Japanese politeness

Hey there everyone!

I just wanted to discuss customer service in Canada vs. customer service in Japan. Honestly, I'm finding it way harder to go back to the 'this is MY store' attitude that Canadian employees have than getting used to the 'this is my job' attitude that Japanese employees have ever was. (Sorry about the terrible grammar, but I AM an 'English Instructor')

Today I walked into a Travel agency with a big smile on my face and waved to the guy and went 'Hi!'... and the fucker just sat there like 'why are you bothering me?', not doing anything at all except talking to his co-workers.

A year ago, I would have bought into the whole 'This is MY store' attitude that North American workers have and respected that... but now I just find it embarrassing.

AND on the flight over here an Air Canada stewardess started barking 'pasta or chicken?' at everyone before demanding that a middle eastern passenger (who obviously didn't speak English) return his seat to the upright position. When he didn't do so, she repeated her directions in English, at the same speed only louder, as if a higher volume could help her break the language barrier. When he still didn't know what she was asking, she did it for him... really forcefully.

I hate how in Canada you're expected to know the correct procedure for everything, and how you're treated like an idiot or like you're unwanted whenever you go! I can't wait to get back to Japan...

Thanks for listening!

 

thats wierd. i feel that way about canada vs. the states. everyone's so much kinder and more willing to talk to me in canada than down here. i guess japan must be VERY nice then....

 

you just boosted my want to go to Japan like 50 points

 

That's the english speaking way. I used to be a supervisor at a customer service rebate center. We had a lot of callers that didn't speak english that well calling us. The just wanted to know when we were going to send them their rebate. Unfortunatly most of our employees didn't want to deal with anyone that they had a hard time understanding...so they would the customer service rep. would raise his/her voice thinking that it would make the customer understand better. LoL...sometimes it was the funniest shit.

Thanks for the Laugh!

 

When it comes to customer service and hospitality, nobody can beat the Japanese. I think it's because their culture encourages politeness, not as an end in itself (as in, just for the sake of being "polite") but as a means of upholding their honor. Japanese are very big on honor - just look at all those samurai films.

 

Living in different college towns in California I've met alot of exchange students from all over the world and one thing that's always impressed me is how polite almost all of them are.


I always wonderred; are these people being polite becuase they're guests in this country or is it that people from just about anywhere else are just generally more polite then americans are.

 

Politeness, reserved attitude are Japanese virtue.
sometimes its real merit but sometimes it could be the weak point
esp in the grobal biz field and on the diplomatic field.
Japanese politicians are very poor at diplomacy...
They are just being reserved showing our politeness.
I think its not good at least in the diplomacy.

 

Oh is that what it is? I always thought it was their mortal fear of gaikokujin that made them so bad with diplomacy.

I guess you learn something new every day.

 

I actually prefer the Canadian way over the over-polite Japanese counterpart. It seems at least to me that Japan is one of the very few countries that take the whole politeness too far, to the point where everything those people say or do become ambiguous. The Japanese in general have very poor skills in diplomatic areas because they somehow think being frank and straightforward is too blunt. That, and because they fear "gaikokujins".

It's interesting that many non-Japanese people find themselves loving the Japanese ways of thinking and dreaming of living in Japan, while there are always some Japanese who prefer the western ways of living. AND, there are Japanese who are happy where they are, totally intimidated by "gaikokujins", can't speak a word of English, and have hangups towards non-Japanese people.


Oops.... Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away. -disappears-

 

I actually prefer the Canadian way over the over-polite Japanese counterpart. It seems at least to me that Japan is one of the very few countries that take the whole politeness too far, to the point where everything those people say or do become ambiguous. The Japanese in general have very poor skills in diplomatic areas because they somehow think being frank and straightforward is too blunt. That, and because they fear "gaikokujins".

It's interesting that many non-Japanese people find themselves loving the Japanese ways of thinking and dreaming of living in Japan, while there are always some Japanese who prefer the western ways of living. AND, there are Japanese who are happy where they are, totally intimidated by "gaikokujins", can't speak a word of English, and have hangups towards non-Japanese people.


I always hate it when people of other countries try to sound like they know everything about us and thus say over simplified generalizations that reflect specifically negative part of a few people or group and thiink that every one must be the same.

How about I say every American must be a racist KKK running around in white covers just because I saw a few scenes + magazines about the kkk.

 

Actually, I wasn't "trying to sound like" I knew everything about anyone. I was simply stating what I knew to be facts, that's all. Besides, everyone(hopefully) knows the KKK today is just another minority in the North America, right?

In fact, there ARE great things about the Japanese culture such as the architecture, arts, martial arts, and other bunch of things. Of course I recognize the beauty in each field.

 

I personally love it when people of other countries try to sound like they know everything about us. It makes me feel more like I belong to a group... because as we all know, being different is the worst thing in the whole world. It`s almost as bad as drinking in front of a crowd, blowing your nose, or being Korean.

But pissing in the street after a hard night of drinking and neglecting your wife and kids, that`s perfectly OK. Hey... and speaking of things that are perfectly OK, does anyone want to go alter some history textbooks?

Don`t get me wrong... there are a lot of good things in Japan. But as far as recognizing individuals within groups, Japan has a long way to go. After the Middle East, it is one of the most racist nations on the planet!

 

lol.. this is soooo true! Last week a Japanese friend of mine visited.. we talked so much about our cultural differences, very enlighting. Basically he doesn't really feel at home in Japan, whereas I can see certain benefits from to Japanese way of living in contrast to the life here. Hehehe.. I guess the unknown is always appealing, until you actually have to live it.

But that's what so great about inter-cultural friendships.. you can learn SO much from eachother and be all ecclectic when it comes to taking over habits

I'm very fond of Japan for some reason, my favorite writer is Japanese and I have two good friends there, realllly hope I can find the money to go there sometimes.. but I think it's also safe to say that I won't be able to live there for a long time.

 

Oh it so totally is. Being here is amazing. You walk into a shop and not just one person will say welcome, but everybody who can see you and even a few out the back if they can here that you`ve enetered the shop/restaurant/bar/whatever!
It`s the same when you leave! Really cute and kinda funny, but really nice to feel appreciated for your custom.

 

what did you expect, it WAS Air Canada?

no i'm not joking ppl, unless you HAVE 2, avoid air canada, they are so rude.

 

I ,a year or so back,went on a trip to Okinawa Japan. It was the greatest experience ever. The gardens and landscape filling the city(or at least on the outskirts of it) is fantastic. The botanical gardens are a great palce for meditation and good vibes connecting with your inner self and all that kinda great stuff. And, on top of it all, the only people that i experienced any kind of action of impoliteness was comnig from an american from one of the military bases there........Japan is quite great

 

i think it's pretty much a matter of how we're taught to behave. (parents, family, school, community, job training, etc) and i have found polite, friendly ppl everywhere i've been, and i've found rude, impatient, arrogant ppl everywhere i've been. and some ppl prefer to be left alone and only helped with the basics, and only when they ask first, and some want to be waited on and talked to...

 

Japanese politeness is great. I spent 5 weeks backpacking around Japan this summer, and everyone was so helpful. I hitchhiked around for the first two weeks and it was insane how nice people were, they would drive out of their way to take me to a specific place, they bought me lunch sometimes, and a couple people took me back to their home and offered to let me stay. (I did actually stay the night at one person's house).

This was my third trip to Japan; I'm definitely one of those westerners who's been caught under the spell of Japanese culture. My sensibilities are much more Japanese than American.

 

misterrain, you ought to have some good explanations for YOUR version of this blatant generalization.

I don't know which era you live in, but believe me, people in Japan don't stone you as you walk down the street, because of the color of your skin. But look at cities like Taegu, Korea; this sort of stuff definitely happens (don't tell me this doesn't happen coz I WAS THERE). If you think Japanese are racists, then how do you explain ca. 900,000 Koreans - both South and North - living happily in Japan? Don't you know Japanese embrace cultures from everywhere, ESPECIALLY the Korean culture, i.e., food, language, media & games, and opinions? And do Japanese people give a damn while Koreans send billions of Japanese currency out through the underground banking schemes?

Believe me, all people are racists. Don't pretend like you aren't.

Okay, let us move on, shall we? ;-)

Politeness in Japan should be considered as a means of social self-defense. As a Japanese native, at least that's how I feel. If you feel good coz people are being polite to you, it means that you just scratched the surface of the society.

-M

 

Well... I wasn`t speaking about everyone in Japan, obviously. There are enlightened people too... but there are definitely twice as many followers! One of the big things I keep hearing is that when Japanese people learn English, it helps them to speak more freely for some reason... I don`t know a lot about that, either, but I think it has something to do with all the reciprocating that goes on in their everyday lives...

I wasn`t saying that Koreans weren`t racist, I was saying that a lot of Japanese people are. I really don`t know what happened to you or what you saw, but I guess it was sad.

Yeah, OK... but you have to admit, the government does have some pretty racist policies currently in effect... I mean, none of those Koreans are allowed to own land, and they are often publicly mocked for their background... that`s why they adopt Japanese names to try to hide it. I don`t know what they`re running from, but I suppose it was much worse than living in a country that discriminates against them.

And don`t get me started on the Barikumen.

Yes, I know that. So what? Does that mean they`re not racist?

They think they made it better. In fact, they think that they make everything better. They are convinced that that is their function as a people... they take other people`s ideas and make them better. That`s why Japanese people are the best, followed by whites, then maybe blacks... I don`t know... maybe Koreans are better than blacks for them. I think they hate Koreans more than they hate blacks... because some blacks are Americans... even though, in the words of a typical Japanese woman, `they are lazy and all they do all day is think about sex`.

Really, the only reason they have any respect for white people is because America/Britain beat them in the war... and they`ve never won a battle against a European country. The only time they`ve won out over white people is when they fought Russia, and they still celebrate that day every year.

If an African country could beat them in a war... then maybe they would respect black people. But really... I don`t think that`s going to happen any time soon.

I really don`t know anything about the underground banking schemes, but it sounds like more of the same propaganda that spills out from the loudspeakers in those vans that drive around my apartment and wake me up in the morning. I don`t know... maybe some Japanese people don`t give a damn... but then again, someone cared enough to tell you about it, didn`t they?

I don`t think I`m racist, because I`m not agreeing with any of them... I`m simply observing. I really don`t think about anyone`s race, but I really don`t like stupid people, or superficial people, or people who are frivolous and boring. If you know something about me that I don`t, then please tell me... I would like to know!