It is often remarked that customer service in Japan’s restaurants, hotels and department stores, is the best in the world.
Recently, more travel services and hospitality providers are striving to offer this unique Japanese service experience to their VIP customers to drive business profitability.
Although Japanese service is said to the best, and is marked highly in Overseas reviews, as a native Japanese accustomed to a high standard of service, it can be hard to pin-point how to do this effectively for their VIP customers from Overseas .
So in this article, we would like to introduce you to how this might be achieved.
What is first-class service?
Think carefully about the customers’ needs
First-class service means being able to impress customers, building their trust and loyalty, identifying and dealing with customer dissatisfaction quickly and smoothly, valuing and addressing their complaints etc., you must develop the ability to respond and adapt quickly to their needs.
If you are in customer service, you need to recognize that it takes the time and effort to get to know your customers well.
When you view service only from your own work perspective, you may provide an experience that ignores the customer’s true desires.
The key towards [First-class] service is to first and foremost put the customer before yourself.
It is important to research the customer in advance
Researching the customer to the best of your ability is vital in ensuring a smooth service experience. For example, what is the customer’s line of business? Is this their first time to Japan? Etc?
It is also important to impress the customer, and make them think ‘Wow, the hospitality provider knows me so well!’. This type of insight is extremely important in giving your customer peace of mind, and creating trust through your attention to the smallest of details, and in building a relationship with them.
Three benefits from providing a first-class service experience that will delight your valued customer
Three amazing things that happen when you truly impress a customer.
They will think, ‘I want to come here again!’
Firstly, impressive service creates a halo-like effect.
Regardless of the overall quality of service, people’s overall view of the service they receive is colored by their initial experience and impression
If they experience great service at the outset, it creates the impression that ‘The next service experience will be even better’.
The customer will think, ‘Japanese service is amazing. I cannot get an experience like this in my own country. I must come to Japan again!’
It’s a fulfilling experience for both the customer and the hospitality provider
Secondly, impressive service brings about interaction.
In other words, it not only makes your customers feel great, it also make your Hospitality staff feel appreciated and fulfilled.
This is because it has a psychological effect on the customer, who feels, ‘I have to show my appreciation’.
This opens new doors and presents new opportunities.
Spreading the word to the people around them
The third benefit is that the customer will talk about their experience spreading the news by word-of–mouth to those in their immediate circle of friends and acquaintances. This is perhaps the greatest benefit of providing wonderful service.
So, let’s provide special treatment to our VIP customers. For example, you can invite them onto a special VIP mailing list on which they will receive special coupons and complimentary ’gifts’, etc., so that the customer will feel he is really getting the VIP treatment.
If you make the effort to treat the customer well, he will rightly feel he is being accorded the VIP treatment.
And once home, the customer will spread the word about the great service experience he has received, and those who hear of it may one day come to in search of the same for themselves.
Let’s not forget the Japanese cultural experience!
It is highly recommended that you provide Japanese traditional culture experiences such as the [Kabuki experience], [Ninja experience] and [Geisha experience] to VIP’s in a private setting.
Unlike general experience tours, they will experience a true performance, from the make-up to the actual stage and players themselves in close-up, which will most definitely deliver a true VIP experience.
Also, whilst most general experience tours tend to focus on the academic or learning aspects, our experiences focus on the entertainment aspect, ensuring the emphasis is on their enjoyment, and their total immersion in the experience itself.
To compliment this, you can, for example, ask your customer beforehand what they would like to try (or not try), and personalize the experience according to their specific wishes.
The customer will feel even more special should you be able to provide an experience they simply could not find anywhere else in the world.
For example, if the customer says they would like to see both [Kabuki] and [Ninja], it might be worthwhile producing a plan combining the two events into a single sitting.
It is even worth offering to stage the experience somewhere of the customer’s choosing for their comfort and convenience.
VIPs are particularly pleased and feel special when they are provided with experiences in a flexible way that matches their specific desires.
Summarizing the features of the service experience
- Provide true Japanese traditional cultural experiences in a private environment, up close , where the distance between the performer and the customer is minimized.
- Emphasize the entertainment aspect of the experience (with less focus on the academic and learning aspects)
- Personalize the experience ([Kabuki] x [Ninja], selection of Japanese cuisine per the customer’s preferences, etc.)
- Provide the content that the customer desires (Kabuki etc.) at a place of the customer’s choosing (at their hotel, etc.)
We trust the above points will act as a helpful reference.
Conclusion
The number of visitors to Japan is expected to increase. It is important to cater for VIP customers among this, by providing first-class service combined with their selection of traditional Japanese cultural experiences.
As we welcome visitors from different countries & cultures, races, classes, religions, with different food preferences, etc., we will further enhance the image of Japan, by providing VIP visitors with the best hospitality experience available, which will further drive growth in the number of VIP’s, including repeat visitors, coming here from all over the world.
We are working day and night to spread Japan’s unique hospitality culture to people around the world. Please feel free to contact us for any inquiries regarding the reception and hospitality of guests visiting Japan.
