Learning as a service provider & as a customer

While many of us cannot become the President of a country or a CXO, we all can be a customer or a service provider at some point of time for someone. When you are buying something, you are a customer for that business or when you are delivering something to a customer (external or within your own firm) then you are a service provider. Few thoughts on my learnings of being a customer as well as a service provider in Japan –

a. Engagement is mutual –

Obviously as a customer you decide upon the service provider – but in Japan – it is difficult even to engage the service provider as they will ask for your revenues, company details (capital, year of formation etc) and then decide if they want to work with you.

b. More the engagement over time, more you get better service –

In the initial days, you hardly get any service and you are also tested as a customer. Eventually when you earn the trust as a customer, you will get service, more credit, some discount and so on. While this looks natural and true almost everywhere, sometimes in some parts of the world, you get discounts initially as a client but then as days go by, the vendor will sneak in some unknown costs or raise prices assuming that the client will not notice.

c. Customer should feel happy or elated about the service –

The service provider will try his/her best to give a decent service envisaging their best of service delivery and empathy to your needs. Eg. if you are carrying a cake, you will be asked re. the travel time and if you need an extra set of dry ice. If you have willfully chosen 2 sets of trousers or shirts of different size, you will be asked if you have chosen it or is it a mistake and if you want it replaced. As a service provider, you are always trying to step in the shoes of the customer and want to give an exquisite experience – even if you are a small shop or a small service provider – you want to cover up for the lack of space or name-value with attention to details, diligent service, on-time delivery and a warm empathetic approach. (offcourse sometimes the Japanese logic works differently and as a foreigner it is difficult to understand why you didn’t get a particular service but it is again from the perspective to avoid inconvenience or embarrassment to the customer or themselves) .

d. Customers have a responsibility –

The customers too in turn have the onus of looking after the service provider and ensure that they give some continuous business to keep them afloat. To give an eg. due to corona now the restaurant industry is down but some of our clients/my friends are ordering specially from Swagat or will drop by Swagat with their friends ensuring that our restaurant business remains afloat. My long-timer friend (in Japan) Trond tells his amazing experience of working with luxury goods firms in Japan where he says some clients visit their favorite watch shops (which they have been visiting for say past 10-20 years) once in a while to buy a 1 million -3 million JPY watch just to patron the shop (despite having many watches at home – as they think that they have to help out the shop someway).

e. Paying on time –

Paying on time is an important virtue that one learns while working in Japan. There have been times when the client would call me to send an invoice so that they can make the payment on time. In case there is a possible delay, then the delay has to be conveyed in advance to avoid inconvenience to the service provider. Since everyone (or most of the firms) follow this norm, cash doesn’t get locked down unnecessarily.

f. Predictability about you earns more trust –

In some parts of the world, it is said that in business – predictability is not good and outsiders shouldn’t be able to predict you. While it might be true for big business or politics, in normal daily affairs, predictability is a virtue on both the customers and the service provider part. For customers – when they order something to the service provider, they are certain of the delivery at the decided schedule / with quality and so on. While the service provider knows that the client will pay on time or visit you on a certain date and will spend so much amount approx.. at your place and so on.

There are lot of such points which one learns over time in Japan and something that has helped me hone myself continuously to become a good service provider and a good customer (it is a continuous learning exercise).

That said, especially during these pandemic times, we all can try to be a good customer by visiting that nearby small coffee shop or that small restaurant or ordering some cards from that printer or buy that cake from the cake shop (even if we might be on a diet) – while this definitely keeps the economy floating, believe me it gives a huge confidence & spiritual support to that service provider that he/she is not alone in the battle and is supported by its patron / the good customer like you.

Connect with Fideltech at 03-6261-3309 or write an email at salesfidel@fideltech.com.

Ref. No- FTB08201117