Keitai were the happening thing a long time ago until iPhone came onto the scene. Most of the Japanese brands just couldn't compete, not even Sony. Lo, how the mighty have fallen.
Loved your article. Being Japanese is hard and I am not Japanese. But, most Japanese people I know seem to be happy to expend the effort and enjoy "Being Japanese".
Technology in Japan is shockingly behind, that is true. But the purpose of technology is to deliver customer service and Japan is WAY, WAY ahead of other countries when it comes to delivering customer service (except for some government offices, but I digress).
And your observations about banks are on point. But do you remember when banking staff in Japan would use an abacus to help in calculations of withdrawals and deposits? Clickety Clackety, Clickety Clackety - WOW, they were fast! I remember when you could buy an electronic calculator that included an abacus because some people could do some calculations faster on an abacus. Full disclosure: I can't use an abacus. And when I worked in a high school in a small city in rural Japan, on payday the bankers would show up at the high school to handle deposits and withdrawals and other banking transactions for the teachers and staff. Now that's service!
Thank you for sharing this balanced perspective. I agree that the relentless pursuit of exceptional quality assurance is what sets Japan apart from most of the rest of the world. While Japan's traditional commitment to providing a positive customer experience is certainly alive and well for premium-priced goods and services, lately it seems that this reputation for customer service is beginning to be compromised for lower-value items.
I think your observations are absolutely correct. Much of Japan's exceptional customer service relies on a lot of manpower, and as salaries are (slowly) going up while the labor force is shrinking, service quality will definitely continue to suffer... I also think that service in English have always been sub-par even when offered, so most tourists will likely think that Japan's service quality is overhyped
I don’t understand why people complain so much about banks in Japan. There lots of banks such as SBI, Sony, Paypay etc. where there are no branches at all, everything handled online with convenient mobile apps.
Cash is not a king in Japan. Everywhere is possible to pay with some form of digital payment. I mostly use Suica since it doesn’t require to enter pin code like credit cards. But other forms are available too from the range of credit card brands to a variety of QR-code payments.
Very nice. We need these different angles to publish in Japanese to push bureaucracy to look away from the windows. Last month went to my second home in Sydney . The differences do stand out once you are in a modern tech age country. I ranted about this last month also. But in a way this is what attracts us, foreigners to be here. Both , “bads” and “goods” can be beneficial. In a way. I made a peace with me that I live in a more ethically advanced, but tech developing country. “ Trying and pretending to be modern, developing safe country “. Japan
Yeah, I feel you. I think there is an inate fear among most Japanese people that we might lose the "good" if we remove the "bad", especially when it comes to work and service... I do not agree, and think it would be easy to create a better working environment without sacraficing customer service and product quality, but I also think it will take a long time for broader Japanese society to accept this. Probably, the consistently shrinking labor force will force companies to rethink their policies and make their workplaces less toxis...
Keitai were the happening thing a long time ago until iPhone came onto the scene. Most of the Japanese brands just couldn't compete, not even Sony. Lo, how the mighty have fallen.
Loved your article. Being Japanese is hard and I am not Japanese. But, most Japanese people I know seem to be happy to expend the effort and enjoy "Being Japanese".
Technology in Japan is shockingly behind, that is true. But the purpose of technology is to deliver customer service and Japan is WAY, WAY ahead of other countries when it comes to delivering customer service (except for some government offices, but I digress).
And your observations about banks are on point. But do you remember when banking staff in Japan would use an abacus to help in calculations of withdrawals and deposits? Clickety Clackety, Clickety Clackety - WOW, they were fast! I remember when you could buy an electronic calculator that included an abacus because some people could do some calculations faster on an abacus. Full disclosure: I can't use an abacus. And when I worked in a high school in a small city in rural Japan, on payday the bankers would show up at the high school to handle deposits and withdrawals and other banking transactions for the teachers and staff. Now that's service!
Thank you for sharing this balanced perspective. I agree that the relentless pursuit of exceptional quality assurance is what sets Japan apart from most of the rest of the world. While Japan's traditional commitment to providing a positive customer experience is certainly alive and well for premium-priced goods and services, lately it seems that this reputation for customer service is beginning to be compromised for lower-value items.
I think your observations are absolutely correct. Much of Japan's exceptional customer service relies on a lot of manpower, and as salaries are (slowly) going up while the labor force is shrinking, service quality will definitely continue to suffer... I also think that service in English have always been sub-par even when offered, so most tourists will likely think that Japan's service quality is overhyped
I couldn't agree more with everything you said. Great read.
I don’t understand why people complain so much about banks in Japan. There lots of banks such as SBI, Sony, Paypay etc. where there are no branches at all, everything handled online with convenient mobile apps.
Cash is not a king in Japan. Everywhere is possible to pay with some form of digital payment. I mostly use Suica since it doesn’t require to enter pin code like credit cards. But other forms are available too from the range of credit card brands to a variety of QR-code payments.
Very nice. We need these different angles to publish in Japanese to push bureaucracy to look away from the windows. Last month went to my second home in Sydney . The differences do stand out once you are in a modern tech age country. I ranted about this last month also. But in a way this is what attracts us, foreigners to be here. Both , “bads” and “goods” can be beneficial. In a way. I made a peace with me that I live in a more ethically advanced, but tech developing country. “ Trying and pretending to be modern, developing safe country “. Japan
Yeah, I feel you. I think there is an inate fear among most Japanese people that we might lose the "good" if we remove the "bad", especially when it comes to work and service... I do not agree, and think it would be easy to create a better working environment without sacraficing customer service and product quality, but I also think it will take a long time for broader Japanese society to accept this. Probably, the consistently shrinking labor force will force companies to rethink their policies and make their workplaces less toxis...