Upset Shopper Allegedly Bottles FamilyMart Clerk in Taichung

Taichung: A clerk at a FamilyMart in Taichung sustained cuts to his palm early Sunday after an irate customer allegedly smashed a bottle of red wine on the cashier counter.

According to Focus Taiwan, it received a report around 1 a.m. Sunday morning of a disturbance inside a FamilyMart convenience store located on Section 4 of Henan Road in the city’s Nantun District.

When officers arrived, they found a sole male clerk who sustained lacerations to his left palm from broken glass that had shattered from a smashed bottle of red wine on the cashier counter. The clerk told police in a statement that a customer had smashed the bottle on the counter because she was upset he would not bag it for her. The woman then left, but was later identified and tracked down by police, who have summoned her for questioning.

The case has been referred to the Taichung District Prosecutors Office, police said. On the incident, FamilyMart indicated that the company holds the safety of its employees to the utmost regard, adding that it has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to harm inflicted towards workers. The company said it will be working with the police to determine those responsible and has also provided the injured clerk with medical, psychological and legal assistance.

In response to whether or not FamilyMart clerks bag items for their customers, the convenience store chain said the main responsibility of clerks are to ring up its customers, adding that all other jobs could be decided at employees’ own discretion depending on the store.