A Cultural Insight: Gifting and Gratitude in Japan

Jorge from Brazil, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This happened about ten years ago! Back then, I frequently traveled to Japan for short business trips. During one of these visits, I became well-acquainted with a member of the customer team. He had been instrumental in helping me understand the module we were supposed to develop from offshore, and I was incredibly grateful for his assistance.

In Japan, it’s customary to offer gifts to those who help us (お世話になった方). I decided to gift him some alcohol as a token of my appreciation. So, I headed to the supermarket where I usually shopped. Since I don’t drink alcohol and know very little about it, I asked one of the shopkeepers for help.

When I told him I needed assistance choosing a good alcohol for my customer, he looked surprised. He explained that if you’re going to give alcohol as a gift, it’s not appropriate to buy it from a supermarket. He recommended purchasing it from a specialized shop (専門店) instead.

I asked if he could recommend a specific shop, and to my surprise, he took me outside, walked with me a few meters down the road, and pointed out a specialized alcohol store.

I was struck by his excellent customer service and his dedication to meeting my needs, even at the expense of his own store’s business. It was a memorable lesson in putting the customer’s needs first.