Episode #16: Creating Consistently Great Customer Service

How Much Brand Value Are You Losing From One Inconsistent Customer Interaction?

Your marketing team invests heavily in brand, digital campaigns, and corporate messaging—yet one bad customer interaction in Tokyo, Singapore, or anywhere in Asia can undo months of effort in seconds.

A warm greeting at reception followed by a cold, indifferent phone response. A beautifully landscaped airport drive into Singapore, followed by a confusing hotel check-in. A brilliant salesperson in a 日本企業 (Japanese company) or 外資系企業 (multinational company) overshadowed by a grumpy colleague on the phone.

These “moments of truth” either compound your brand value—or quietly destroy it.

Jan Carlzon, former CEO of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), transformed a failing airline by focusing on what he called “Moments of Truth”: the small, real-time interactions where customers decide what they really think of your brand. His book “Moments of Truth” is still a powerful guide for executives responsible for customer experience.

A positive moment of truth might be:

• A hotel receptionist who smiles sincerely and makes check-in effortless.

• A waiter who offers an ice-cold fresh juice in humid Singapore before you even ask.

But Carlzon’s key insight was not just about great service—it was about consistent service. If one employee delights the customer and the very next employee frustrates them, the negative impression wins. The inconsistency itself becomes the brand.

Mini-summary: Carlzon’s “Moments of Truth” teaches that your brand lives or dies in everyday interactions, and inconsistency across touchpoints is one of the biggest destroyers of trust.

Imagine the following real scenarios from Asia:

Singapore hotel — great welcome, poor follow-through

• You arrive from Changi Airport, impressed by Singapore’s beautifully maintained, leafy main roads.

• At the hotel, check-in is pleasant, and a thoughtful waiter brings you an ice-cold glass of fresh juice—exactly what you need in the humidity.

• You go to your room in a very good mood… and then the television doesn’t work.

• After frustration and trial-and-error, you finally discover that a card must be inserted near the door to activate the power, and a similar system is used in the elevator.

The issue is not the system itself—it’s that nobody explained it. A small omission by the pleasant receptionist created unnecessary frustration and diluted the earlier positive impression.

Japan office call — excellent staff member, but poor handoff

• You call a company in Japan, hoping to speak with an impressive staff member, Ms. Suzuki, whom you met previously.

• The phone is answered with a flat, emotionless “XYZ company here” in Japanese.

• You ask for Ms. Suzuki. The reply: “She is not at her desk right now.”

• Then… silence. No offer to take a message. No suggestion of a callback.

Previously, Ms. Suzuki made you feel positive about the entire organisation. Now, the person answering the call has just “killed” that good image in a few seconds.

Mini-summary: From the customer’s perspective, inconsistent service feels like a broken promise. One excellent person cannot compensate for a system full of small, careless disappointments.

Many CEOs, country managers, and division heads in 日本企業 (Japanese companies) and 外資系企業 (multinational companies) working in 東京 (Tokyo) assume:

• “Everyone understands our brand.”

• “Our customer service is already good.”

• “We already explained how to answer the phone properly.”

Reality is often different:

• New hires and part-timers may never have been properly trained.

• Long-term employees may have ingrained habits that were never challenged.

• Leaders in corner offices cannot hear what customers actually hear.

For example: in one sales office, a new hire in his fifties answered the phone with a tone that sounded angry and unhelpful. That was simply his “standard” style over his entire career. In an open-plan office, his manager could hear it and intervene. But many executives are physically and emotionally removed from the real sound of their own brand.

Mini-summary: Leaders often assume “everyone gets it,” but without constant reinforcement and monitoring, frontline behaviour quietly drifts away from the brand promise.

To manage customer experience, leaders must first see it. A practical starting point is to draw a “spider’s web” of customer touchpoints:

• Who answers the phone?

• Who handles email replies?

• Who meets clients at reception?

• Who manages follow-up calls?

• Who supports customers after the sale?

This applies equally to 日本企業 (Japanese companies) and 外資系企業 (multinational companies) operating in Japan. Each node on the web represents a person who can either enhance or damage your brand in a single moment.

Leaders should assume nobody fully understands the brand standard by default. Then they should repeatedly communicate:

• What good looks like.

• Why it matters to the business.

• How every touchpoint links to revenue, loyalty, and reputation.

Mini-summary: By mapping your customer “spider’s web,” you identify where real interactions happen and who must be trained, coached, and reinforced to protect your brand.

Here is a practical starting checklist for customer-facing teams in Japan and elsewhere:

1. How should staff answer the phone?

• Use a pleasant, happy voice—even on a busy day.

• Clearly state the company name and your own name first.

  • This prevents the caller feeling embarrassed for not recognising your voice.

2. What should happen if the requested person is unavailable?

• Never say “He/She is not at their desk” and then go silent.

• Proactively offer: “May I take your name and number so that Ms. Suzuki can call you back as soon as possible?”

• Confirm the information and repeat it to avoid errors.

3. How should the call be closed?

• Thank the caller for their time and interest.

• Repeat your name so they know they have a specific contact they can count on.

These standards are simple, but in many organisations they are not consistently practised. Every deviation becomes a small “brand leak” over time.

Mini-summary: Clear, basic phone standards—warm tone, proactive follow-up, and polite closing—are low-cost, high-impact tools to protect your brand image.

Executives in Tokyo responsible for customer experience, リーダーシップ研修 (leadership training), 営業研修 (sales training), プレゼンテーション研修 (presentation training), エグゼクティブ・コーチング (executive coaching), and DEI研修 (DEI training) can turn these ideas into action with four steps:

1. Map all client touchpoints.

   • Draw your “spider’s web” of customer interactions.

   • Include front office, back office, part-timers, temporary staff, and vendors who interact with your clients.

2. Design the ideal experience.

   • Define what you want customers to feel and think at each step.

   • Translate this into specific behaviour standards and language.

3. Train and reinforce consistently.

   • Integrate these standards into リーダーシップ研修 (leadership training), 営業研修 (sales training), and プレゼンテーション研修 (presentation training).

   • Use エグゼクティブ・コーチング (executive coaching) to align senior leaders’ behaviour with the desired culture.

   • Include DEI研修 (DEI training) to ensure the experience is respectful and inclusive across cultures and backgrounds.

4. Verify reality, don’t rely on assumptions.

   • Listen to recorded calls (where legally and ethically appropriate).

   • Sit in open work areas, not only private offices.

   • Ask customers directly about their experience.

Mini-summary: Brand protection is a leadership responsibility. Clear standards, structured training, and constant verification are required to ensure every moment of truth supports, rather than weakens, your reputation.

How Do Engaged, Inspired Employees Drive Better Customer Experience?

Engaged employees are naturally self-motivated. The self-motivated become inspired. Inspired employees:

• Treat every customer interaction as personal.

• Take ownership instead of saying “That’s not my job.”

• Protect and enhance the brand even when nobody is watching.

The critical leadership question is: Are you inspiring them?

At Dale Carnegie Tokyo, we help leaders and organisations in Japan develop the mindset and skills to create this level of engagement—so that every customer moment of truth becomes a competitive advantage, not a hidden risk.

Mini-summary: Inspired employees are the most reliable guardians of your brand. Leaders must intentionally develop the culture, skills, and systems that allow them to thrive.

• One inconsistent interaction can erase multiple positive experiences, making consistency across all customer touchpoints essential.

• Leaders must map, design, and train the entire customer “spider’s web”, including part-timers and non-regular staff.

• Simple, non-negotiable service standards, especially for phone and reception, deliver strong brand protection at very low cost.

• Engaged, inspired employees—developed through structured training and coaching—turn every moment of truth into an opportunity to build loyalty and revenue.

Founded in the U.S. in 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has supported individuals and companies worldwide for over a century in leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI. Our Tokyo office, established in 1963, has been empowering both Japanese and multinational corporate clients ever since.