About this episode: In this bonus episode, we explore Japanese customer service at a restaurant. First, Internationals explain their frustrating experience ordering meals. And later we hear from a Japanese individual who experienced customer service abroad. 

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Transcript

INTRO

Kaho Koda: From Human Burrito Productions, I’m your host Kaho Koda, and this is ‘Controversial Japan’.

Hi. Long time no see… or no hear I guess.

It’s been a while since season 1.

The good news is that we will be back for season 2! The whole team is back actually. And I have more news to share with you: 

I started Patreon. To those of you who are not familiar with Patreon, it’s a membership based platform that connects creators, like me, with fans and supporters, like you. On this platform I get to share my entire journey of producing this show. 

Looking back at season 1, there were so many creative decisions I had to make, each with its own pros and cons. Like, the biggest question was “how am I going to structure this podcast?”. Because once that’s established, the foundation is set. 

Will each episode be structured around a topic? Or should I dedicate one episode to an individual? The thought process consisted of post-it notes on the kitchen cupboard and revelations in the shower. To sum up, it was very messy! 

And so for season 2, I want to share this messy process with the biggest fans of the podcast. You can get backstage access via Patreon and you’ll be financially supporting us to create more episodes. If you’d like to know more about it, please visit https://www.patreon.com/controversialjapan. 

And while you wait for season 2, I wanted to bring you a couple bonus episodes. These are stories that were interesting and funny, but didn’t make it into season 1 because of time restraints or because it didn’t fit into any of the discussed topics. 

Today’s bonus episode is about Kitsune udon and customer service in Japan. 

Junan, transition tune please. 

INTERNATIONAL’S PERSPECTIVE

Erik: If Nara is the cake, then Kyoto is the biscuit, and then Osaka is my favourite Japanese dish which is, Kitsune udon. Super easy, yeah I know it’s super easy, but it’s the only thing that I can really eat, to be honest. 

Kaho Koda: Erik is Dutch and he grew up in a small town in the Netherlands. We spoke about his trip to Nara and Kyoto while he lived in Osaka. He told me that he was not a big fan of Kyoto. He appreciated visiting Nara more because he saw how a city could coexist with nature. 

To him, Nara is a cake. Kyoto, a biscuit, and Osaka, a Kitsune udon. Kitsune udon is a simple noodle dish in a broth with fried tofu on top. He admitted that it was difficult to come up with Japanese cuisines for Nara and Kyoto because, well, he’s vegetarian. 

Vegetarianism and veganism are foreign to the Japanese. To be honest, one of the big culture shocks that I had when I moved to Montreal, Canada from Japan was the dietary preferences that people had. Back in 2011, oh gosh, that’s a decade ago, I knew the word “vegetarian”, but it was all theoretical to me. I never knew that there were so many people who were actually “vegetarian” or “vegan”. Vegan was definitely a new word since so many cuisines in Japan are either meat or fish based. 

Recently, when a vegetarian friend requested a Japanese bento for lunch, I flipped through my go to cookbook, which was a gift from my mother. And out of 160 recipes in this book, I found one that was truly vegetarian. The problem is.. even if a recipe called for vegetables and no meat or fish, the broth or sauce would contain some sort of fish extract. 

Erik said that it was difficult to be fully vegetarian in Japan. Just because there’s not much supplements available. Eating tofu every single evening got to him. While he lived in Japan he compromised by eating some fish for nutrition when necessary. – But of course, no meat. 

Erik: Yeah, Kitsune udon is still the best.

Kaho Koda: One of the things he could eat out was Kitsune udon… But that also came with its own problem. The broth. 

Erik: I tend to make it myself. I do go to some places, but the problem is they use meat broth. So that’s also not vegetarian. If they use fish broth, again, I’m okay with that. I tend to ask which one they use. Or I ask “can you not use the meat broth?”And then nine out of the ten times, I still get the meat broth so that’s a little bit annoying. Because it’s a request that they never get. 

Kaho Koda: Vegetarianism is not common amongst the Japanese. So from the restaurant’s perspective, the request itself is absurd.  

And let me say that Japanese customer service is.. It’s like they absolutely cannot deviate from the script. It seems like there’s a strict manual that they follow. Without room for improvisation. 

Erik: Also several times I’ve asked for having a particular meal, but without the meat, right? Because that’s still fine. And then they just look in awe. Like, “But that’s what you’re paying for? Primarily” And in my opinion, it doesn’t really matter if I pay the full price for a meal if it doesn’t have meat. I don’t really care. As long as I can eat some food, that’s all fine with me.

Kaho Koda: Sachi, a Canadian actor, also spoke about Japanese customer service in her interview. She’s half British and half Japanese and grew up in Canada. She experienced many frustrating things when she lived in Japan during her studies. Customer service, being one of them. 

Sachi: It’s funny because Japan, I find, is so innovative in so many different fields. Like technology or creativity. Like animation, say. But I find that thinking outside the box in customer vs. provider/business? Customer vs. business relationships – thinking outside of the box isn’t a thing. It frustrated me a lot. Being in a restaurant…

Kaho Koda: It would happen often enough. She would go to a restaurant and order a dish with a raw egg on top. And she’s not a big fan of raw eggs so she tried ordering without it. 

Sachi: The answer, 100% of the time would be “Ahhhhhhh sorry, can’t do that. So sorry. The dish is with the egg”. But I’m like “No, I understand. But I’m actually saving you money and product by not including it. That’s my wish as a customer” And they’re like, “No, sorry sorry. That’s not possible.” That kind of thing. It happens a lot. 

Kaho Koda: She was so frustrated with this kind of interaction. If the dish had a cracked egg on top, it had to be served.. 

On the other hand, she understands the beauty of this system too. 

Sachi: And I guess the rule following, that aspect, again, I see the beauty of it. How things can be so streamlined. Providing everyone the same experience. But I’ve been frustrated by it at times.

Kaho Koda: Sachi is saying that there’s no room for improvisation because the restaurant wants to guarantee the quality of service for every customer. Consistency. And to stay consistent, you can’t play it by ear. You have to follow the manual.. Even if that means wasting an egg.  

Sachi understands the beauty in it, but she’s still frustrated. 

JAPANESE PERSPECTIVE

Kaho Koda: I want to try to bring in an opposite example where a Japanese person experiences customer service abroad. Someone who’s used to the consistency, but experienced unpredictable customer service.

Chikako:一回、イタリアに旅行に行った時、 南イタリアのレストランに行った時に。。

Kaho Koda: I want to introduce Chikako. She’s half Japanese and half Dutch and she grew up in Tokyo. I asked about her take on Japanese customer service and she talked about her vacation in Italy. 

When she visited southern Italy, this Italian waiter at a restaurant was in such a great mood. He was practically dancing as he took orders. And he was super friendly. He explained his recommendation from the menu in detail. She enjoyed it very much and she felt like she was really in Italy. 

But then, a lady sitting next to her complained to the waiter that her food was taking too long, which turned into an argument between the lady and the jolly waiter. 

After her complaint, the waiter’s mood changed drastically. He was clearly down. He stopped making small talk and of course, no longer dancing around taking orders. Chikako felt bad for him and so after she finished her meal, she made sure to say that the food was delicious and that she had a lovely time. But that didn’t help. 

Chikako: 日本だったら、両方絶対ないじゃない？陽気にステップ踏むくらいテンション高い接客もないし。。。

Kaho Koda: Chikako said that this dramatic shift in the waiter’s attitude, in other words, this kind of change in customer service would never happen in Japan. Yes, if a Japanese waiter is going through something in his or her personal life, they might take a breather in the kitchen. However, the service stays the same. The service remains consistent regardless of the waiter’s mood. 

She said “It’s a unique characteristic of Japan. It’s very robotic. But being robotic is also nice because that means that the quality in customer service stays the same.”

TAKE AWAY

Kaho Koda: Consistent customer service is reflected in public transport as well. Trains and buses arrive on schedule. If a bus is early to the bus stop, the driver will wait until it’s the scheduled time to continue his or her route. 

Consistency means the same service is guaranteed. Whether that’s taken as a pro or a con depends on the consumer. 

CREDITS

Kaho Koda: Controversial Japan is produced by Human Burrito Productions. 

We interviewed Sachi Lovatt and other anonymous individuals for this episode.

Our sound designer is Junan and you can check out more of her tunes on spotify. Our theme song, ‘Coast to Coast’ is by Mikara and you can also listen to her on Spotify. Artwork by Macie Matthews, you can see more of Macie’s design on her website maciematthews.com

If you’d like to support our podcast by purchasing our merch – designed by the talented Macie Matthews who also created our podcast cover, visit our webstore:https://shop.humanburrito.com/. And don’t forget to check out our new page on patreon at https://www.patreon.com/controversialjapan.

Check out our website for more info at humanburrito.com and if you’d like to send us a message, you can email us at humanburritoproductions@gmail.com . 

We’ll be back with more bonus stories from Season 1. Till next time.