Some Cities Outlawing C-Store Door Chimes

Beginning this summer, retailers in Taipei, Taiwan, will have to silence door entry chimes at night.

June 02, 2015

TAIPEI – The Taiwanese capital of Taipei will soon implement a new regulation banning door chimes at convenience stores from ringing at night, according to an announcement last week by the city's Department of Environmental Protection. Officials said the new rules could take effect as early as July.

The new regulation is meant to alleviate noise complaints in residential areas, although local news reports said that the city received only 12 complaints about the noise made by the stores' chimes in 2014, out of the city’s more than 1,475 convenience stores.

While most convenience store chains said they would comply with the new regulation, Family Mart, the second biggest c-store chain in Taiwan, expressed concern that quieting the chimes could affect their employees' safety late at night. Other major retailers like 7-Eleven, Hi-Life and OK Mart said they will comply with the regulation once they receive notification from the city.

According to Family Mart, night shift employees are not always at the counter and silencing the chimes would make it hard for them to know when customers are entering the store, resulting in potential safety concerns.

Under the proposed new rules, convenience stores could be fined NT$3,000 to NT$30,000 (approximately $100 to $1,000 U.S. dollars) if residents complain about noise from their door rings between 10 pm and 8 am. Convenience stores will have a three-month grace period, although it was not clear when that period will begin.

Through its reFresh initiative, NACS is addressing ongoing concerns about industry image — the very discrimination that these retailers in Taiwan are experiencing. By providing retailers with the tools to both evolve their in-store offer and to elevate their image, the reFresh initiative is currently focused on three distinct elements: creating tools for retailers to use to address NIMBY (not in my backyard) issues by educating stakeholders about the contributions convenience stores make to their communities, forming partnerships/relationships with credible nutrition- and community-focused groups to accelerate the evolution of in-store offers; and sharing credible facts/data to demonstrate the evolution of the industry and to correct an outdated reputation.

This report and other industry toolkits and resources can be found at www.nacsonline.com/refresh.

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