The Japanese are often said to be well-regarded for their etiquette and social graces.
But if this is especially true for those working in Japan’s service industry, the same cannot always be said of their customers.
Famously referred to as “gods” by the firms that serve them, some shoppers are seemingly taking advantage of their exalted status by making unreasonable demands that blur the line between legitimate complaints and outright abuse.
But because what constitutes customer harassment is not defined by law in Japan, some have argued that it is difficult to set boundaries between a legitimate claim that could lead to improved service and those that cross the line.
Nihonbashi store in Tokyo, welcomed the announcement, saying, “It is difficult to draw a line for harassment because of the customer justifications that may be pointed out, but these guidelines will serve as a yardstick.”
He patrols the sales floor and is in charge of handling disputes between employees and customers. According to Yamauchi, inexperienced store clerks are more likely to become flustered because they cannot draw the line on their own.
He says not only are the employees and the company hurt by such abusive behavior, but it also negatively impacts other customers who witness the incidents when visiting the store.
In September, Seven-Eleven Japan Co., the largest convenience store chain in Japan, decided to release to the public its internal customer harassment guidelines adopted in 2022. The company gave examples of abusive conduct, stating it would take “firm action” against it.
And FamilyMart Co., another major convenience store chain, began displaying anti-customer abuse posters at its stores in October.
Kaname Murasaki, head of the Japan Harassment Association, says many companies have created a climate in which they are unable to refuse unreasonable demands because they have assumed an excessively subservient attitude toward customers until now.
“Moving forward, companies will be socially unacceptable if they have a don’t-rock-the-boat attitude and show preference to customers with unreasonable demands over their own employees,” he said.
In the midst of Japan’s labor shortage, Murasaki stressed the importance of dealing with customer abuse — a serious cause of employee turnover — to make companies more attractive to workers.
Customer harassment is defined as any demand that goes beyond the scope of appropriate service, says Kyoko Shimada, representative of the Customer Harassment Association, Prevention and Support.
“Employees and consumers must first recognize (harassment) and have a shared understanding of what it is,” she said.
Some 80 companies that provide services in the “ground handling” industry at airports have joined hands to hammer out countermeasures against customer harassment, Shimada says.
She points out that if the industry as a whole embarks on these measures, it will be more effective in getting consumers to understand what constitutes appropriate customer behavior.
On the other hand, some companies in the food service industry are hesitant to take action due to concerns over problematic waitstaff and the difficulty of gathering customer feedback. Others are taking a wait-and-see approach to how the legislation plays out.
