A Lesson from Japan

A while back, I wrote about a reliable survey which indicated that 80% of companies surveyed said they offered great customer service, yet customers said they only get great customer service 8% of the time. Hmm, seems to me a zero is missing. That's a big, big disconnect. So it got me thinking that maybe I'm just getting old and cranky and no one really cares about customer service these days. Do we have a lack of humbleness that is brought about by our culture (not blanket behavior) of rugged individualism? Has it led to a lack of service and politeness to those we interact with?

I know these thoughts are coming into my head as we all try to get our heads around the tragedies occurring in Japan. Japan is a culture of politeness and cooperation and the world is watching it in action. There is little anger, no looting and neighbors are not only helping in the extreme circumstances, they are cutting back on their own energy use to limit the need for rotating blackouts and more widespread lack of service for others.

So I started to think about the goal that politeness, or lack of it, plays in customer service. Have we decided that it isn't necessary to be polite? When I think of politeness, I think of the practical application of good manners and even etiquette. Now there's a word we don't hear used frequently. I know from the little study I've done of cultural human nature, what is considered polite in one culture can sometimes be quite rude in another or at least eccentric.

Have many companies decided that to be seen as cutting edge and successful, politeness is an old fashioned way to act? I hope not. I'll bet you think much like me. So where does this big disconnect between companies thinking they give good service, which must have a politeness component in there, and customers thinking they're not being treated well? Could all of us who run companies and work in service related positions focus less on our sense of individualism and put some emphasis on politeness and cooperation? After all, the goal of politeness is to make all of the parties relaxed and comfortable with one another, which should make for good business shouldn't it? I know that it really comes in handy in my world when introducing new ways of doing things in a company to gain efficiencies.

So as we all have Japan on our minds this week, maybe there are lessons for us. I hope my thoughts here generate talk around the coffee machine. I'll leave you with this quote from an unknown source. "A humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves." Somehow it seems fitting for us as we turn our thoughts, hearts and wallets to help Japan.

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