Corporate Japan's paralyzing fear of the unhappy customer

COMMUNITY / How-tos

Corporate Japan’s paralyzing fear of the unhappy customer

That dreaded call: Every business needs to be worried about unsatisfied customers, but problems may arise when a miserable few dictate the direction of a company. | GETTY IMAGES

By Rochelle Kopp
Contributing Writer

Feb 13, 2020

I was discussing American corporate strategies with the president of a fairly large Japanese company recently, specifically one approach that is popular over there but not here in Japan. I suggested he try it out and his response surprised me.

“Actually, I brought it up already,” he said, “but the legal department nixed it, as they were afraid there might be complaints.”

I told him it was a shame that the company wasn’t able to do something bold simply due to the risk of offending some hypothetical employee or client, and was tempted to chime in with a few aphorisms along the lines of “You can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs” or “You can’t please all of the people all of the time.” I refrained from the pep talk, though, as it was clear that, for his company, the prospect of a few unhappy customers was enough to stop the idea dead in its tracks.