Omotenashi: Doing Business In Japan #18

Omotenashi in Business In Japan
Omotenashi is a difficult word to translate into English. It is quality service which both anticipates and exceeds the customers expectations. Few Western countries have any concept about anticipating the buyers needs, let alone doing that and exceeding them as well. The Japanese consumer is really well treated in Japan. They are very, very demanding. We might even think it is nuts. Actually what we think is not of any great interest to the buyer, by the way. They want high quality and that is that.
This expectation is especially so in the service sector. This high level of service quality though, seeps out into to the other sectors, because the buyer is so exacting here. So even in the B2B environment the seller is trying to anticipate and exceed the buyers expectations. Remember everyone here grows up with these standards and ideas about service quality. The business buyer is also that same demanding consumer doing the shopping on the weekend. They are used to being treated very well by everyone in a service or product provision role.
So what we may see as good service in our home countries, is probably only the bare minimum or even less than that, by comparison with what is on offer in Japan. It is hard to understand the expectations of the Japanese buyer when your own point of reference is what you are used to back home. You grew up with poor, mediocre or actually bad service and that is what you are used to. We have to switch gears on what is quality service. We have to really elevate what good service would like, from a Japanese perspective and what we can expect our local rivals will be trying to provide. Often we are the new entrant trying to supplant their current provider. Why would they bother to go down in service quality terms? Well they wouldn’t which is why we have to step up our game here in Japan.
So taking our industry sector, thinking about the likely buyers in that sector and our product or service, what could we do that would be proving an omotenashi level of service? This is not a simple process, but we have to research the buyer, their needs and expectations and really get a clear picture of what omotenashi means to them.
That whole idea is a very positive one though that transcends Japan. If you can provide the high levels of service required in Japan and you can replicate that level of service in your home markets, you will do very, very well. Your home market competitors won’t be able to compete with you very easily anymore as a result. So the effort to match the required levels of service here, though very challenging, ultimately could give you a global advantage in many markets beyond Japan. That is if you can replicate it in other markets.
There are no shortage of Western examples of big brands who excel in one country and are terrible in another. I remember traveling in Europe and needing to buy an additional suitcase. I have a favourite brand to which I am loyal over many, many years and wanted to buy another of their products. We were in Prague and arrived at the store a few minutes before 5.00pm. The lady running that store told us they were closing. I said all I wanted was one bag. Did she seem happy about the prospect of making an additional sale that day?
No, indeed she walked over to the door and locked it in front of our faces with a very rude, angry look on her face. In Japan that type of customer service would be unthinkable. Having been here for 31 years, I am fully tooled up for Japanese style excellent service, so you can imagine the shock that door in your face treatment caused. I walked 100 meters up the road and bought the competitor’s product. I couldn’t understand that lady’s negative attitude. I found Prague has the cheapest, best beer I have ever enjoyed. So you would think the entire country would be brimming with jolly, happy souls. Sadly not the case in this retail endeavour.
To succeed here in Japan you need to match what is required. You cannot allow your mind to be occupied with what you are used to, with what you grew up with. You can’t imagine what the required levels of service would be. You have to come here and experience it. When you do that, you start to understand what you have to do back home to reorganize yourself to be able to service this market properly. That sounds easier than it is to do. The crew at home have no idea what you are talking about because they can’t imagine that level of service.
If you expect the Japanese buyer to adopt your standards and be satisfied with what you pass off as quality work, then you will be waiting a long time for that to eventuate. It just won’t happen.