I was queuing to pay for my shopping and I witnessed as soon as customers began flocking around a checkout counter, a clerk rushed to open another register to serve shoppers as quickly as possible. And to pass muster, the shop clerk has just 90 seconds to wrap a product, hold out a receipt to the customer with both hands and look at him or her in the eyes with a smile.
And I was in Japan - where I was succumbed to a constant reminder of how customer service excellence ought to be.
This level of attentiveness is somewhat rare anywhere else in the globe, where most of the shop clerks you encounter often chat with colleagues instead of serving the awaiting customers; they are often very uncomfortable in apologising when things go wrong and what's worse is when confronted with criticisms, many tend to get defensive.
And we got used to that.
We have simply resigned to the fact that this is the norm. I really think the warmth of Japanese-style customer service should be welcomed all the more in this age when person-to-person relationships have become so tenuous.
A smile is contagious and we wouldn't mind getting used to that too, right?
1 comment:
Very true Smile indeed is contagious like all good things in life :)
Post a Comment