I am just sitting here at the airport in Osaka waiting for my flight back to Canada and I got to thinking how much better (and it is not even close) the customer service is here in Japan compared to what we experience.
Airlines - So far, I have taken 3 flights that have originated in Japan and everyone of them has been on time and on one of them the pilot came on and sincerely apologized that we were going to be 10 minutes late into our destination because of head winds. He went on about how this was unavoidable and he must have apologized four times for the inconvenience of the 10 minute delay! On every flight, the attendants came by at least every 15 minutes offering a drink, garbage disposal, etc and this was in the economy cabin. I was floored by the attention to detail and the kindness they showed, particularly to the guys who couldn't speak a word of their language
.
Bullet trains, subways, buses - All on time, to the friggin minute, I'm telling you if the sign says it's leaving at 1:02, it's leaving at 1:02.
Restaurants, pubs, etc. - All bowing, smiling, welcoming, interested in helping you if you needed it. They wouldn't take a tip if you insisted, literally had a server chase us down the street to return the $10 we left her.
I could go on and make simple comparisons to Air Canada, etc, however that's just waste of space, as you all know the story.
What I'm wondering is for those of you who have travelled recently, post your experience around this topic, I'm interested to here.
It was shocking to see all of these people in the service industry genuinely enjoy their job.