7-Eleven Kiosk Kochi Station — Local services in Kochi

I went here with one of my friends from India. One of the sales staff who’s name began with a は started following us around.

We had been looking at the souvenirs section. I thought maybe he was just ready to be overly helpful but then he followed us outside and watched us leave, standing about 3 meters away from the store entrance to do so.

I glanced back and we were about 10 meters away and he was still there with his arms crossed behind his back and looking around like he wasn’t doing anything and smiling proudly. I asked him 「大丈夫ですか？」in Japanese and he just looked away and said “I’m waiting for customers,” as two Japanese women walked in the store behind him. I said 「お客さん来た」and we left.

It has bothered me for hours and it was incredibly rude to my friend and I. My friend has experienced similar discrimination before but this was my first time seeing it in action. It has left a bad taste in my mouth about the store, the city, and the prefecture. This kind of 1 minute interaction can leave a lasting negative impression.

I hope that 7-Eleven will train their staff to better represent their company. I wish I had gotten a better look at his name tag to report him but I didn’t.

I would not recommend...

Not the smallest 7-11 but not too big either. They do carry some local souvenir products (mostly snacks and cakes) if you are looking for something if the souvenir shop in the station is...

This small convenience store easily accessible for travelers but has limited supply and is best for picking up...