Wingdome's Wall of Fame
背景はあるB級グルメのレストラン。弟と従弟が我々の子供達を連れていた。ウェートレスが子供達に塗絵用な紙とクレヨンを子供たちに渡した。
ポイント高いでしょう？
そして、帰る準備したら、ウェートレスは子供達に「絵をうまく書いたね！名前を書いて、この壁に貼りますか？」と、出来上がった絵を特別な壁に貼ってくれました。子供達は大喜び。
これがアメリカの最も良いおもてなし;ファンになりたいようなサービス。
今回の里帰りは一年ぶりの来米。以前は一般なアメリカ人の仕事に対する関心が低かった;従って「おもてなし」は一般的に低かった。日本のお店の場合はどこ行っても「いらっしゃいませ」。アメリカは「どうでも良い」、もしくはチップの為な笑顔。
しかし、この頃はアメリカの経済が苦しくなった中、一般の皆の仕事関心度が高まったのか、今回の里帰りで見てみたかった。
デパートは相変わらず、店員さんからの挨拶はほとんどなし、物を買いたいのに店員さんが見付かない一方、もう一方は大手DIYでは驚いたぐらいにどこ行っても「如何ですか？何か探していますか？」と声を掛けられました。
まあ、さまざまでした。変わってない所や、大分進化した所も、その上にファンになる様なB級グルメのおもてなし。
アメリカも、頑張っているね。
The setting: a buffalo wing joint. My brother and cousin and I took our kids for lunch. The waitress brought the kids some drawing paper and crayons.
Nice touch, right?
Then, as we were getting ready to go, she saw the pictures and said, "Great drawings, guys. Now, write your names on them and lets post them on our Wall of
Fame."
The kids were ecstastic. That's the type of service that makes you become a fan.
This was my first trip back to the States in a year. I was curious how America's general level of customer service was. In Japan, wherever you go, you get an "Irasshaimasse" greeting and attentitive service. Generally in America, you typically get ignored or a for-a-tip smile.
With the economy down and jobs scarce, I was curious if people had started to take their work more seriously or not. So, on one hand I had a frustrating experience at a department store, with nary a greeting and trouble finding a sales associate when trying to make a purchase. On the other hand, going to a home center store I was surprised to find sales staff constantly saying "Hi" and asking if I needed help. That was a huge improvement. And the crowning example of service was the buffalo wing waitress.
All in all, I'd say service is getting better.
NOTE: Many Americans who travel to Japan are surprised by the level of service. Not to say Japan's 'omotenashi' is perfect (overall, could be a bit friendlier and not so manual-like), but this is an area that Americans could see areas for improvement.
