Customer Service

Today we write a reveal all on Japanese customer service.

I just watched a story on the news about how foreigners all feel that Japanese customer service is amazing, though the truth is, it really isn't. Saying that customer service in Japan is like saying the automatic car wash has great customer service. In Japan, most customer service positions have a lot of training and they are meticulous about the small things. The customer service that people feel is so great is really just very good training and very extensive rules about every aspect of their customer service. I'll admit, it is really really good if you stay within their instruction manual and within the hours of operation. Here's where it goes bad:

Let's say you're on a diet or have some kind of allergies and you go to a restaurant. Good luck! If it's not on the menu, it's almost impossible to get a special order. At McDonald's I wanted mustard instead of mayonnaise on my chicken sandwich. The clerk's head looked like it was going to explode and they had to get a manager to tell me they couldn't do that. I ended up scraping it off... In America, my experience has always been that they try to do what you want. If I ask for a no sauce burger at McDonald's in America, they probably won't even bat an eye and give it to me. I was on the phone this weekend talking to Southwest (while I disagree with what they did, I appreciate it) and the lady contacted her manager to find an open seat on a flight even though the website said they are all filled. The reason why I disagree is: if the flight is filled, it should be filled. There shouldn't be any magic seats available.

If you're lucky to make it within the hours of operation -- which are very brief -- then great! But let's go over the fun in Japan. Banks are open 9-4or5  on weekdays with a 1hour lunch. Bank call centers are open for the SAME PERIOD OF TIME. If you don't bring your stamp, you can't access your account. I don't care if you brought every form of photo ID and 3 different samples of DNA confirming it's you, no stamp, no money. But, you can deposit into your account with just the account number.

To sum up, service is Japan is great, but it's only great because of extensive training and rules, everyone has a kind of "if a then b" training. If you want something just a little outside the normal scope or you can't make it during hours of operation (i.e. you are an employee and you need to go to the bank) It's quite terrible. There is no "I'll try" or "I'll ask my manger if they can do it" there's "I can't" or "My manager will tell you why I can't do it".

see you space cowboys