The Japanese are known for being an extremely friendly, yet conservative nation. Nothing sums this up better than their concept of customer service.
As an example, when you walk into any cafe in Japan, the staff say 'thank you very much' ('arigato goziamasu') like it was a broken record. I bought a coffee this morning and counted the staff say it to to me eight times. Eight times!
And yet, when you ask someone for a recommendation on anything, they are typically loathe to give a personal opinion.
People's public persona and private persona are entirely different; sometimes a little too different for my tastes. Baristas, waiters, check-out staff and the rest are so polite it can be a little tiring at times just being in the same vicinity.
I'm all for politeness, but the Japanese take this to an unnecessary extreme.
Image courtesy of fanboy.com.
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