Customer Service. It is something that many U.S. firms focus on. It is something that most U.S. firms rarely achieve.
Why? Earlier this month, I debated that question, over many glasses of various spirits on airplanes, in bullet trains, and during meals with the Senior Director of the Boston Consulting Group. The event that prompted this debate was our mutual golf tour of seven private clubs in Japan: Nikko CC, Tokyo CC, Kasumigaseki - East, Kasumigaseki - West, Hakone CC, Kawana Hotel and Resort, Hirono CC, and Naruo CC. What began as a golf tour changed our core philosophy of life. The evolution started in Tokyo, a city whose buildings are a variety of shades of off-white. More than 10 million people call this city home. The buildings are superficially reflective of the personality of the people essentially colorless. The Japanese value privacy and discretion, the depth of the bow measures the degree of respect, and hand shakes are only exchanged with Westerners. However, it would be a deep mistake to misinterpret what appears to be a lack of openness; for behind the door of a Japanese person's exterior, there is a vast appreciation for life's essential values. On our journey throughout Japan, we consistently experienced the display of those values, providing the conclusion that they are a common thread among the Japanese people. In parallel to the demeanor of the populace, we noted that each course we visited had many elements in common: Korai greens (perhaps bent L3 or T1), which most facilities are discussing changing to over the next several years. Korai is bumpy and inconsistent, and requires constant verticutting. Conditioning that reflected early spring conditions. Courses marked incorrectly - there are no lateral or water hazards. White out-of-bounds stakes are used for everything. A pond positioned 10 yards behind the green on the 465-yard, par 4, 10th at Naruo was marked as out of bounds. Internal out-of-bounds stakes used to separate adjoining fairways are prevalent. Unique architecture with a "two-green system." For example, the Tokyo GC has two alternative routings, called Art and Penn Cross, in which legitimate and well-contoured greens are available on each hole on a rotating basis. The 11th and 12th also offer two tees which cross to their targeted greens. Kasumigaseki - East also used a two-green system. Attentive service that far exceeds anything we ever experience in America. We were treated, as was every other individual, as an "honored guest," and the Japanese were so accommodating that we marveled at their dedication and commitment.
It was the consistent service that we received that sparked our ongoing debate. The first week of May in Japan is designated as Golden Week. This festival is a celebration in which each family takes their children home to visit grandparents. It is also a lesson in patience. It took us more than three hours to go 30 miles from Hakone CC to Kawana, outside the seaside town of Atami. Though the distance from Kawana to Atami is only 12 miles, on a narrow winding road that day it took an hour-and-a-half by car. Thus, we arrived in Kawana at 3:00 p.m. knowing that our itinerary had us scheduled for a 7:50 p.m. bullet train from Atami to Kobe. We were concerned that playing 18 holes of golf made our chances of making the train justifiably remote. The Course Manager, in learning of our dilemma, merely stated, "No problem; we will do it all and you will make the train." Little did we realize how. At Kawana, the Japan Pro Tour Fujisankei Classic was starting the day after our arrival, and the front nine was already undergoing final preparations. So we started on the back nine. At 6:45, after we had finished the round and eaten dinner, the general manager suggested it was time to depart. He merely stated to the staff, "Please place their clubs and luggage in my personal car. I will drive them to the Kawana train station." On arrival at Kawana, he parked his car, insisted on paying our train fare, and then said, "I will join you on the train to assist you with your luggage, because you have to change at Ito to get to Atami." He joined us for the 12-mile train ride, guiding us the entire way. We made the 7:50 p.m. bullet train with 10 minutes to spare. We thought, "Never in America would a Club Manager escort a guest to make a train." Arriving at 10:52 p.m. on Sunday in Kobe, we were amazed again. On the platform, one of Japan's wealthiest businessmen, who is also the Chairman of what is considered Japan's finest private club, Hirono, was waiting for us. He sincerely stated, "I didn't want you to be inconvenienced in having to look for a cab. I have taken care of that downstairs and have arranged to stay at Hotel Okura with you this evening to ensure a safe and timely departure tomorrow." Again, we thought, "Never in America would that happen." As we had a nightcap in the bar, listening to a South African white pianist with an African-American singer from England sing the Righteous Brothers hit, "First the tide rushes in..." we witnessed Japanese humility at its best. Our host, an accomplished golfer and world traveler, was asked how many of Golf Magazine's Top 100 courses in the World he has played. He merely shrugged his shoulders and said "perhaps just a few." In fact, with prying as only Americans can do in a journalistic style, we learned he has played more than 50 of the Top 100.. In a country where every raised nail gets hammered, what we witnessed, with some measure of surprise, was a change in ourselves. Where by nature we are aggressive, we became deferential. Rather than being outspokenly opinionated, we began to listen. Rather than demanding, we became respectful. Rather than having consistently high expectations, we became appreciative. It was refreshing. It felt good. I liked the change. I hope that it will last, but I doubt that it will. On our return to America, the customer service debate was quickly answered, as we were waiting to board our airplane from San Francisco to Denver. There was a small gap between me and the next person, in a long line that wound its way from the jetway to the front of the customer service counter. Two Americans, shoulders loaded with bags, barged through the gap without a word hitting both me and the person in front of me. Two Asian ladies also forded the narrow gap, but not without first saying, "Excuse me. May I cross here? So sorry. Thank you." The military officer standing in front of me merely shook his head, looked at me, and said, "As a country, we have lost it." With those few words, my travel companion and I both understood what he meant. Have we become a country where our expectations are so high they cannot be fulfilled? Have we become so self indulgent that we take everything for granted? These are certainly questions to ponder in our search for greatness. One must wonder, from what appears to be our lack of mutual respect for each other, if the sun is setting on the American Empire. |
