Closing down Norwich shop urges customers to be 'nice' Published duration 31 October 2015

image caption One of the signs in the Blott shop window

Customers of a stationery shop which is due to close in a matter of days have been asked not to "mess up the shelves" or "have a go" at staff.

Blott is due to close its store at the intu Chapelfield shopping centre in Norwich on 1 November.

"Please show respect for the staff still working here," one sign read.

Owner Tinc Limited said it hoped the sign would encourage those who wanted to air their feelings on the closure to contact head office.

image caption Inside the Blott store which is closing

Customers said they were disappointed to see the store closing.

Kayley Green, 14, from Norwich, who was shopping with her mother, said the signs should not be necessary.

"You're supposed to respect people anyway," she said.

Wendy Ruffles, from Beccles, Suffolk, said: "You don't know how hard it will be for them to find another job so you should be nice."

The company would not comment on what prompted it to put the sign up.

In a statement, Tinc Limited said the company was "mindful that the passion of our staff for the Blott brand and products is matched only by the passion shown by many of our customers".

"We can only hope that this sign on the front window of our Norwich store will empower people to have the discussion with those of us who had to take this difficult decision, rather than the store colleagues who are also affected by it," it said.

The company, which has seven stores and started trading in 2011, said the Norwich branch was being closed as part of a "repositioning" of its business.