239: The Three Barbers Of Minato

<p>Minato-ku or the “Port Area” is a central part of Tokyo, which used to be harbourside for goods being delivered to the capital in ancient times.  My three barbers’ stories are tales of customer service opportunities gone astray, in a country where customer service is the envy of the rest of the world.  Each story brings forth a reflection on our own customer service and how we treat our buyers.  My apologies to Gioachino Rossini for lifting the title idea for this piece from his famous opera.</p> <p> </p> <p>Barber Number One worked in a men’s barber shop in the Azabu Juban shopping street which I frequented (and took my son too), for fifteen years.  During that time a number of different barbers there took care of my hair as they came and went. One day, while trimming the hair on the back of my neck, the electric razor must have had a fault, because he cut my skin where he had been shaving my neck.  My wife, being a typical demanding Japanese consumer, was appalled by this poor customer service and went there to complain about how they were treating her husband.  Me being a laid back Aussie, I didn’t raise a fuss myself, but that didn’t stop my missus from wading in.</p> <p> </p> <p>The youngish barber decided to argue the point with my wife and wasn’t immediately forthcoming with a  satisfactory apology.  My wife showed the offending damage on the photos on her phone and wasn’t backing off. One of the more senior barbers intervened and made the apology on behalf of the shop.  Did that satisfy her? Not in the least.  Why?  Because she didn’t feel it was a sincere apology. She told me I should never attend that establishment again. </p> <p> </p> <p>The lifetime value of a regular customer is high, especially in a crowded market.  There was a management issue there because the service culture wasn’t correct.  The interesting thing I understood was that barbers are hard to recruit these days, because not so many people want to join the trade.  They felt they could afford to lose me as a regular over fifteen year