UK airport shop attacked over 'unfair' Chinese policy

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Europe

World Duty Free Shop (WDF) at London Heathrow Airport says it has "corrected" an eligibility rule for a voucher scheme that had brought claims of discriminatory treatment from Chinese travelers.

The company said on its official Weibo account on Monday that it had investigated the complaints with speed and decided that the VIP voucher scheme would be applied to passengers flying to any destination.

But that has not assuaged some Chinese netizens who have called for an international apology.

Social media users in the country had expressed outrage that Heathrow Airport Terminal 2 had reportedly raised the minimum purchase price for customers from China to enjoy discounts.

Chinese reportedly needed to spend 1,000 pounds (1,400 US dollars) to receive a 20 percent discount on the next purchase, four times that of other nationalities (around 350 US dollars).

The issue first came to light on Saturday via a Weibo user, @Renjiannaipao, whose account was then shared by an online magazine called @HereInUK on Weibo and instant messaging app WeChat.

@Renjiannaipao said that as a part-time salesman at World Duty Free shop, he witnessed how Chinese tourists were treated unfairly, recounting what happened with a tourist who bought items worth over 300 pounds.

World Duty Free Shop made an announcement on its official Weibo account. /Photo via Weibo

The assistant accompanied the unnamed Chinese tourist to the counter, but the cashier refused to provide the client with a VIP voucher, arguing that Chinese customers need to spend 1,000 pounds to receive the 20 percent discount.

The Weibo user said he had no clue that Chinese were singled out, and when he complained was told by the store manager that the policy was applied only to shoppers who were departing to China.

Social media users have called for a more detailed explanation of the company's voucher policy in wake of the statement.

A Weibo user said the duty-free shop should state a clear minimum purchase price for discounts on the voucher instead of raising the purchase price for Chinese tourists. Another Weibo user asked whether the statement would be published on non-Chinese platforms as well, such as Facebook and Twitter, regarding the unfair treatment.

@Renjiannaipao's testimony had received more than 75,000 shares on Weibo, and over 100,000 views on WeChat with Chinese users sharing similar experiences.

The 20-percent discount VIP vouchers. /Photo via Wechat

"I shopped [at World Duty Free] at Terminal 2 and I was told I should spend 450 pounds to be eligible for the voucher. It seems that the voucher follows seasonal pricing," @Yunxiaoyunyaohaohaodushu commented on Weibo.

@HereInUK on Sunday approached the shop for clarification regarding the alleged unfair policy and discount criteria.

On Monday, the magazine announced on its WeChat account that the shop said the VIP voucher is now applied to all customers no matter their destination, but added that no answer was provided to the list of questions @HereInUK sent.

@HereInUK contacted the shop and published a copy of the e-mail it sent. /Photo via Wechat

Over 130 million Chinese tourists traveled abroad in 2017, a seven-percent increase from a year earlier. According to the China Tourism Academy, outbound Chinese tourists spent 261 billion US dollars in 2016.

Aware of the purchasing power of Chinese holidaymakers, international brands have introduced mobile payments such as WeChat Pay and Alipay – already a big hit in China.

Still, stories about discriminatory incidents and unpleasant experiences surface every now and then.

A Chinese national called @MelbourneGuest on Weibo recalled on Monday his working experience at a duty-free shop in Melbourne where his managers asked him not to tell shoppers that they can get vouchers for some purchases, and cited a local customer as saying, “This is way too expensive. These are not tax-free items. I can buy [these items] for half the price from other shops."