Tokyo approves ordinance to prevent abuse by customers

Marc Laden -

The beauty of Japan is their customer service... The new comers to this nation should learn how to appreciate it rather than miss use it ...

This story has literally nothing to do with "newcomers", and them "miss using" (sic) customer service in Japan.

You may need to read it.

Anything to protect custoner service staff from abuse is a good thing.

Just another face of bullying, and a feeling of entitlement. Maybe this is what happens with all the bullies in school that didn't face any accountability; they end up becoming harassing customers.

@ marc laden

kasuhara is not referring to "newcomers". It is about Japanese customers used to overservicing.

I 100% support such and Ordinance.

"" where customers are famously referred to as "gods" in the service sector and enjoy a superior position. ""

Not always True , I have seen Restaurants and Shops mangers stand up and protect their staff against Rude and Aggressive Thugs and Idiots before in fact I have seen them order the customer to leave or else.

I saw a great sign allegedly used at an izakaya somewhere. The basic message was "the more politely you ask, the cheaper your drink is", followed by a pretty clear "the customer is NOT a god and our staff are not serfs".

Of course I have no idea if that kind of policy is enforceable, but I liked the general idea.

Coming into effect next April, .....it carries no penalties if violated.

Making it a pointless waste of time and money.

dbsaiya

Maybe this is what happens with all the bullies in school that didn't face any accountability; they end up becoming harassing customers.

And bosses, and prefectural governors, and police chiefs, and...

. The two Chinese ladies at circle k at my place are always speaking in Chinese to each other and it’s quite rude.

So would you have them forcibly speak to each other in Japanese? Or just not to talk to each other at all? How about the Nepalese and other foreign workers? I think you'd find that would be an infringement of their human rights.

And I just don't get how you could find two people speaking in their native language rude.

it carries no penalties if violated

This is actually an incomplete description of the situation. What these "no penalty" laws do is that they impose civil liability for violations. The State won't intervene actively, but clearly delineating Right and Wrong in law means that in any Civil Lawsuit the plaintiff is at an advantage. He only has to prove the defendant indeed violated his duty to refrain from the proscribed activity - he doesn't have to explain why that was not "Free Speech" or otherwise legal.

And I just don't get how you could find two people speaking in their native language rude.

Isnt it obvious? Because it's not a language they understand. They as in the person complaining, to them it's all rude.

Bet he finds Japanese speaking to each other in Japanese rude too!

What? How about addressing the myriad of customer service shortfalls that I'm sure exist. If the customer isn't doing anything illegal covered in other laws, they should be fine.

To NOT just repeat "moshiwakenai" like an answering machine for sensible complains would sure help to prevent abuse by customers. There has been an inflation of using "moshiwakenai" compared to the good old times. My advice to usually helpful and friendly workers: Refrain from using "moshiwakenai" and never repeat it.

. The two Chinese ladies at circle k at my place are always speaking in Chinese to each other and it’s quite rude.

toraToday  09:22 am JST

So would you have them forcibly speak to each other in Japanese? Or just not to talk to each other at all? How about the Nepalese and other foreign workers? I think you'd find that would be an infringement of their human rights. 

And I just don't get how you could find two people speaking in their native language rude.

I can. If i am working at a place, and two other workers are speaking chinese, (or any other language)and they suddenly start to speak a totally different,language knowing full well they speak japanese fluently( or what ever other language) , this can cause a sense of whispering since your excluding the other person from taking part in the conversation. We had it in our work place, they all spoke English, perfectly well. but when a couple of staff from the same country got together, they would suddenly switch to their other language. Now, you may justify it, but they could just as easily be talking behind someones back, but right in front of your face and you'd never know about. its akin to whispering. And we would say talking behind someones back,or whispering is rude. Nothing worse than people laughing and you're not even part of the conversation. It can be very uncomfortable, and it can be lonely when your not part of the converstation, either actively or even passively.

The beauty of Japan is their customer service... The new comers to this nation should learn how to appreciate it rather than miss use it ...

I guess you've been lucky enough not to be shoved about from table to table in the middle of a meal here. It's happened more times than I can remember and certainly is not service.

Another toothless ‘ordinance’ in Japan?

How many meetings did this ‘ordinance’ take?

I can rant and rave to my heart’s content but that’s ok as there’s no penalty.

Still, if it’s a business there are other criminal laws that can be used to charge a disruptor.

The beauty of Japan is their customer service... The new comers to this nation should learn how to appreciate it rather than miss use it ...

This has all come about because of ages of poor customer service. Store staff are notorious for apologizing profusely while doing nothing to actually fixing any problem or resolving any situation. Just a lot of flowery word-salad. In the current era Japanese customers have finally had enough. They refuse to accept the empty apologies, and demand action. Quite justifiably so.

prevention efforts must be made by society as a whole

How Japan solve this, by using unclear language.

If they would train these third world country replacement workers in the low paying jobs Japanese customs and Japanese quality customer service then perhaps there would be more harmony. The two Chinese ladies at circle k at my place are always speaking in Chinese to each other and it’s quite rude.