But earphones don’t stress people out; people do.

The say soft times make soft people, and this could apply to the state of customer service in Japan. Long hailed for its high degree of accommodation and politeness, it may soon be reaching a tipping point as customers themselves have become increasingly difficult to deal with. There’s been a lot of talk about the growing problem of “customer harassment,” but perhaps even seemingly average customers can do more to meet staff halfway in the realm of human interaction.

I appear to be guilty of this too, according to a recent survey of 1,000 retail workers by telecom giant SoftBank, which found that 74.6 percent of clerks feel some degree of stress when having to deal with customers wearing earphones. The main reason behind this is that they can’t easily tell if the customer can hear what they are saying or not.

This situation is playfully illustrated in a PSA by SoftBank, starring the comedy duo Lalande, made up of Saya and Nishida.

In the two-minute video, Saya plays a convenience store clerk who attempts to ask a customer if he wants a bag for his items, only to be ignored while he listens to loud music. Suddenly, a wise master appears before her, asking if she wishes to harness the power to express her heart to others.

This is followed by a kung-fu training montage, as Saya learns the ancient technique of making a heart shape with her hands so she can project her feelings onto others who aren’t listening. After days of training, she finally masters it.

The next day, a customer watching a video on his smartphone ignores Saya’s offer of a bag. Summoning her power, she makes a mighty heart shape with her hands. She is amazed when it makes the man take out his earphone, only for him to tell her, “Sorry, but I have a girlfriend.”

The survey and video both show that while earphones on a customer are certainly red flags, they’re not the entire problem. When asked if customers should remove their earphones before dealing with clerks, only 53.3 percent of respondents said yes, suggesting there is some leeway on the issue, depending on the customer’s behavior.

The biggest problems, according to respondents, are when the customer doesn’t respond to questions about wanting a bag or having a point card, and then complaining when they don’t get a bag or have their point card scanned. So really, it boils down to making an effort to communicate with staff rather than wearing earphones or not.

As a frequent patron of convenience stores, I often see people without even wearing earphones treat the staff like they don’t exist or like they’re some kind of vending machine. It might not be as outwardly hostile as customer harassment, but that kind of disconnect is certainly a form of rudeness as well.

I try to think I transcend that by performatively clicking my earphones off as I approach the counter and making frequent eye-contact with the staff. Then again, that all might just be causing added stress to them…

I guess I should rethink what the best way to be a good customer is, and maybe we all should. Failing that, just taking out our earphones would probably help a lot. After all, we ultimately get the customer service we ourselves deserve (wages and overall corporate climate notwithstanding).

Source: PR Times
Images: YouTube/ソフトバンク（SoftBank)
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