Tokyo Gas
I've always been impressed with people working at public utilities. No,
seriously. I used to deal with these guys a lot when I was in the
construction business in New York. Union and management idiocy
notwithstanding, the line guys are generally highly skilled and totally
serious about maintaining safety, resorting power during and after
storms, and providing great service in a very dangerous business. That was back in the U.S., but
last night I had my very first experience with Tokyo Gas. Wild.
Around 10:30 last night the place filled with some sort of strong
noxious gas. The fumes stunk big time. My immediate reaction was
a suicide. Then I thought maybe there was a chemical spill. Then I thought gas.
But I've never really smelled gas in Japan, and since everything is
different in Japan, I wasn't sure. Do they seed their gas with a
different smelling chemical than in the U.S.? Who knows. So, I walked
out to the gas unit, and it was pumping out hot air filled with this
chemical smell. Call the gas guys. Now. And get out of the house. If
you've ever seen the result of a gas explosion (I have), you know this
is nothing to fool with. It's sort of like messing around with a bomb
for kicks. And the reason I initially thought about suicide is that
here in Japan there is a fad currently with people killing themselves
using a mix of chemicals, and authorities have to empty entire
neighborhoods to clean up the mess. So, either way, we're calling
someone. Immediately. We chose the gas guys.
Tokyo Gas showed up a few minutes later. In style. The guys really made
an entrance, I must say. They flew around the corner in a big white van
with sirens blaring and red lights flashing. Very cool. Out they jumped
with helmets and sensors and all sorts of nifty little tools. They dove
into our gas systems outside and inside (carefully taking off their
shoes before entering inside, of course) and concluded that it was not
a gas problem. But then they went door to door and talked to the
neighbors and poked around with flashlights all over the place.
Observing them, I had the impression they've done this before.
Well, it turns out that the guy behind us was using paint thinner, probably in high quantities, right near our gas unit and it was sucking in the fumes, heating them, and pumping them out all over the place. When I went near it, I gagged and choked, so that was my not-so-subtle-sign that something wasn't quite right. Anyway, all turned out well. We're all alive. The pain thinner dude came out and apologized to everyone a million times, bowing at a 90 degree angle and all. Wild.
This is the evidence of requirement for "Service Quality" in Japan. Although Tokyo Gas is the monopoly and "public" comapany in Tokyo area, the employees of the company are strongly required to provide "high quality services". As well as Tokyo Electric Power company. Most of Japanese think the quality of this kind of service is "must be" and usual --- common sense.
Posted by shita on July 20, 2008 at 11:20 AM JST #
Jim, I thought that was hilarious (to a very small extent), and a good example of customer service to a large extent.
I so do want to live in Japan and understand their high levels of quality consciousness.
Posted by Sriram Narayanan on July 20, 2008 at 11:36 PM JST #
That's a great story, I'm so glad everyone is okay. I'm glad you played it safe. I do *love* the level of customer service in Japan. I wish it could spread to some other parts of the world.
Posted by melanie gao on July 21, 2008 at 10:45 AM JST #
Thanks Jim ! Horror & Humor :D
Regarding the Gas Suicide there is one interesting blog in Trendsspotting
http://www.trendsspotting.com/blog/?p=424
It shows - despite Japanese government request to the ISPs to crack down Suicide Sites,major sites like Google seems deaf to it.
whats your view?
Posted by Apurba on July 26, 2008 at 06:20 PM JST #