Why Customers Are Not Always Right and How It Relates to the Demographic Crisis

Luxury Brand in Japan: Rethinking Customer Service Standards

A well-known luxury brand recently conducted a survey across its global network of stores by sending mystery clients to evaluate the level of customer service.
Surprisingly, despite their stellar reputation, the brand’s stores in Japan performed poorly.

The senior director in charge explained, “The issue wasn’t the service.
It was the customers.
In fact, we knew that the service in our Japanese stores was by far the best in the world, but the Japanese customers we sent noticed flaws that no one else in the world would have.”

Changing Customer Dynamics

Many see an enviable virtuous circle in this story: a parable of what happens when a service culture appears genuinely enthusiastic and responsive to the idea that the customer is always right.
However, in Japan, as in the rest of the world, the mantra of “the customer is always right” is wavering.

In recent years, the term “customer harassment” has entered the Japanese public sphere to describe verbal abuse, threats, tantrums, aggressions, and physical violence inflicted by customers on workers in retail, restaurants, transportation, hotels, and other customer service sectors.
One common complaint involves customers demanding that staff kneel on the floor to atone for a specific infraction.

Redefining Customer Centricity

While these incidents may seem trivial relative to often violent equivalents in other countries, the perceived sharp increase in frequency is now being treated as a scourge.
The Japanese government is planning a fundamental overhaul of labor law to require companies to protect their staff from customer rage.

The real turning point, however, lies in considering the idea that customers can be wrong—a concept that could prove to be more liberating.
Despite the luxury goods and virtuous circles, the infallibility of the customer has not necessarily been the optimal guiding principle for Japan, especially as demographic changes strain the ability to maintain previous service levels.

Cost of Service Excellence in Japan

One significant impact of Japan’s high service standards has been the chronic misallocation of resources.
The fabulous but labor-intensive service that no one wants to see vanish has had a rising cost for other sectors in terms of monopolizing valuable workers.
As the working-age population dwindles and other sectors make more urgent or enticing demands, the strain becomes more apparent.

While Japan may not be ready to let service standards slip drastically, it may be close to deciding that customers can have rights without always being right.
In a world where customer entitlement increasingly clashes with modern realities, finding the right balance is crucial for sustainable service excellence.