The Japanese Customer Service ModelCan We Transplant Its Roots

The Japanese Customer Service ModelCan We Transplant Its Roots The Japanese Customer Service Model- Can We Transplant Its Roots But hidden from the understanding of the average Japan tourist, shopper and casual foreign observer are its entangled roots that anchor and nourish the entire framework of a customer tafelgeschirr model and practices that is in some, but not all ways, second to none.Like Japans iconic cherry blossoms, in some respects equally iconic Japanese customer tafelgeschirr (hereafter, JCS) can be described as lovely because customer service here is not only pleasing, but also graceful and delicate- in ways that, although revealing, are utterly alien to our norms of professional courtesy, helpfulness and responsibility.Graceful bows, mellifluous tones, fluid gestures and fleet feet typify in 2014 the same service I experienced decades ago, conveying the permanence of JCS that has made it as iconic as the evanescence of the blossoms.I say here because, at the time of this writing, I have just arrived in Nagasaki, my springboard into another one of my writers forays abroad, and am stunned to have, in my first encounters, experienced customer and visitor service that is, if at all changed, even mora customer-centric- i.e., courteous, comprehensive and caring- than the service that welches already hard to top decades ago, when I first came to Japan, where I remained for years.Consistently, Nagasaki service employees have greeted me and my queries with treatment that has, so far, easily rivaled the enveloping warm tarmac reception and lavish escort befitting any ballyhooed presidential visit.Special JCS for Foreigners?In case you are inclined to think that this is all special treatment for foreigners, my own experience and the testimony of locals suggest otherwise.Tokyo-born Silicon Valley and Japan-based interpreter Mike Hessling, who has lived in Nagasaki for more than eight years and in Tokyo for much of his youth attests that JCS is unifasson, without distinction between Japanese and non-Japanese- despite the pervasive importance of the uchi (inside) and soto (outside) classification of peoples, cultures, etc., or any temptation to impress or pity foreigners.Likewise, Norio Araki, the genial internationalized owner of the Nagasaki Town Hotel, where I am staying, emphatically agrees Even Japanese customers will get exactly the same kind of red-carpet treatment I have gotten in banks, department stores and anywhere customer service is required.Obvious Leaves, Deep RootsThe roots of the salient features of Japanese customer service (hereafter, JCS) are not as obvious as the features themselves.Unfamiliar history, philosophy, social and economic organization constraints and principles conceal or render incomprehensible to the casual observer the dynamics and gestalts that underlie a customer service model that might require major cultural transgestaltations in another host country or society if it were to take root- including some changes, examined below, that would benefit our societies, even setting aside benefits for customers and companies.Before identifying those changes we would have to make in both our customer service models and in the underlying factors required to support them, an examination of the leaves and roots of the JCS model is in order.Fleet of Foot Amid Fleeting Cherry BlossomsConsider these common Japanese customer service practices and commonplace experiences and try to imagine them not only taking root in North America, but also becoming the rule (in both senses of ruleviz., the norm and the command), rather than an experimental, quirky, exotic, charming, etc., exceptionA female customer service rep in an electronics megamart fields my query, then trots- not walks- to find someone better qualified to address my needs.Rank-and-file staff, not necessarily frontline customer-service employees, discuss which among them is best informed and available to walk me to where I can find the international card services they cannot provide, before one cheerfully accepts the responsibility, and offers to wait while I complete my ATM transaction, for the sake of anshinkan.Fielding my useless request to find an apartment through their office, a real estate office rep- on her own initiativeprints off a map and other details of alternative accommodation for me before cheerily bidding this non-client goodbye.Another clerk, volunteering after I chose to find another store, walks me out of her electronics superstore to a rival superstore- even though its clear I can easily navigate in Japanese and understood her initial directions.Although communication in Japanese is proceeding smoothly, just to be on the safe side, an English-speaking first-stringer is summoned by a bank colleague to ensure perfect service (despite my decade+ experience in Japan that has included teaching philosophy in Japanese in a Japanese college).At the risk of stripping the bloom off the blossom, so to sp eak, such enchanting benchmark JCS practices need to be contrasted with the flip-side, less endearing ones, such as the kind of robotic rigidity in following the playbook that exasperates agile foreigners vainly looking for even more attentiveness to their needs and wants, in the form of customized service on top of customer service.For example, when I asked for ketchup instead of mayonnaise on my Nagasaki McDonalds chicken burger, I was told by the counter clerk that it would not be possible.I could have the burger without mayonnaise, but would have to use a sealed packet of ketchup as its source, rather than the direct dollop Id get a home if I asked for it.Rules RuleThat reminded me of my encounter many years ago with a public pool attendant in Kobe who, despite my obviously totally shaved head insisted I would have to wear a bathing cap, because the rules say they are required.When I told him that wearing latex gloves would make more sense given that there is more hair on my knu ckles, he relented, but only so long as no guest complained about the exception.That was a short-lived victory, since, quite conveniently and suspiciously, it took all of about three minutes before he claimed that complain is precisely what someone had done.So I left (because that Japanese swimming cap on my head felt like a compression stocking five sizes too small).So much for the leaves now for the roots, about which I am going to speculate freelyRoots in duties, not rights The extraordinary forms and lengths of JCS seem to map nicely into two key aspects of Japanese culture 1. a long history of feudalism, and services to be obediently rendered to superiors, be they a samurai warrior, yakuza boss, CEO or department store customer 2. a cultural matrix that, in yet another way in which Japanese culture is diametrically opposite ours, has traditionally obligations (gimu and giri) rather than rights. Hence, a Japanese service employee is following a cultural as well as corporate blue print in following the maxim O-kaykusama kamisama desuCustomers are gods.Transplant challenge Feudalism never got much traction on the ground, much less got off it in North America. Thats one reason why Thomas Paines American revolution-era big-hit disquisition was The Rights of Man, rather than The Duties of Man.Americans, and to a seemingly lesser although great extent, Canadians are fiercely protective of and insistent in declaring their rights- which is a good thing. That focus on rights, however, is not as vigorously balanced by clamoring to fulfill or recognize (their own) obligations, IRS tax notices and debt collector reminders aside.Even if an American employee handbook hammers a strong customer service message into staff mindsets, the historically and culturally entrenched priority given to ones own rights is likely to result in a more transparently opportunistic means-to-an-end compliance with those norms and obligations than in Japan, and therefore to less robust, certai nly less extreme and more perfunctory customer service.Perhaps thats why altogether too many North American (and Australian) service workers cannot control or even reflect on how condescending it sounds to respond to a customer thank you with no problem- or no worries-as though it is they, the employees who are kings and gods, deigning to grant absolution for customer impositions.A history of form over content The Japanese preoccupation with formkata, quite often at the expense of or with subordination of content, is a persistent cultural theme that seems to manifest itself in JCS as well as in meticulously structured and executed tea ceremonies, in the formalities of greetings and recognition of rank, and in the prescribed forms for formally required pro forma gift-giving, e.g., giri chokoobligation chocolates that must be presented to individuals of some rank by those subordinate or beholden to them, e.g., OL (Office Lady) Valentines chocolates that must be given to the boss, or i n-laws, etc., with implications as romantic as a mandatory tax filing.The priority of form over content is why Japanese will be content to appear to be working after normal working hours or with the form of a holiday- however brief, superficial and frenetic the visit captured in meticulously mounted photos in albums.It is also why rent-a-family for the weekend businesses do well in Japan, as solace-for-hire for lonely grandparents, provided by professional actors playing the roles- providing the form- of a family without the real content, for $1,500 or more.Transplant challenge Being a pragmatic whatever works people, Americans and Canadians are highly adaptive, innovative, experimental, creative, unorthodox and agile when circumstances warrant it. Hence, if a hotel room doesnt have cutlery, we may, in desperation, consider using two pens as chopsticks for our take-out sushi- and enjoy one more triumph of function over form.Likewise, being suspicious and averse to the autocratic ove rtones of rigid formality, weve historically and culturally elevated informality to the position of a keystone in the arch and architecture of democracy.In our individualistic cultural matrix, it comes as no surprise to discover that the IT software whiz who has made you millions did it with his sockless sandals sticking out from under his desk, and would have felt creatively, if not literally suffocated, if forced to dress- even in sweltering heat and on stifling packed subways- like a Japanese suit-entombed salary man.It is this preoccupation with form that may partially account for both the great strengths and evident weaknesses of JCS Prescriptions and proscriptions governing form explain why the smallest purchase may be meticulously wrapped in multiple layers why forms of greetings and farewells are equally meticulously specified, e.g., mandatory honorific language, scooting rather than merely walking to seek further assistance and why customization of service can encounter suc h stiff resistance- namely, because it requires deviating from prescribed forms and norms.The group mind Perhaps the most important prop- in both sense of prop- for JCS is Japanese groupiness- the tendency to behave, decide, think and aspire in group terms.As a norm, group mindedness in Japan, as everywhere else, is instilled through identification with ones group, its values, standards and rules.To an extent, a JCS employee may be seen as having a vestigial feudal attitude- namely, that of a serf bound and protected by loyalties to a clan, manor or chief.Just as a feudal niche that tended to be for life, traditional lifetime employment in Japan, now less frequent, reinforced such identification and loyalty.Hessling remarked that although the use of keigohonorific language- is disappearing among Japanese youths, large corporations and other organizations still hammer in the high standards of JCS into their customer service recruits and in-place staff.Transplant challenge Although th ere are rah-rah Western employees who also closely identify with their company, e.g., Amway distributors who make a cult of it all, such intense groupiness and strong identification seems to be much less likely in ruggedly individualistic, often narcissistic Western societies- especially in ideologically individualistic America.Perks of Price In a culture in which consumer demand and price often vary directly rather than inversely, i.e., where a low price connotes inferior quality, I can imagine that as an offset to the high prices ambivalently accepted by prestige-oriented shoppers, e.g., those buying gift melons for $100 or more, fawning and superior customer service can serve as both a legitimization and mark of the products prestige and as compensation for the cash costs of the purchases.Transplant challenge Getting anybody to pay $100 for a melon.________musiknote This is another in a series of articles to be published about Japan and Taiwan while Michael is on the road.

ASME Enters Into Agreement with the Organ Preservation Alliance

ASME Enters Into Agreement with the Organ Preservation Alliance ASME Enters Into Agreement with the Organ Preservation Alliance ASME Enters Into Agreement with the Organ Preservation AllianceJune 17, 2016 ASME recently signed a note of Understanding (MoU) with the Organ Preservation Alliance (OPA), a non-profit organization that is working to end donor organ scarcity by conducting and promoting research in cryopreservation and other technologies for the long-term storage of human organs. OPA, which is based at Singularity University (SU) Labs at NASAs Research Park in Moffett Field, Calif., is building on recent advances in cryopreservation research that could make long-term organ storage a reality and lead to such benefits as better organ matches, fewer rejections, lower transplant costs and an increase in organ availability. The organization and its aktions, which include the development of a Roadmap to Organ Banking to identify challenges and milestones for advancing o rgan and tissue preservation technologies, were highlighted in a recent fact sheet issued by the White House that listed various government, private, and non-profit programs that had been established to reduce the waiting list for donor organs.The Memorandum of Understanding, which ASME and OPA signed in late May, aims to establish a cooperative framework that will help the organizations collaborate on projects and initiatives for the healthcare and bioengineering industry sectors. The agreement is also intended to bolster the ability of both organizations to achieve their shared mission of advancing, disseminating and applying healthcare and bioengineering knowledge and technology development from idea conception through product commercialization. Through the agreement, ASME and OPA hope to improve communication and coordinate the exchange of technical information share technical experts and technical content encourage the engagement of ASME members and the technical c ommunity through live and on-line events and explore opportunities to collaborate in the development of conferences, technical seminars, workshops, publications, roadmaps, training courses and other related activities.For its part, ASME intends to support OPA by contributing to relevant white papers and publications by publicizing organ banking news, white papers, publications, and conference and workshop information through ASME channels including ASME.org and Mechanical Engineering magazine and by participating in the Alliances events and activities.To that end, ASME has agreed to be one of the sponsors of the next OPA roundtable workshop, Emerging Technologies in Organ Preservation, in Washington D.C., on June 29. The event will encompass a variety of sessions addressing such topics as expanding the donor pool with organ reanimation organ transport, assessment and repair new solutions for whole organ cryopreservation and an overview of Charlotte Banks, a regional or gan preservation initiative within the Charlotte, N.C., area. Speakers scheduled to appear at the roundtable workshop will include Sebastian Giwa, chief executive officer of Sylvatica Biotech and OPA chairman Prof. Korkut Uygun of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital Greg Fahy, chief science officer at 21st Century Medicine and Prof. Gloria Elliott of the University of North Carolina Charlotte. ASME has also agreed to participate in the Organ Preservation Alliances Organ Banking Summit at Harvard Medical School in 2017.Meanwhile, OPA will collaborate with ASME by providing the Society with input and guidance on market trends, future directions and community needs within the organ banking and tissue engineering area. The organization will also offer content and program development assistance for relevant ASME conferences and events, and promote relevant ASME conferences, workshops, publications and other content. Prior to signing the agreement, OPA g ot an early start on collaborating with ASME by organizing a tutorial, follow by a technical session with five talks, a panel and an audience discussion on the theme The Grand Challenges of Organ Banking How the World Is Beginning to Align to Meet Them at NEMB 2016 in Houston in February. In addition, OPAs chairman and CEO, Sebastian Giwa, appeared in the ASME.org podcast Preserving Organs for the Future in April. Explaining OPAs work, Giwa said, Stem cells and embryos have been cryopreserved for decades, and recent progredienz has made it possible to bank arteries, heart valves, organ slices and mora. Weve also seen progress with rat hearts, pig livers, sheep ovaries, pig uteri, rodent limbs, and the cryopreservation and successful transplantation of a rabbit kidney. For the first-time ever, the goals of stopping biological time and enabling banking of human hearts, livers and kidneys are within reach. This would transform transplantation and save millions of lives. We see these programs as the kickoff for a modern day Apollo Program in Organ Banking. And like going to moon was audacious, but something we knew we could accomplish, so is solving organ banking.We are incredibly excited to be working with ASME to further the work of long-term organ preservation and ending the organ shortage, added Jedd Lewis, president of OPA. We have many mutual interests and goals, and are excited to partner with an organization with so many great members, such strong technical resources and an amazing history.To learn more about the Organ Preservation Alliance, or for more details on the Roadmap to Organ Banking, visit www.organpreservationalliance.org. For more information on Memorandum of Understand or the Emerging Technologies in Organ Preservation workshop, contact Christine Reilley, director, ASME Emerging Technologies, by e-mail at reilleycasme.org.

The guide to tying up professional loose ends before the new year

The guide to tying up professional loose ends before the new yearThe guide to tying up professional loose ends before the new yearWith Thanksgiving on our heels as 2017 quickly comes to a close, you might spend some time over the holidays thinking about not only what youre thankful for in work and life, but also what else you want to do for your career by the end of the year.Consider this a professional to-do list of sorts.Get back in winzigkeit with your networkReconnect with your professional connections.Fill them in on how youre doing at work, and if your schedule allows, offer to help them with an upcoming project they tell you about when you reopen a dialogue.Get feedback from your manager ahead of Q1The classic performance review can be stressful, but take a minute toisolate your emotions from the process and promise that whatever constructive criticism your manager gives you, 2018 is an huge opportunity to to take his or her tips to heart.If things dont work like this at your company - meaning, you dont have annual performance assessments - see if you can get some time on your supervisors calendar to talk about how youre faring anyway.Wouldnt it be great to go into the first quarter of the new year with total clarity about where you stand, and what it will take to reach your goals at work?If you dont love your job, consider thisBernard Marr, author, keynote speaker, and data expert, writes about the questions you should respond to before the year is over in a LinkedIn post.One of them is, what can you do to improve your job satisfaction? Maybe its a case of asking for mora of the types of projects you like best, or delegating more, or improving your skills in some area. Could you improve your work/life balance in any way? Create stronger boundaries around your work responsibilities so that they dont bleed into your life? What would give you more satisfaction?Whether or not you like your career or not, use the end of the year as a time for reflection on your life as a whole.Go on an informational interview or twoYouve been checking out your dream company with fascinating job openingsfor months. First you have toget to know people there.After reading up about the industry and its leaders, plus putting LinkedIn to good use, you finally score an in. See if someone at the company will grant you an informational interview so you can see if both the company and job posting could be right for you.Remember that even if you meet and nothing pans out now, that doesnt mean you and your connection cant help each other professionally at some point down the line if you stay in touch.Make your goals list for 2018Sit down and come up with a list of things youd like in your career next year. Write down the names of people who might be able to point you in the right direction, and make a point to connect with them in the coming months.Whether you want to build your personal brand or start your own business, this is one way to get the tanzabend roll ing ahead of the new year.