episode-15

How to say, “A little bit, ‘kak-ka-sou-you’”
in Vietnamese? / (Scratch the itch from the outside of the shoe)
To all the part time staffs in Hanoi, thank you for hanging out with Mr. “G” from Japan.

Let’s talk about “5S”, “customer service” and “products”, which we are aiming to be the No.1 in the area.
(Arrange、Tidy、Refresh、Clean、Follow the rules you have decided).
These five are the themes. By the button “click here”, you will see a poster in Vietnamese. I will be glad if you read it. Sàng lọc（Arrange）, sắp xếp（Tidy）, sạch sẽ（Refresh、Clean）.

What a surprise! SEIRI (Arrange), SEITON (Tidy), SEIKETSU (Refresh), SEISOU (Clean).
In Japanese as in Vietnamese, it all begins with “S”. In Vietnamese it begins with the letter “S”, too. (“Follow the rules you have decided” exclude it for now.)
It can be summed up in the 5S's, so it’s easier to share with the part-timers!
I still clearly remember this feeling.
Here is one of the reason.

For the management of the cafe, we really need to teach the 5S concept to all the part-time staffs. We need them to be able to provide the service. How can we do that...?
I had been struggling with this before I came to Hanoi.

The words “Arrange”, and “Tidy” came from production factories, such as those for automobiles.
What can we do to produce the same quality product in large quantities, efficiently and quickly?
This is something that the Japanese government has been working on thoroughly since 1945. Why do we need to “arrange” and “tidy” to produce the same quality of products in large quantities efficiently and quickly”?
If we compare it to the work of the ARIGATOU Cafe, it would look like this.

For example, 10 customers came to the store at once. And there is only one person who cooks. Ideally, the order must arrive to the customers at the tables at the same time.
It is a big problem if the last customer's order arrives just when the first customer has finished eating. How to make each order fast, tasty, and impressive? We need to think of various ways how to train them.

For example, the main product, Kakigori at the Arigatou Cafe, comes in a small tray with a spoon, a tea bowl with some tea, instructions on how to eat the
Kakigori, and a bowl of Kakigori!
The order must instantly impress the customer, and make them think, “Beautiful!”, “It looks so delicious!”
The more arranged and tidied the trays are, the quicker you can get them out.
It's obvious, but that's why it is necessary to be arranged and tidied.
Dishes have to be arranged and tidied on shelves so that the preparer can find them with his or her eyes closed.
It is obvious that dishes have be clean. If the dishes are dirty, it causes extra work.

A group of customers comes to the store. They decided what to order.
The order arrives very quickly.
The dishes are clean and the food looks delicious. The orders arrive one after another without delay.
They all look delicious, beautiful. And there are voices saying, “Wow!” Some people start getting ready to take photos.
After enjoying the food is a smiling face.
“Customer satisfaction” spreads throughout the seats.
To achieve customer satisfaction, various preparations and training is required.
The beginning of it is Arrange、Tidy、Refresh、Clean.
We have restrooms. Before the cafe opened, we checked out restrooms of cafes and restaurants in Hanoi.
Some of the places were in a disappointing condition. I still remember that I thought if they only cleaned the restroom, they could be No. 1 in Hanoi soon.
Restroom is a place where people relieve themselves. Humans are dirty animals.
And no one is watching.
If the store is not careful, the restroom will be in a terrible condition.
It is a dirty place, and you act like you don't notice... Don't put off just because there is a problem. If there is a problem, deal with it immediately. Don't be vague or give up.
“If there is a problem in the departments of companies or stores, it will gradually turn into a toilet!”
In Japan, there is a saying like this. So the president, who is responsible for the company, may insist on cleaning the restrooms.

ARIGATOU Cafe is in the food business. Obviously, there is a standard requirement that restrooms and all other areas in the store have to be cleaned and refreshed.
Also, in Japan, we have the words “kiyomeru” (purify), “misogi” (ablution), and “harau” (exorcise).
These words are also the key words to describe the Japanese culture. It all connects to cleaning and refreshing.
Japan and Vietnam are Mahayana Buddhist countries. It may have been influenced by the story of one of the Buddha's followers, Cuda-Panthaka.

In Japan, there were presidents who were so obsessed with “cleaning toilets” that they would clean the toilets of their own companies, public facilities as a group, and even travel overseas to do so.
I am doing this activity because there are many things that could be gained through cleaning toilets, though I always hope that the part-timers at the cafe can also feel something.
And after all of this...

“I got it!”
Vietnamese exchange student, Take - chan - is looking at me and smiling.
Take - chan.
She studied law at a very famous university in Nagoya, and now she is pursuing her PhD!

“You're writing this blog because you want everyone who works part-time at the cafe to understand you.”
She’s right, 20% is correct.
I am writing this blog for many reasons.
One of the most important things for me is that I can't speak Vietnamese, so I can't have a deep communication with all the part-time staffs.
The hourly wage at the ARIGATOU Cafe starts at 22,000VND, and the rule is that the hourly wage increases according to the total work hours and the test results.
The highest hourly wage is 60,000VND.

I was told, “No one will work so long.” I had heard that “Vietnamese people quickly quit”, but the number of part-time staffs who have been working for a long time is increasing.
“So, the ARIGATOU Cafe is a manufacturing factory for customer satisfaction.”
As I expected. Take - chan says quite interesting things.
But, Take - chan, in contrast to a product such as a car, there is more than one finished product for a cafe service.
If there are 10 part-time staffs, all the customer service that come out of their human power are the finished product.
The interesting thing is that there is more than one finished product.
It is a job where the basics are followed and yet each person's way of doing things is valued. So, there is a lot of opportunity for creativity and improvement.

Everyone are studying at university in Hanoi. Bright and playful, each of them has a strong personality. It appeals with a good feeling. I have to respond them properly as a Japanese ...
I won't be disappointed