What do you think about the service level in Japan? (Talk about your personal experiences)?

Question

Do share your views about the level of service in Japan and relate your personal experiences :D

Answer 1

they are helpful, very very helpful, but same as every where, some time some place, they got some of their dirty trick.
for example,
food's set in some restaurant, i have seen (quite a number of time) the menu said set for 2 people, then show you a list of food they will serve you, then price.
by general thinking, i would think that, the food's set is good for 2 people, then the price indicated on the menu is the price we will have to pay.
but! it wrong! it mean the set is for 2 people, (if you are one person, you can not order, if you have 3 people you can order only 1 set.)
and then the tricky is the price, the price on the menu is for one person price, so when you pay, you have to pay X2 from the price on the menu.

this is also confuse to some of Japaneses too! my j-friend said, why don't they just put the full price on the menu?
they can tell you that it is for 2 people, but why they don't tell you the 2 people price!
that kinda dirty.

a straightforward restaurant will explain that to you before you order, but their is also a lot of place won't .

anyway over all, it is not bad.

Answer 2

Okay, they hate their jobs. its long hours and boring,
but when you walk in the store they will shout out 'welcome' and when you leave will say 'thank you' even if you have just dropped in to use the toilet at the local combini. They make the effort.
They put on a smile when they see you but it drops as soon as one of you look away. They are the negative things.
Positive things? there are heaps.
They are really customer service related. Like all sales people I guess they will focus on you when you are there, very friendly.

There is a whole issue with foreigners where gaijin might be ignored and not treated as well as other customers (Japanese locals) but I never had an issue with this. (I was a local and speak Japanese)

coming back from Japan I found all the shop people to be snobs who ignore you, you walk into their store and think "Hello, did you not see me?" and I want to walk out because I feel so ignored.
They are just a few positives of Japans service level, and experience, sorry if its not much help, it would be an essay if I got too carried away.

Answer 3

Service level is superb but sometimes a bit robotic.
I think the best thing about the customer service in Japan is that it's consistent. For example if you go to a family restaurant like Denny's, you've basically seen them all. The level of service (Or at least the amount of effort they put into it) is the same at whichever Denny's you go to (whether it's Tokyo or Chiba or Saitama etc...) because it's corporate policy. They have handbooks and manuals to follow.
They are always ready with smiles and the quality of food will come out 99% of the time the same. (Unless you're very unlucky)
So you're never worried.
But, not that I want bad service, but sometimes the experience does get boring and redundant.

A notable experience I had in Japan with customer service would be with a McDonald's in Atsugi area in Kanagawa Pref. Back when I was in college, my friends and I we went out to a McDonald's one evening and ordered our meals via the drive through. There was like 5 of us and we ordered a heap load. We never checked the meals because in Japan they rarely get your orders wrong and went back to my friends house to chow. (This was like a 10 min drive) Once we got ready to eat, we noticed that they forgot to give us our fries. We looked up the local phone book and found the number of the McDs we went to and filed a complaint. They asked for our address and we figured they were gonna send out free coupons or something. We were annoyed but acted very polite over the phone and was what you'd call a low maintenance complaint.
15 minutes later, the door bell rings and the asst manager of the McD's was standing at my friends front door with our fries, extra apple pies for everyone, free coupons for our future meal and an apology. Mind you this was in the rainy season and this guy was dripping wet because he rode a bicycle to deliver these fries..... in a suit.
I was impressed and a bit amazed at the length they went to.

Answer 4

I've to say it's great, the best service. They're really care about the customer service. I went to the museum in Fukuoka. I was really shocked by the crew there. They're so helpful. There was a customer left an umbrella there. The crew just rushed out from the museum and chased for that car. She did it successfully. I felt proud of them.

It was raining that evening, I was inside the car alone. My host's mum walked into the school to fetch her son. Soon I noticed that
our car blocked the car from the back. I cannot drive car and I felt so wrong to him. Fortunately that driver was very patience. He didn't blame us for blocking his way. Soon, there was a helpful and pretty lady with an umbrella walked toward me. She asked the surname of my host's mum and then she rushed into that school to look for my host's mum.

Before Christmas Eve, I flied to Hokkaido from Fukuoka. There was no foreign people inside that JAL plane because it was a local flight. There was an air-hostess knew I cannot understand Japanese. She told me to secure my seat when the plane was going to land. She also told me the plane had to turn back and land at the another airport. She explained every detail with me face to face. I appreciated it a lot.

Such a helpful people can be easily found in Japan.

Answer 5

I've never had a complaint with Japanese service. They take real pride in their jobs, even if they're ones that would normally be looked down on in America. To them it's almost a disgrace not to be employed. If you have questions or problems and the person you ask doesn't speak English they will run and find someone who does. They are always so polite and friendly!

Answer 6

the service is great in japan. though often, i find it annoying. i don't like them constently shouting welcome or following you around the store saying comments about how good something looks on you or such. there are a good deal of free samples though and trial uses. one part that's laking is the water refill in resturaunts, ofen times they do not come by to fil it again and the glass is so small.