Tolerance

Yumi Nishi

Tolerance

When people travel or live in other countries, they cannot help feeling the difference in religion, food and service. Customer service is one of the most important aspects that makes people happy and comfortable to live and stay in other countries. Even though people speak different languages, good service gives them a positive impression of the country. In fact, since I have lived in the U.S., I have noticed that there are big differences between Japanese and American customer service. I have lived in America for a total of one and a half years, but I am still struggling with these differences.
 

I have never paid a tip or judged the service of restaurant servers at restaurants in Japan. Serving good service with smile and responding to customers’ requirements politely is natural and complimentary in Japanese culture. Thus, I always feel comfortable as a customer. Interestingly, Smile is one of menus items in MacDonald’s in Japan. If you order smile, they give you sweet smile for free. Japanese hospitality and culture can be seen in this example. When I started living in the U.S., I was often confused about a tipping system. I had no idea how much I should give for a tip and for what I have to pay. No matter how rude servers are, I feel that I have to tip them. Now I understand I need to make payment for invisible service that we regard as compliment in Japan and this system motivates servants, but I never feel the same satisfaction in the U.S.

      I have always relied on Japanese customer service since many companies respond to my requirements flexibly. When I have a problem, they solve the problem quickly and attempt to keep me updated in a database and take care of everything. However, in the U.S., I often need to spend much energy and time to solve my problem. For example, I had to wait more than three months to get only $50 refund from an art museum. According to the discussion with personnel in the museum, I was supposed to get the refund within one week, but nobody seemed to try to deal with this situation. Therefore, I had to explain it to a manager by e-mail and eventually I had to go there again. Even worse, it was not until I contacted her several times that I got the updated status. This situation made me angrier. Then, I cried because I felt that I would never adapt to American customer service. I cannot expect prompt service in the U.S., and I really miss the Japanese high quality customer service.

     Finally, the way of handling complaints in the U.S. is different from Japan. Japanese people are very sensitive to customers’ complaints. In order to respond to customer’s voice flexibly, Japanese people work with a team and share customers complaints within the team. Most companies focus on getting high customer satisfaction and treat their customers like God since they are in constant competition with other companies. When I worked at an insurance company for three years, I sometimes dealt with customers’ complaints about company’s service. I had to find a good and quick way to get them satisfied. I kept recording every single interaction with them into a system to share the information so that customers did not need to explain the same thing again on my vacation. Before I came to the U.S., I assumed this system was typical, but it did not happen in the U.S. Americans focus on their responsibility, and do not take care of anything else beyond their responsibility mainly due to their vertical organizational structure. This system does not work well for customers. I sometimes need to call many times to get a small piece of information and feel like they are wasting my time.

     Living in abroad seems enjoyable, but sometimes it can be very tough. I usually like the U.S. since I feel more freedom than Japan, and I don’t have to worry about caring about other people in Japan. My terrible experience was caused by my lack of English skills and understanding of different culture. I am trying to think my experience positively. I feel like that the more I encounter difficult situation in the U.S., the more I’m getting tolerant and stronger.