The incident happened again but this time it is my boyfriend’s story. He recently visited Taiwan. He had an unpleasant experience at a convenience store involving the use of a Touch ‘n Go card. As a tourist unfamiliar with the local payment systems, he expected some basic assistance from the cashier. However, the staff showed no willingness to explain how the Touch ‘n Go card worked. He politely asked how to check the card balance but instead of offering help, the cashier told him to “just wait” without further explanation. The tone was impatient and he felt like he was being a bother for simply asking a question.
He finally managed to reload the card at the counter, thinking he could use the topped-up amount immediately for his purchase. To my surprise, after the reload was completed, the cashier did not deduct the newly added amount from the card. Instead, he insisted that the payment could not go through and moved on to serve the next customer. There was no effort to check or explain what went wrong with the transaction. He was left confused and frustrated, especially since the money had already been added to the card.
This experience left a sour impression of the service attitude at that convenience store. As a visitor, he understands language barriers can be a challenge but basic customer service, especially in popular tourist areas. They should include patience and a willingness to help. Tourists rely on such services to navigate unfamiliar systems and small gestures of kindness can make a big difference. He hopes that stores serving international customers can provide better support and training to their staff to ensure that all customers, local or foreign, feel welcome and assisted. He told me what happened during his visits to Taiwan and I felt like it was a horrible experience. I also felt Taiwanese are not polite and impatient.
Serene Lau (serenelauhn@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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