Clients are demanding Japan firms' workers kneel to apologize, and many comply: survey

Almost 47% of companies in Japan have been subject to client demands that employees kneel on the ground in the "dogeza" style to apologize, and around 70% of those have actually assumed the humiliating pose, a recent survey has found.

The results of the survey conducted online on Sept. 26 and 27 by After Call Navi Co., a Tokyo-based firm that handles phone calls on behalf of companies, revealed some of the firms' responses to harsh "customer harassment." After Call Navi contacted the 1,005 company heads who had answered their enterprises had experienced customer harassment to request specific details about the incidents and how they reacted.

When asked if clients had ever demanded employees perform the dogeza pose, 46.8% of respondents answered yes. Of those, 35.7% said they had gotten down on their knees once, and 34.5% responded that they had done so repeatedly. The most common reason for getting down on their knees was "to settle the situation quickly" at 39.1%. An After Call Navi representative commented, "This suggests that companies compromise in many cases just to reduce the time and mental burden."

In Tokyo, Japan's first ordinance to prevent customer harassment, which prohibits customers from making unreasonable demands of employees and others, was enacted on Oct. 4. However, how to ensure its effectiveness remains an issue because it is difficult to draw a line between legitimate complaints and customer harassment, and there are no penalties in the ordinance.

Regarding the line between what constitutes customer harassment, 39.9% of respondents to the survey said that they "leave it up to the employee." Since many companies rely on the judgment and experience of individual employees, the After Call Navi representative stated, "Clear standards and continual training are necessary to ensure consistent responses."

source :  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20241022/p2a/00m/0bu/013000c

Comprehension

What is the "dogeza" pose, and why are employees sometimes asked to perform it?
What percentage of companies in Japan reported experiencing customer harassment involving the "dogeza" demand?
Why do employees often comply with the "dogeza" demand?
What organization conducted the survey about customer harassment?
When was Japan's first ordinance to prevent customer harassment enacted?
What is one challenge in enforcing the customer harassment ordinance?
How do many companies currently handle determining what constitutes customer harassment?
What solution does the After Call Navi representative suggest for handling customer harassment?

Discussion

How do you feel about employees being forced to perform the "dogeza" pose?
Why do you think some customers demand such extreme apologies?
Should companies prioritize resolving situations quickly or protecting employee dignity? Why?
How can companies better support employees facing customer harassment?
What role does cultural expectation play in these customer demands?
Should there be penalties for customers who harass employees? Why or why not?
Have you ever witnessed or experienced customer harassment? How was it handled?
How might customer harassment ordinances improve workplace conditions?
What are the potential risks of leaving harassment judgments up to individual employees?
How can companies balance good customer service with protecting their staff?

Vocabulary

Dogeza – A traditional Japanese pose of kneeling deeply on the ground as a gesture of apology or respect.
Customer harassment – Abusive or unreasonable behavior by customers toward employees.
Humiliating – Causing a person to feel embarrassed or degraded.
Ordinance – A law or regulation enacted by a local government.
Legitimate complaints – Valid or reasonable grievances expressed by customers.
Compromise – To settle a dispute by making concessions.
Standards – Established rules or guidelines for behavior or performance.
Consistent – Acting or done in the same way over time to ensure fairness or reliability.