It’s Only JapaneseTouchup Paint
Posted by Craig at Feb 17th, 2005 in travel japan
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Japan has the best customer service in the world and this is one of the reasons I love it here. In Japan businesses have an expression, “The customer is God.”
The following is a prime example of how high the level of service is in Japan.
I needed touch up paint for my car so I went to the local Toyota dealership. I think it’s no big deal to do. Run in, buy a 6 dollar can of touchup paint and be done.
Well I pull into the dealer (Not the one I bought my car from) and go inside.
The following is the conversation I had.
Me: Hi, I need touchup paint for my Toyota.
Staff: Sure. Can you show me the car?
Me: Ok. It’s blue and it’s right out front.
Staff: Oh, is it that pretty blue one?
Me: Yes
Staff: Is it ok if I take your paper work from the glove box okakusama (valued customer)?
Me: Sure.
We go back into the dealership
Staff: I need to make a copy of your paper work. Please have a seat in this waiting room with a nice color TV and a very comfortable chair. How do you like
your coffee?
Me: A little milk please.
Staff: Here is your coffee. We are very sorry. We will have to order this paint for you. Please let us call you when it comes in next week. Is it ok?
Me: OK.
Staff: Oh, thank you so much Okakusama (valued costumer.)
I spent 20 minutes there and they knew, by looking at my paper work I bought my Toyota from another dealer. It did not matter I was only spending 6 dollars on the paint, a customer is a customer.
Now the last time I went home to America, I walked into a coffee shop for coffee and the staff looked at me like, “Not another costumer!” I felt like they were doing me a favor waiting on me.
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Yup. Getting treated like a nuisance, rather than a paying customer is the common way in America anymore. I’m always agast when I actually have someone who treats me like I was their only customer.
It’s Toyota. I went in Nashua, NH USA and it went like this:
Me: Hi, I need some touch up paint for my Matrix.
Counterdude: Sure, that one out there?
Me: Yup
Counterdude: What’s your name?
Me: My name.
Counterdude: Here you go. (handing me cute but no Japanese lettering little bottle of paint)
Me: How much is that?
Counterdude: The first one’s free.
Have a nice day.
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I returned from my second trip to Japan earlier this month. I love the way Japanese people treat customers. I left with such good feeling towards my fellow man which lasted til I changed planes at Chicago O’hare. Experiencing American rudeness after 10 days in Japan is truly culture shock.
I’m a Chinese born and raised in the Philippines. In one of my trips to the US I had a bad experience at a supermarket. The checkout queue was a bit long. The checkout lady called the man behind me to come ahead. It got me fuming and I asked her why he had to be served first. Her reason was the man only had a few items while I had a cartful of groceries and that would make him wait. Tell me, is that a valid reason? I couldn’t help but think my color had something to do with it.
Sometimes cashiers do encourage people with 1 or 2 items to jump the line, which I think is rude, unless there is a problem with your order. To do it to someone of a different ethnicity is asking for trouble.
When I was a hairdresser, I had the most loyal clients in the shop, because I treated them like royalty, while the rest of the girls treated them like peons.
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