$5 'Just Looking' Fee? Store Charges Potential Customers for 'Just Looking' (PHOTO)
A $5 "just looking" fee has been applied by one store to customers who look but then refuse to buy items, stunning and outraging many consumers, according to reports.
A photo was taken by a would-be customer of the sign put up by the store informing its potential customers of the charge.
That photo was later posted on Reddit and has since led to huge criticism of the Australian store where the fee had been imposed.
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The notice told shoppers that they were not welcome to just browse inside the store and check out their prices if they were not willing to buy anything.
It has since been reported that the store managers had gotten short-tempered with many customers who had checked out the prices of the specialty food inside the store and then compared the prices to the same items online, where they could buy it cheaper.
Refusing to allow themselves to be a reference point for the prices of their specialty products, the store put up the notice informing customers of the $5 "just looking" fee.
The sign stated: "As of the first of February, this store will be charging people a $5 fee per person for 'just looking.'
"The $5 fee will be deducted when goods are purchased.
"Why has this come about?
"There has been high volume of people who use this store as a reference and then purchase goods elsewhere. These people are unaware our prices are almost the same as the other stores plus we have products simply not available anywhere else.
"This policy is line with many other clothing, shoe and electronic stores who are also facing the same issue.
"Management"
The notice has caught a lot of attention online, with many criticizing the owners.
The Consumerist writer, Chris Morran, has said that if customers were not purchasing the items from the store it meant there was something wrong with the store: "If this store's prices are truly the best, then maybe it should be offering a price-match guarantee. If it truly offers products that aren't available elsewhere, then how are these showrooming shoppers buying these items from someone else?"
