Retail Outlet Taking Heat for Charging a ‘Just Looking’ Fee of $5

Whoa! here we go and you knew this was bound to happen at some point. The economy is tight, so tight in fact, that one store will now charge you five bucks if you don't buy anything. A specialty food store in Australia is charging a $5 'browsing' fee that will be applied to any purchases. If you don't buy anything, you're out 5-bucks - is this fair?

While I understand the reason behind it, I certainly don't agree with it. The sign says, "our prices are almost the same as the other stores," meaning, yeah, we are more expensive.

The whole idea is to give customers a good experience in your store, not threaten them the minute they walk in the front door. I don't know this to be a fact, ahem, but adult book stores have been doing this years - not that I would have any first-hand knowledge of this happening anywhere in the downtown Evansville area.

There is no way to stay competitive in the food business with this type of policy. Plus, if it's really a problem for the store in the first place, there is a reason people aren't spending there. Hello, pull your head out because you are clearly doing something wrong that is costing you business. Don't punish the customer for your business shortcomings. This will not work unless you're an adult book store...just sayin'.