My friend who is in Japan sent me this message. (Click here for earlier post)
"Customer service in Japan really good. People are very nice and polite. There was a very slight drizzle. They actually bother to even wrap my paper bag." Yes. For those of you who have traveled to Japan, you've probably experienced top notch service everywhere you go in Japan. Be it a small shop, a family owned business, a chain restaurant, departmental store, everywhere you go, you'll find that the staff are very attentive, proactive and helpful. In fact, I had the same encounter she had when I went Japan. I bought something from Takashimaya departmental store and while paying for my items, the staff had my stuff nicely packed in their signature paper bag. Then she covered the paper bag with a plastic wrap. I was a little puzzled and asked why did she do that. This was her answer. "天気予報によると、今日は雨が降ります。” The above sentence literally means that according to the weather forecast, it will rain today. Wow. I'm impressed. And true enough, it started to drizzle when I left the departmental store. They even go to the extent to take note of the weather forecast and pre-empt problems that their customers are likely to encounter when they shopped at their departmental store. While shopping for men's clothes at a boutique, the staff went all the way giving recommendations, taking measurement, arranging for alteration and fitting appointment and making sure someone will be there to serve us in case she is not working. Even at their premium outlet, the staff was so considerate that she actually checked to see if the clothes I tried on fits me and going to and fro finding the right size for me to try without the need for me to go in and out of the fitting room. And the staff actually carry the items you bought and walk with you all the way to the door before handing you your purchase, gives you a bow and saying "Arigatou." This service has so impressive that it's being now copied all over the world, especially in branded boutiques. And not forgetting seeing staff lined up at entrance greeting customers when the shop opens. I heard this is even being copied by the libraries in Singapore. How about your business? An old friend sent me this photo on Whatsapp yesterday. She is in Tokyo and wanted to know what is written on the sticker with the 1000 Yen. Having studied Japanese, I quickly translate it for her without much effort. She then asked me whether can buy electrical appliances in Japan. I said, "Why not?" However, I caution her to check on the voltage as I think Singapore and Japan are using different voltage for their electrical appliances. She said it is very difficult to communicate with people in Japan because of language barrier. I suggested that she uses sign language to communicate. Like holding the socket and pointing to it while saying "Singapore, same same?" She said she tried doing it but the staff still did not understand her. I quickly googled for Singapore and Japan electrical appliances voltage information, sent the link to her and asked her to show the information to the staff. With the digits and W sign, the staff probably can make out what she is trying to say. Just then, I wondered why she and her husband who was with her didn't go online to find out these information. Whatever information you want or need, you can find it easily online. She could also use an online translator to convert English to Japanese. While she isn't that tech savvy, that shouldn't pose any issue as she can google whatever questions she has. The only reason I can think of her not doing it is she doesn't has internet access on her phone. Even s, she could do all the translations and store them somewhere unless she finds it too much a hassle. But doesn't that beats having to go back the next day? Likewise, the staff could do the same. Unless they are specifically banned from using mobile phone at work. This simple solution probably never cross their minds. I talk, you listen
Everyone talk, no one listen I give, you take. Everyone give, no one takes. I sell, you buy Everyone sell, no one buys. A smart brush that teaches you how to comb your hair the right way.
Automated dental floss dispenser that dispenses floss that glow colors and count down so you know when you should stop flossing. A smart vibrating jeans that connects to your smart phone to provide direction to your destination. The jeans vibrate left if you need to go left. And a bluetooth toaster (click here). Jetstar is running a Chinese New Year's campaign. For passengers who have booked flights out of Singapore on 27th (Chinese New Year's Eve) and 28th January 2017 (Chinese New Year's Day), the budget airline is waiving all change charges and price difference for those who decide to change their flight dates to start from 29th January 2017. The aim behind this idea is to encourage Singaporean families to amend their travel plans for Chinese New Year and to stay home with their families during this festive period. The airline came up with this idea as they noticed more Singaporeans are traveling during festive season. Jetstar also conducted a survey with 4,000 passengers asking them, "If money was not an issue, would they travel over Chinese New Year?" 75 percent of respondent replied with a positive answer. Based on this result, they made the assumption that peak travel prices were preventing people from leaving, rather than family values. A video was also launched where eleven young travelers picked from the survey were offered free flights to fly on Chinese New Year's Eve. They were then showed videos of their family members who were asked the same question. After watching the videos, the youngsters said no to the free tickets. There were two scenes where the ladies were in tears after hearing what their family members said. People travel during Chinese New Year for different reasons. It could be the only time of the year where they are free. It could be to keep a promise. It could be to experience Chinese New Year in a different country. It could be to avoid answering embarrassing questions from relatives. It could be to take a break. It could be to save on their annual leave. It could be to visit their relatives overseas. For those traveling during festive peak period, they know that airfares are expensive and in high demand. Perhaps those who have already booked their tickets to travel during this period are 100% sure that they will make the trip unless something unexpected happens. Otherwise, they wouldn't have forked out the money. What's interesting about the campaign is that this seems to target a specific group of its customer base - the young travelers. Did Jetstar notice an unusual high percentage of young passengers booking flight on 27th and 28th January 2017? Even the eleven respondents picked seems to be in that age group. The only logical reason for that is that it's the easiest way to put the message across that family comes first. Although there were eleven respondents as reported in the newspapers, only five of them appeared. What happened to the other six persons? Did they give a different answer which resulted in them not being shown in the video? As for the five who appeared on the video, did they know that they were being filmed? I may be wrong but I am more inclined to think that they suspect that they were being filmed. If this is the case, would any of the five still go ahead with the free flight after watching what their family member said knowing fully they are being filmed? Is this the reason why the other six did not appear in the video? Going back to the survey, nothing was mentioned about what other questions were asked. It seemed that only one question was asked as it mentioned passengers were posed THIS QUESTION. If this is the case, how would the conclusion be different if they were asked who they will be traveling with, what is the reason for traveling? There was also no information on the demography of those surveyed. If the 4,000 passengers are all young travelers, did Jetstar make the assumption right from the start that those who are most likely to travel during Chinese New Year if money is not an issue are the youngsters? If the 4,000 were from different age group, did the airline specifically choose to focus on the youngsters? That could explains why the subsequent video only featured youngsters. The biggest assumption they made is that peak travel prices is preventing people from traveling, rather than family values. This conclusion they made could be very off the truth. Those people could very well be traveling with their families during this period. Did they start off with the theme that they want - family comes first - and then find a way that's easiest to put the message across (what other ways better than to portray children leaving their family behind during Chinese New Year) and support it with their observations and survey that proved what they think is right? A sort of justify the justification? Everyone knows that air ticket is in high demand during major festive periods like Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year. For those planning to travel during these periods, they know that they have to book as early as possible to make sure they can get the air tickets. So their decisions were probably made months ahead. No doubt there will be those who decide to travel in the last minutes and able to do so provided they are lucky enough to be able to get air tickets. The campaign message "Stay home this Lunar New Year, because you can travel after that," which means family comes first. Chinese New Year is the most important festival for most chinese. For some of us, we would never travel during this period even if there's free tickets. Those people who have already booked flights to travel during Chinese New Year has a choice whether they want to travel or not even before they booked their flights. They have probably decided a few months in advance that they wanted to travel and so made the bookings. Jetstar is trying to get them to reconsider their decisions by offering them waiver. Perhaps there are passengers who are seriously considering staying home for reunion and this waiver thing serves as an additional incentive for them to make the change. What would other passengers feel after seeing the message but still go ahead with the trip because they have already paid so much for the air tickets? Will this make them feel remorseful and bad for not putting their family first? Furthermore, those who regretted booking flights during this period would have change even without the need for the waiver if they decide to put their family first. Why would anyone needs any incentive to put their family first? Let's take a look at Jetstar's offer to waive off all charges. A quick check on 13th January 2017 on the airfare for departure to Bangkok on 27th January (Friday) and return on 30th January (Monday) turns up this result. The price of one way airfare is above $200 excluding taxes. A random check on airfare to Bangkok for departure on 3rd (Friday) to 6th February (Monday) turns up this result. The airfare for one way trip is not more than $55 excluding taxes. These are the rules and regulations for the campaign. If you've used budget airlines before, you know that it is very expensive to change your flight. In addition to a service charge of $50 (as of today), you have to pay for the price difference on the airfare based on regular priced airfare. This means that your air ticket could very well ends up more expensive than a promotional air ticket offered by a full-fledged airline.
This is one of the avenue to earn revenue for budget airline. Maybe it is also to discourage people for changing. Of course, you could opt for higher priced tickets which gives you the flexibility to change the date. For those who decide to change their travel dates, they can change to travel between 29th January and 31th March 2017. There is also a black out period between 11th to 19th March 2017 which is the school holiday period. Do you think there will be any chance that air ticket price after the Chinese New Year's will be higher than during the festive period? Perhaps. Perhaps not. But are you more inclined to think that travel after the festive period would be much cheaper than Chinese New Year? Jetstar is offering waiver of change charges. It may looks like a good deal. But only for those who want to change for whatever reason - be it to be with family or something happened which made the travel impossible. But bear in mind that for those who are changing their flights, do you think that all of them will be changing from a premium priced air ticket to a cheaper ticket? If this is the case, could the waiver offered by Jetstar come from the price difference in the air ticket which can easily come up to $300 based on the above price check? In fact, could it be possible that Jetstar is making additional $300 from each passenger who changes? Cos how much do you think it costs Jetstar to change your flight date? And would Jetstar even consider refunding the price difference to passengers? I can understand why Jetstar is offering for travel untill 31th March 2017. But why the black out date during school holiday period? The airline knows that this is a peak traveling period and so can command a premium price as demand is high. But since those who booked to travel during Chinese New Year have already paid a premium, shouldn't they be allowed to travel on these dates as well? For those passengers who decide to travel after Chinese New Year, they will free up seats during this period. Which means that Jetstar can offer those seats previously not available up again for bookings. This means they will get additional revenue if the seats are sold. Now, what if Jetstar focus on its employees instead of passengers? One group that has no choice but to work during Chinese New Year. One group that has a choice but choose to travel during Chinese New Year. Or match those who did not manage to buy an air ticket home for Chinese New Year as they were all sold out and those who have booked tickets but were willing to give them up? Do your customer service reps understand the real reason for that advertisement?
Do your finance staff understand the real reason for the free service? Do your IT guys understand the real reason for the pricing? Do your admin staff understand the real reason why you use this supplier? There is a stall selling a traditional dessert made of glutinous rice and crashed peanut called Muah Chee.
The stall has a catchy brand name. The design of the stall and its display are simple and it's clean The owner even designed his own cute little box to contain the dessert. This makes it stand out among all the untidy stalls there. When it comes to the weekends, there's always a long queue and you have to be prepared to wait up to 45 minutes. One saturday, there wasn't any queue at all. Perhaps the stall owner has finished selling his desserts so early. The next saturday, there wan't any queue again. But the stall was still open for business. Another saturday, you can see the owner standing at his stall waiting for customers. Yet another week went by, he is now sitting outside his stall waiting for customers. The last saturday, his stall was not opened for business. It's the start of a new year.
On the last day of 2016, a CEO of a big corporation sent an email to all staff. He listed what the company has done for the year, the initiatives and innovations, new projects and collaborations. He then talked about what lies ahead - the challenges and threats brought on by disruptive technologies and what the company needs to do to take advantage of these changes to stay ahead. He ended off thanking all staff for their contribution and seek their continued commitment and support to realize the company's vision. Who doesn't love fireworks?
Would you rather watch 479,651 shells fired in just six minutes, an hour-long show of 77,282 fireworks or 810,904 fireworks that lasted for 1 hour 1 minute 32.35 seconds, in the pouring rain? Would you watch any of the three every day? "The place where your great joy meets the world's great need."
Reverend Peter Gomes |
AuthorOutrageous Marketing Archives
May 2020
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