Surprises of Japanese Services

By Shen Fangzheng

My wife and I made a trip to Kyushu, Japan, last month and stayed in a lesser-known hotel. However, surprise after surprise came before we even checked in.

We knew there were two wellknown sushi restaurants in Kyushu and wanted to have a try. So we e-mailed the hotel and asked them to reserve a table for us in advance. The hotel replied that one was fully booked, while the other didn't accept foreign guests' reservations. Generally speaking, the hotel had fulfilled its duty by giving us the feedback. However, the staff from the hotel sent us another email later, apologizing for failing to get us an ideal reservation. In the email, another three sushi restaurants with detailed introduction and reviews for our reference.

I received a reservation confirmation message the next day after I told the hotel which sushi restaurant we wanted to visit. We had already enjoyed their considerate service before departure.

When we checked in at the hotel, one receptionist handed over an envelope to us in a polite manner. In the envelope, we found a map of the sushi restaurant we were going to visit on the third evening and a card with recommendations on it, including the dishes they suggested, the price, and the name on the reservation. One tip advised us to go early to avoid traffic, because our reservation was at 7 pm.

We had a pleasant time in the sushi restaurant that evening. When we went back to the hotel, I thought to myself, “The hotel's recommendation is really great. It doesn't matter that we didn't go to the two famous restaurants.” Then we saw an envelope lying on the table. There was a questionnaire inside, asking whether we were satisfied with the sushi restaurant recommended and whether we enjoyed the meal. If so, they would recommend it to the other guests. Besides providing service for the needs of the guest, the hotel had also done its best in providing surprises and making the guests happy.

The first day when we went into the room, we found eight pieces of wagashi in four flavors placed in a bamboo basket—on the top of it there was a greeting card from the general manager. The sweetest thing was that there were two origami cranes made out of the flags of China and Japan respectively. We were so surprised that we exclaimed, “Wow! That's so sweet!”

We had two pieces of wagashi and planned to have the rest in the following days. But when we came back the second night, there was a new basket of wagashi, covered by new cards and origami cranes.

We wondered whether they would send another basket of wagashi on the third day. That would be too much. It didn't seem like a good idea to send the same desert to the guest when they hadn't finished the previous. That day, when we opened the door, we saw an exquisite plate of cut-up fruit on the table. Two origami cranes were placed on the transparent cover of the plate. Obviously, the staff tried their best to surprise the guests.

We seemed to have communicated silently with the staff through the origami crane, wagashi, and fruit. I had to admit that their thoughtful service was far beyond my expectation, and a warm feeling crept into my heart.

We ordered a 7 pm flight back home on the fourth day. In the early morning of that day, the signal light on the phone flickered. I dialed back. The staff answered and asked me whether we needed a late check out or a taxi. We left our luggage at the reception in the morning and had fun for half the day, and then came back to hotel 15 minutes before the taxi came. It was then that we met the manager of the hotel. He arranged a staff member who had attended an exchange program in China to talk to us in Chinese and help us take our luggage to the taxi. When we checked our luggage at the airport, I suddenly found the last surprise of this trip—the staff wrapped a tag on my luggage, on which there were ten hand-written Chinese characters, meaning “Thank you for coming! Please visit again!”

(From Cheers, Issue 6, 2018. Translation: Li Li)

饭店读心术

文/沈方正

上个月，我跟太太去了一趟日本九州，入住一家不是很大也没什么名气的饭店。还没入住，惊奇已然开始。

九州有两家有名的寿司店，我们想去品尝，又怕没有位子，于是出发前先写了电子邮件，请饭店帮我订位。后来接到饭店回复，说一家客满，另一家不接受外国人预约。一般来说，饭店在充分告知之后，服务就结束了。但他们又发了一封电子邮件给我，说很遗憾没能帮我订到理想的餐厅，不过他们又推荐了三家寿司店，还附上相关介绍和评价，请我参考。

我研究回复后的第二天，就收到预订确认，是我最想去的那一家。旅程开始前，我已经提早享受到他们的贴心服务。

到了饭店，去前台登记，服务人员恭敬地递给我一个信封，里面不仅有我们第三晚要去的寿司店所在地的地图，还附上一张“前往注意事项”，包括帮我预订的菜色、价格以及代订人员的姓名。因为订位时间是晚七点，这段路很容易塞车，“事项”上还建议我最好提早出发。

那天晚上，我们在寿司店度过了一段满足而愉悦的时光。回到饭店，正当我想着“饭店的建议真不错，就算没去成原先心仪的那两家也没关系”时，发现桌上又躺着一个信封，原来是一份问卷，饭店希望知道我对他们推荐的寿司店是否满意、用餐体验是否愉快，以此作为他们下次推荐的参考。

除了领先顾客需求一步的服务之外，关于如何创造惊喜，让客人会心一笑，这家饭店也做得相当出色。

第一天入住时，房间里放的不是一般的水果，而是盛在竹篓中共八颗、分成四类的和果子，上面放了一张来自总经理的问候卡片，最特别的是，还有两只分别用中国国旗、日本国旗折成的纸鹤，当下就让人忍不住惊呼：“哇，真是非常用心。”

我们吃了两颗，剩下的打算留着慢慢吃。结果第二天晚上回来，发现竟然又多了一篓八颗不同种类的和果子，新的卡片和纸鹤都移到了这篓和果子上。

我们忍不住好奇，第三天还会再送来一篓和果子吗？这就真的太多了，从服务业的角度来看，明明客人吃不完，继续堆积似乎不是个好办法。

当天回来一推开房门，只见一盘切好的水果优雅地排开，两只纸鹤就站在盖住水果的透明盒罩上面。显然服务人员是花尽巧思，不断想办法带给客人惊喜。

透过纸鹤、和果子和水果，我们就像默默进行了三场对话。我不得不承认，这样的关心和服务实在超出预期，一股暖意更是直达心坎。

回程订的是第四天晚上七点的飞机，房内电话上的信号灯已早早亮起，我拨过去，原来是问我是否需要延迟退房，或者帮忙预订计程车。这天早上，我们把行李寄存在柜台，又出去放心地玩了大半天，直到预订的车子抵达前十五分钟回到饭店。这时候才见到饭店主管，他专门请了一位曾到中国做过交换学生的服务人员出来，用中文和我交谈，并帮我把行李送上车。直到在机场不经意整理行李时，我才发现此行的最后一个惊喜——不知道什么时候，对方竟然悄悄地在我的行李箱上挂了一个吊牌，上面写着“谢谢光临，欢迎下次再来”十个工整的汉字。

（摘自《快乐工作人》2018年第6期）