It's a situation many of us can relate to. Going to a clothes store and feeling as if the sales clerk won't leave you alone. Or going to a restaurant where the waiter is too chatty for comfort. Sometimes, you just want to enjoy some privacy and be left alone. It can be a fine line to negotiate. Some customers love opportunities to chat and others want their interactions to be cut and dry.

Unwelcome communication?

This topic recently came up on Japanese social media after Vtuber and creator Machinery Tomoko (@barzam154) posted (and subsequently deleted) a Tweet relating her experience at a neighborhood coffee shop:

"There's a nice privately-operated coffee shop just about 5 minutes from where I live. The prices aren't too expensive and I was thinking it looked good, but when it was time to ring up my bill, the owner said: 'This is your first time, right? I look forward to [serving you] again.' I thought to myself: 'I don't ever want to come back to this shop.' It's so regrettable... Such a pity..."

To clarify her position, she continued with the following two Tweets:


The original tweet had garnered over 15,000 likes and over 9,200 retweets, inspiring an entry on the Twitter news aggregation site Togetter, which is currently ranked at the top of their trending entries list and already has 115,000 views at the time of writing.

Empathetic comments

Many of the initial commenters empathized with Tomoko Machinery, revealing that they had similar encounters and could relate to her sentiments:

However, there's a difference between a waiter continually interrupting your meal or hovering nearby and the interactions described in these posts. So what was it that caused these posters such discomfort?

One commenter suggested that it was the realization that shop staff have become aware of them as private individuals.

Although it isn't unique to Japan, many people are very sensitive about private information. This, combined with an aversion to staff members who "say things beyond what is necessary," can explain this sentiment.

Different folks, different strokes

Of course, not all those who commented valued their privacy to this extent.

By - Ben K.