"Settai" -a wired Japanese business culture

Let's study some Japanese words today. "Omotenashi" and "Settai", how do they sound like to you?

"Omotenashi" is a Japanese way of hospitality and customer service. The word became popular when Japan got the right to hold 2020 olympic game. Japan used this word to Olympic committees to explain how Japan can give great hospitality to the sports players and audience from all over the world. One of the famous Japanese news caster gave a presentation to the committees (actually she is a half French half Japanese, so she gave the presentation in French) and used this word with hand gestures. A lot of Japanese imitated the gesture and of course joked about it.

Omotenashi is one of the beautiful aspects of Japanese culture. However, it can be transformed into a wired thing and one of the example is "Settai" culture. If I translate "Settai" into English, I would say "To make customers feel that they are treated as a king or queen. Usually hosting company spend tons of money for food and other activities. In other words, wast of money." This "Settai" culture is one of the keys to get business in Japan. Let me explain a little bit more.

1) Normal Settai: Restaurant + Kyabakura (girls bar)

Even in America, there is a customer dinner. However, Japanese Settai need much longer time and cost a lot. Usually people go to a izakaya style restaurant (if it is an important dinner, people go to fancy restaurant such as Kobe beef steak house or traditional Japanese food) and move to Kyabakura after that. Kyabakura is like a girls bar but it is super expensive bar. One customer can get one girl to serve alcohol for them and it costs $70-100 per hour per person (depend on the quality and location of the bar). Also, people can sing a song like a Karaoke bar. The relationship between Japanese salarymen and Kyabakura is so deep, so I need another blog post for this.

2) Golf Settai

Another popular settai is playing golf with customers. I used to work as a sales rep and the first big spending after I joined the company was golf club set. My senior told me golf set is one of the must-have tool for sales rep in the Japanese business. American business people also play golf with customers, but it is more relaxed atmosphere. On the contrary, a lot of Japanese sales people don't like playing golf with customers. That is because sales people have to "omotenashi" to their customers. They need to pay attention that if their customers feel happy and satisfied. This is more like a server or waiter.

3) Business travel Settai
If the business involved with a travel, sales people become "travel agency." They ask customers where they want to visit and take them the location. For example, I used to work at Japanese company and they had a manufacture company in Himeji. When our customer want to visit the plant, we take them to see Himeji castle and took them to a restaurant where they could eat famous food there.

4) Other Settai
If the company has a sports team, participating it can be another settai. My old colleagues played soccer with customers and also went to see the game on weekend.

Building a good relationship with customers are very important. However, Japanese business people spend too much money for this settai and I think this is wast of money. If this settai culture is absolutely needed for the business success in Japan, I don't expect the Japanese growth in the future. Japanese people should rethink how to spend their money more wisely.