Japan Planning Certificiation for Cellphone Retailers
Japan's government is reported to be planning a formal qualification for shop assistants who sell mobile phones to help deal with the overload of functions built into the modern handsets. The AFP news agency said that the it was planning to support a private-sector plan to launch an exam to license specialists, citing an official from the Communications Ministry.
"We hope they would be able to explain complicated functions and charge systems to consumers, much like wine sommeliers guiding you," a ministry official said.
The qualified staff would also be expected to advise parents on how to enable access controls on mobile phone being given to children so that they cannot use the built in browsers to visit inappropriate websites.
There are no plans - at the moment - to compel sales people to take the exam or restrict sales to being carried out by qualified staff.
Most, if not all retailers run formal training programs for their staff who sell mobile phones, but this seems to be the first time a government agency has sought to regulate the matter - and to focus less on selling skills and more on offering advice to customers about how to use a phone they already own.
On the web: AFP - via Yahoo
Posted to the site on 21st January 2008
