Creature comforts
An eye for detail in Japan
Just a quick post from Japan where I have spent the week in and out of meetings, in and out of buildings and rediscovering the art of customer service Japan style. This country is the kingdom of comfort where no stone is left unturned in order to make the customer comfortable...wherever he may be : train, shop, street, office...
Take the basics : the WC - a necessary place for us all; in Japan loos are fitted out with a variety of automatic sprays, driers, sounds and aboveall heated loo seats. All this thanks to the innovative work of TOTO the king of the WC (I just wonder why there are not more Toto WCs in the world). The other day I discovered the automatically opening loo seat ! And then one where a flushing sound started the minute you sat down. Ladies loos are often fitted out with little seats put your child in while you are doing your business, or even child sized loos seats.
Then let's look at umbrellas : during the rainy season everyone uses umbrellas and they are on sale at every 'kombini' (24hr Shop) and all over town. But best of all, arriving at an office building or restaurant, no need to have to deal with a dripping umbrella - plastic bags are available to slip your umbrella into at just about every door ...and the nec plus ultra is the automatic umbrella drying machine : just put your umbrella into the cylindrical machine and hey presto it sets off a drier; in a second your umbrella is (relatively) dry.
That ever present tissue packet : Tokyo is covered in ads...buildings, trains, walls - everywhere you look companies are talking to you...and they don't stop there as thousands of young reps are out on the streets handing out tissue packets to passers by; wherever you go you'll never be short of tissues...the packets are covered in ads for one or more companies and combine the comfort with communication. (perhaps toto will be developing talking WCs with advertisments on loo paper !).
These are just a couple of the creature comforts that illustrate how important it is in Japan to take care of the customer. Respect is such an important word here it makes you realise how lost or insignificant it has become in Europe...Perhaps a little more respect for our customers would be more efficient than an expensive loyalty program !
Ecrit par Caroline
le Dimanche 15 Juin 2008, 18:49
dans "Innovation & ideas"
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