Japanese companies make rules for rise in abusive customers

Tired of the angry outbursts, shouted threats and even incidents of violence, the operator of Narita International Airport has become the first in Japan to implement a zero-tolerance policy against harassment of its staff.

The airport is not alone in acting to protect its employees, with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government passing a local ordinance on October 4 designed to protect people working in the service sector from abuse, threats and unreasonable demands as such cases become more commonplace.

The management of Narita Airport, which serves Tokyo, said it had been obliged to act due to an increase in confrontations between passengers and staff.

The new policy defines harassment as any act that "harms the working environment of airport staff physically or psychologically" and includes insulting employees, yelling, verbal abuse, discrimination and defamation.

Staff shocked at incidents

A new ground handler at another major Japanese airport was taken aback by how often travellers lose their temper.

"It happened to me again last week," said the woman, who declined to be identified as she did not have the permission of her employer to speak publicly.

"A passenger's suitcase was over the weight limit and he became enraged that we would not allow him to check it in."

Whatever the cause of more Japanese losing their temper more readily, more companies are taking precautionsImage: Taidgh Barron/Zuma/picture alliance

"He was shouting, banging on the desk with his fist and kicking the case," she told DW.

"This went on for about 15 minutes but we did not back down, so in the end he had to pay the excess baggage fee. It was not all that much and I do not understand why he became so aggressive."

She noted that some ground staff give in to threats, which may encourage others to do the same.

In June, the 1.8 million-strong UA Zensen Union published the results of a survey that indicated that 46.8% of workers in Japan's service industry had been the target of customers in the previous two years.

Some had been so traumatized by the experience, the report said, that they had required counselling.

"Japan has such high standards of polite service, but with that comes similarly expected norms for customers," said Roy Larke, senior lecturer in marketing at the University of Waikoto, New Zealand, and an expert on retailing and consumer behavior in Japan.

"When these expectations break down, even if only in a few well reported cases, it will be quite shocking for many," he told DW.

Educating the customer

"In the same way that e-commerce firms are now attempting to educate the customer to accept slower deliveries and how some supermarkets companies are introducing chairs for cashiers for the first time," said Larke, adding that there may be a need for "lower expectations from customers when shopping."

"I would hypothesise that the combination of increased pressure is the main factor behind increased customer frustration," Larke said.

Regardless of the cause, more companies are taking precautions.

The nation's two largest air carriers, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, in July unveiled new guidelines on passengers' behaviour, identifying abusive and aggressive language as unacceptable, along with threats, physical assaults of staff, unreasonable demands and sexual harassment.

Technology developer Softbank Corp has developed a voice-altering phone technology that employs artificial intelligence and makes a furious caller sound calm to the company employee listing to a complaint.

Supermarket chain Ito-Yokado Co has created a manual for dealing with difficult customers and introduced training on reporting violent behavior to the police and maneuvering threatening individuals into positions where they are recorded on CCTV.

Training of store staff

Similarly, 24-hour convenience stores are training staff on how to respond to abusive customers and many outlets have introduced signs warning that misbehavior will not be tolerated and that the premises are monitored by security cameras.

Morinosuke Kawaguchi, a technology analyst and consultant who was previously a lecturer at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, says Japanese society has become something of a minefield of potential harassment pitfalls as more people grasp what constitutes harassment and are willing to report incidents.

"Japan is an extremely polite nation and society, but all the cases we hear about make it appear that we are becoming impolite," he told DW. "I think a big part of the problem is that everything is now being recorded on mobile phones so we are just seeing more cases."

"This sort of behavior used to be the sort of thing young street thugs did, but virtually no one saw it happening," he added. "Now we have social media, it has become a big issue. I do not believe that Japan, as a society, really has become more impolite or aggressive."

Edited by: Keith Walker