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customer service (Page 7)
For chivalry, Japanese man tells female store clerk “I aint got nothing to say to you!”
- Casey Baseel
May 12, 2015 - Tweet
Japan has a reputation for outstanding customer service, and as such you’ll usually find courtesy and pleasantness on both sides of retail transactions. As polite as clerks are, most shoppers are just as respectful towards the hard-working individuals who’re ringing their purchases up.
Still, not every customer is a joy to deal with, and one young women working at a convenience store thought she was encountering an extremely rude male customer who refused to be served by her. As it turns out, though, the man she’d mistaken for a chauvinist was simply following his own particular code of chivalry.
Kansai International: The airport that’s never lost a passenger’s bag
- Fran W
Apr 14, 2015
One of the many things we love about Japan is its amazing customer service, from intelligent packing to omnipresent station attendants who pop out of the walls to help you.
So we weren’t too surprised to hear that an airport in Japan has been judged to be the best airport in the world for baggage handling. And the details of the top-notch service that helped Kansai International Airport clinch the title are really quite impressive. For starters, the Osaka airport hasn’t lost a single item of luggage in over 20 years.
Survey ranks Japan’s most and least welcoming restaurants of 2014
- Master Blaster
Oct 4, 2014
The reputation of Japanese customer service speaks for itself, but among the various businesses in the country certain establishments stand out even more for making patrons feel at home. Recently, President Magazine conducted a survey of over 1,000 men and women to find out which eating and drinking establishments made this grade.
Restaurants are often ranked in terms of delicious food, variety, and value, but this time we’re going to see which eateries people feel most comfortable going into and which ones have all the charm and ambiance of a prison chow hall.
- Japan
- (customer service • food • ranking • restaurants)
Last night, a fast food delivery guy gave me 10 yen and it made my day
- Philip Kendall
Aug 18, 2014
After living here for any decent length of time, it’s easy to grow tired of the seemingly endless slew of blogs either singing Japan’s praises or celebrating its weirdness. But the thing is, there’s a reason so many of them exist. While many of the claims bloggers in Japan make are somewhat exaggerated or simply rehashes of the same experiences foreigners arriving in the country decades earlier had, there are nevertheless times when living in Japan can make you realise that the country is actually quite special.
Just last night, for example, I found myself the recipient of a tiny but powerful gesture that made me feel – after more than eight years of living here – that Japan is pretty damn cool sometimes.
Last night, dear reader, a fast food company gave me 10 yen. That’s about US$0.09.
- Japan
- (culture • customer service • food • Mos Burger)
Japanese people reflect on examples of irritating, excess customer services in Japan
- Krista Rogers
Aug 14, 2014
Unless you grew up in Japan, you may be baffled by the emphasis that Japanese employees place on customer service. Customers in Japan are treated as royalty from every possible angle, even if they’re just out buying a few pieces of fried chicken at the local convenience store. If you’re not used to it, you may find the special treatment to be endearing, but after a while you may come to think of all the excess services as unnecessary and annoying.
It turns out that some Japanese people feel the same way about their own country’s customs regarding customer service. Have you ever felt the same about any of the following situations?
- Japan
- (annoying • customer service • excess • polite • restaurants • stores • survey)
Akihabara’s otaku: Fans of anime, idols, and… eating bananas on the toilet?
- Philip Kendall
Dec 6, 2013
Tokyo’s Akihabara is known the world over as a haven for all things otaku. Whatever your nerdy penchant, be it J-pop princesses, moe-style hug pillows or plastic Gundam models, you’re sure to find what you’re looking for in one of the thousands of outlets surrounding the station, and the enormous UDX complex, which is home to dozens of shops, restaurants and event spaces, is arguably the most sophisticated nerd-catering venue ever built.
Like many smarter establishments, UDX’s public restrooms are kept spick-and-span pretty much all of the time, and politely worded signs ask patrons to refrain from certain types of behaviour while making use of the facilities. Until today, though, we’d never imagined that an entertainment complex would have to ask visitors not to block up their toilets with banana peels…
- Japan
- (customer service • health and safety • signs • wtf)
【Thursday Throwback】Best Japanese customer service
- Michelle Lynn Dinh
Dec 5, 2013
I am crazy about Calbee Lightly Salted Potato Chips. I find its balance of saltiness and crispy texture to be really addictive. Some of my friends are fans of other chip brands, but I have stuck to Calbee’s for quite a long time.
The other day, I was enjoying a bag of chips when I happened to feel something like a hair in my mouth. I spat it out and saw something that looked like a thread attached to a chip. There was little doubt that what I saw was an accidental artifact of the production process.
- Japan
- (business • Calbee • customer service)
The happiest airline story ever: Man and smartphone reunited by awesome customer service
- Master Blaster
Oct 31, 2013
Airports and airlines frequently get a bad rap. The internet alone has more complaints about air travel than and episode of Evening at the Improv. However, buried deep among the stories of security gropings, crushed luggage and delayed flights lie some uplifting stories to restore your faith in humanity.
A while back we reported on JAL’s kind move to provide specialized guitar cases free of charge. That’s swell, but this story about what happened to our reporter Kuzo on his return flight on ANA after eating some dancing squid will brighten your day and remind you what customer service is all about.
- Japan
- (ANA • customer service • Kuzo • travel)
Secret Walls in the Subway: Japanese Customer Service at its Best
- Michelle Lynn Dinh
Mar 8, 2013
Japan has a way with customer service. From elevator ladies whose only job is to push the floor buttons to shop keepers who greet every patron with a hearty I rasshaimase (Welcome!), there’s no shortage of examples of great service. One such example has crept up from the depths of the subway to surprise and delight the people of the Internet: secret walls!
Read More
Another Reason Why I Love Japan: You Get a Block of Dry Ice When Ordering Ice Cream To-Go
- Michelle Lynn Dinh
Feb 16, 2013
Japan has some of the best customer service in the world. We recently ran a story about a convenience store worker who packed our writer’s purchase so that the cold and hot drinks wouldn’t touch. This is just one of the many examples of the attention to detail that is given by workers in Japan. Sure, sometimes you land up having to wait five minutes at the department store while the clerk wraps every individual item (and the line of people behind you slowly creeps past the front doors), but this level of service is nothing short of amazing.
On my most recent visit to Baskin Robbins (it’s simply known as “31 Ice Cream” in Japan), I was shocked by the level of service I received after ordering a single cup of ice cream to-go. Most astonishing was the small block of dry ice that was placed on top of the ice cream to prevent it from melting on the way home.
- Japan
- (31 Ice Cream • Baskin Robbins • customer service • Dry Ice • ice cream • You Me and a Tanuki)
Seven Services That Don’t Make Sense to Foreigners in Japan
- Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jan 9, 2013
Japanese website Netallica recently conducted a survey of foreigners, asking them to name services and jobs in Japan that leave them in a state of bewilderment.
Take a look at the top seven services that make foreigners in Japan pause and exclaim, “What the heck?!”
Fast Food Customer Service in Japan Vs. Fast Food Customers in America: Two Videos Spark Discussion on Japanese Net
- Steven
Sep 3, 2012
The fast food experience in Japan is much different that it is in America.
In Japan, step into any fast food restaurant and you are treated with the kind of service you see in commercials. Polite and attentive staff work in seemingly perfect unison to get customers their meal as quickly as possible, all while maintaining a smile on their face.
In America, the reality isn’t so golden. Fast food staff are often uninspired and lack enthusiasm and, perhaps as one reason for that, the customers can be loud, obtrusive and sometimes even violent.
At least, this is the image people are getting from two YouTube videos that have been making the rounds in the Japanese net since this weekend.
- Internet, Japan, USA
- (cheesburger • customer service • fast food • fight • McDonald's • video • YouTube)
How Lens Maker Sigma Saved My Life
- Jessica
Feb 10, 2012
Among lens makers, Sigma is a brand famous the world over. They’ve been in the news recently for their February 8th announcement of the 46 megapixel DP1 Merrill and DP2 Merril models, but this article is actually about an experience I had with them late last year. Read More
- Japan
- (customer service • shopping • Sigma • technology)
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MOST POPULAR
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Today
Tokyo cracks down on Airbnb-style rentals with new laws limiting operator days and more
America’s first-ever permanent One Piece store is now open [Photos]
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Pokémon card game’s expansion features art from Fist of the North Star creator
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Weekly
Starbucks Japan unveils new winter drinkware collection with limited-edition Stanley cups
Pachinko parlor operator arrested for not obscuring the act of gambling well enough
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Japan ends tax-free shopping system for foreign tourists, new refund request system now in effect
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Monthly
Pokémon Company announces first-ever permanent Pokémon store to open outside Asia
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Chainsaw robots helping keep trains running safely in east Japan [Video]
New Studio Ghibli anime gets extended run at the only cinema in Japan where it’s being shown
Osaka’s famous Glico Running Man will be removed and replaced with a new-look sign
Studio Ghibli creates illustrated Kyoto sightseeing map, available at any 7-Eleven Japan store
Yearly
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
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Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
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Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
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