King Chang (張欽) thought he had seen it all when someone drove up to his “honesty store” in a car, loaded up on goods, left a few coins and took off. But when a thief broke into one of the cash boxes, he was so overwhelmed that he closed the shop for a few weeks.
Opening in September last year in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義區), Tree Top Milk Honesty Fridge (樹梢上的奶瓶之誠實冰箱) has no staff watching the store. Customers simply take items they want and deposit money into a corresponding cash box.
So far, Chang says the majority of customers have followed the rules — but the few “Pinocchios,” as he calls them, have caused him to remain in debt.
Photo: Han Cheung, Taipei Times
Despite his losses, Chang reopened the store last month and is intent on continuing his “honesty movement,” which he hopes will inject some positivity into society.
“People tell me that Taiwan is not ready for this kind of store yet,” he says. “I ask them, ‘At what point will we be ready?’ If we don’t start right now, we will never be ready.”
SELLING HONESTY
Photo: Han Cheung, Taipei Times
Chang says that aside from promoting honesty, he also wanted to provide small vendors with a physical space so they wouldn’t have to sell their merchandise in the street or online.
“It’s like having a street fair in the store,” he says.
The store contains two fridges, which are divided into eight sections for different vendors, who use the space for free but donate a portion of their profits to Chang. There are also two shelves that contain various handicrafts. All items are either locally handmade or for charity, and the vendors can also set up a pop-up shop to personally hawk their wares.
Chang rotates the vendors every two weeks to keep things fresh, but notes that it is hard to convince people to join because of the risk involved.
Tien Chung (田中), who sells homemade soy milk, says that he does most of his business online, and losing a few bottles at the honesty store will not affect his profits much.
“I came fully aware of the risks,” he says. “I like the concept of the store. Also, my products will get more exposure.”
Selina Lin (林莎莉), who sells French pastries and other delicacies, sees it as a “test of humanity.”
“Taipei is an advanced city, and people should have some public morality,” she says. “If we are afraid of [our products being stolen], we would not be here.”
DEALING WITH PINOCCHIOS
Cheng Tzu-leong (鄭自隆), advertising professor at National Chengchi University (政治大學) says that honesty stores can be seen as a measuring stick to a society’s progress. He points out that one could sell expensive merchandise in one city without problems, while in another, people will make off with the cheapest items.
For Taiwan, Cheng believes that honesty stores will only be profitable if the prices are no higher than NT$20.
“People here probably wouldn’t sacrifice their morals to steal something that cheap,” he says. “But try putting something that’s NT$200. I’m sure many won’t be able to resist.”
After several months of selling products that are way higher than NT$20, Chang has mixed feelings. On one hand, the number of honest people is much higher than he had expected. On the other hand, he found that even just a small number of Pinocchios can seriously affect business.
“They say good always triumphs over evil, but that does not seem to be the case here,” he says.
Chang says the Pinocchios are mostly regular people between 20 and 40 years old. Most have been reported to him by other customers.
He is still thinking of how to deal with the thieves. He’s confronted some of them, but doesn’t want to call the police just yet. He will start posting warning signs in the store, and perhaps add photos of repeat offenders.
“I opened this store to make society more harmonious,” he says. “There’s so much antagonism these days, and I don’t want to add to it. Instead, I hope that they do some soul searching after being warned and repent.”
Chang understands that there’s no way to completely eradicate the dishonest customers. But looking ahead, he also thinks the store is a good educational opportunity for the next generation.
“I’ve seen parents bring their kids in, tell them what honesty means and hoist them up so they can insert the coins into the box,” he says.
He’s also received a message from another store who decided to follow his model after reading a news report.
“I was very happy to hear that because if there are more stores like this in Taipei, our moral character will slowly but surely improve.”
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