Tonight I was chatting with my wife.  She is Japanese, and we were talking about my post this afternoon.  I had arrived at the revelation that Japanese business is driven by consumer need.  Brilliant.

Well after we got through the usual, and well deserved, “you really don’t get it, do you!”, we got to the meat of it. 

• Japan:  customer is always right.  Employees when confronted with an upset customer genuinely feel personally accountable for the fact the customer is upset.  This is genuine reaction, and I have seen it in Japan enough times to know this to be a fact
• North America:  employees are always right.  When pressed, employee will almost always get defensive, and suggest/ tell/ indicate the customer has some accountability in the matter

This is a market shaking big deal.  You have to see this to believe the difference … some examples I have personally seen:

• a banker on his scooter arriving at a house to pick up a deposit
• an electrician arriving in uniform, to deliver and install a new washing machine.  Shoes are automatically removed.  Bows exchanged, and apologies made before he begins for the trouble he is about to cause,  (recall, we ordered the washing machine)
• local noodle guy delivering lunch of noodles and dumplings, again with bows, and apologies for the intrusion … (we ordered the noodles, which are exquisite by the way)

Japan has a culture of customer service.  We gaijin (foreigners) have a culture of various characteristics, but customer service isn’t a natural one.  We have an inbred desire to be first.

We all assume Japan is a technology culture.  Wrong.  Its a customer service culture.  Advanced technology is merely a by-product of the true culture, and the high expectations that a customer service culture produces.  Its not companies who are listening to customers;  it is employees who are listening.  Very cluetrain ish.

There are lessons to learn here.