In Jiangsu Province, Huai’an City, a girl recently revealed that she was asked for a “fitting fee” by a salesperson at a shoe store she visited, causing a stir on Baidu’s trending searches on November 3.
A video posted online by a netizen from Huai’an City on October 26 showed a girl arguing with the store owner in a shoe store. One employee said, “If you don’t want to buy, then don’t try on. In our store, trying on more than two pairs incurs a fitting fee. If you don’t want to pay, then don’t delay us.”
The girl questioned, “Why didn’t you mention or display the fee in advance?” The salesperson responded, “There are many customers, I don’t have time to inform you in advance.”
A netizen claiming to be the person involved in the incident revealed that the shoe store is located in Qingjiangpu District of Huai’an City, and stated that the employee mentioned a fee of 10 RMB for trying on two pairs or more, adding that a complaint had been lodged through the hotline 12345.
A leaked screenshot online showed the store’s response to the “fitting fee”, stating that customers can try on two pairs for free, but if they try on five or more pairs without purchasing, a service fee will be charged based on the number of pairs tried on.
On November 2, Xiangxiang Morning News made multiple calls to the store but received no answer. The store’s short video account replied to the issue saying, “Service fees are only for individuals who are troublesome, disrespectful to the service staff, or disregard others’ labor. Due to understaffing, we may not be able to provide the service of trying on multiple pairs of shoes for every customer. We seek your understanding.”
After the news was released, it sparked attention and discussion among netizens.
Many netizens believe that if a business wants to charge a fee, they should inform customers in advance, which is fair and reasonable.
Netizen “七蕊零落小嘴1i” commented, “Charging a fee is acceptable, but there must be prior notice and public announcement!”
“瓜瓜吃不下了廣東東莞” said, “It’s fine to mention it in advance. If you choose not to go, that’s fine. But to bring it up afterward is just a money grab.”
“格調油炸果FM” from Weifang, Shandong, expressed, “As long as the store informs in advance and the customer agrees, there’s no problem. After all, customers can choose not to shop there. Without prior notice and directly charging money, that’s not acceptable.”
Netizen “叢夏侯波8C” sighed, “They don’t seem to want to do business anymore.”
“四月是五月” from Shenzhen, Guangdong, remarked, “They must be closing down.”
Some netizens pointed out that trying on shoes is necessary to determine if they are a good fit.
“COOlChat阿飛” said, “I voted for ‘Unreasonable. Trying on shoes is necessary to know if they fit.’ If you don’t allow trying on, how would one know if it’s what they need?”
“snyaowuhen1” also commented, “You have to try them on to know if they’re suitable before making a purchase.”
A netizen from Jinan, Shandong, “Shine超善緣,” joked, “It seems like I should be grateful that 4S stores don’t charge for test drives.”