Readers familiar with Japan are in danger of whiplash when reading this entertaining and informative book about Japan's services sector. Some funny anecdotes about typical encounters are sure to provoke vigorous head nodding and not a few rueful laughs. The authors tell us that the flipside of many frustrating customer experiences in retailing, financial services, real estate, information technologies and health care are potential gold mines waiting for savvy entrepreneurs.
Consider a visit to a computer store, where "you'll find ten polite but unknowledgeable sales associates who merely relay customer questions to one overwhelmed employee who actually understands the merchandise."
"Saying Yes" argues that customers in need of expert assistance are not well served by "fawning, empty gestures of service." Japanese firms excel at "standardized, one-size-fits-all services offered in assembly-line fashion," and as a result are not serving increasingly divergent customer needs.