feeling better. They are much more faithful and valuable customers than I am to Metro.
Please, respect them, and take care of them.
Good luck with your business in China.

Wang, Xiulu

Xiu Wang : 25 Dec 2006 15:53 |  Tags: Life |  Comments (0) |  Trackbacks (1) |  Report a problem