One of the first things to notice here is the very high level of service. When you enter a restaurant or a store they greet you, when you leave they bow and thank you. After a while this is not so impressing any longer and you start to wonder if it is all superficial, is the service here really that good, for example if I were to make a difficult request, how would that be dealt with.

This is the story of the magical boxing gloves. Bought them at Tokyu Hands store in Shibuya. After using them a few times one of the seams opened. OK, so I went back to the store and they offered to replace the gloves with a new pair. Only problem was that they were out of that particular model. No problem, we will ship them to you when they arrive, the clerk said. A few days later a delivery man arrives with my gloves. Nice, the right model, but wrong size. So, called the store again to complain the size. By now I was expecting them to offer me to ship a new pair in a day or two, but no. It gets better.

They offered to ship the new gloves immediately. Would I remain at home for the next hour? I said yes and soon after a man arrives a our door. It is not a delivery man, it is the actual clerk from the sports department at Tokyo Hands Shibuya. With him five pairs of gloves in different sizes. “Please try these to find your size”. After choosing one pair, he said before he left, “if you ever in the future have a problem with these gloves, do not hesitate to call again”.

That’s what I call good service, almost like dealing with gangsters. I like the “if you ever get a problem in the future” part.

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