The Telegraph has a story about a smile-meter being deployed in Japan (for railway workers on the Keihin electric express). It's interesting to see the discussion on the internet and the immediate reactions. I think a lot of people who react negatively aren't familiar with Japanese culture (or, rather, in particular only familiar with Western culture).
Most reactions I see tend to be along the lines of opposition, labeling the company as oppressive or draconian. Remarks along those lines are often times added with, "give them a raise, and they'll actually be happy."
There are, however, some other points of view. Southwest trains their employees to smile and appear happy. This affects the bottom-line numbers, as well fewer complaints and incidences.
My view is somewhat more meta on this.
You are paid to do a job and to do it satisfactorily. A definitive metric of any customer-facing job is how your customers feel when they leave. In general, these positions are temporal. An employee shows up at a designated time, and leaves at the designated time. These points are not foreign concepts in any developed nation, regardless of culture.
In this scenario, the requirements of the job are adjusted. To do the job satisfactorily, you are expected to present a happy face to the customers. In my view, this is no different than a tidy uniform, honorific greetings and scripted speeches. All of those are customary, but adding in a smile somehow invites spirited debate.
If an individual is expected to do a job for an 8 hour shift, and that is customer facing, listing a smile as a requirement is reasonable. It doesn't cost any money, cause any harm or have any negative affects. People commenting they should get a raise may end up getting that, if they smile first. More profit for the business can trickle down to the employees, and the smile may boost profits by one or two percent. Simple change for huge gains.
So why the debate?
Because Western cultures are sarcastic bastards that love frowns and terrible customer service, that's why.
(I'm kidding. Mostly)
I suppose it could be my age, or maybe having kids. Whatever the cause, I'm finding myself eager to try all the things I told myself I would try as I grew up. One of those ambitious goals was set probably 15 years ago when I first went camping in the Columbia Gorge. I'm not even sure if I was in my teenage years yet, but I remember seeing the windsurfers around Hood River and being mesmerized. It was my first time seeing something like that, and it quite clearly showed a version of sailing that didn't strike me as so boring.
At the time then, and all subsequent trips, it just wasn't an option to learn to windsurf. I promptly forgot about my desire to learn how.
Last week, there was a ridiculously overpriced "Spend the Day with Thomas" event at Hood River. It was, as I mentioned, ridiculously overpriced. The benefit of going, aside from my son having a great time outside the expensive train, were two fold. First we consumed delicious ice cream products from Mike's Ice Cream. I also saw a huge group of people windsurfing and kite boarding.
My interest was immediately renewed and I immediately exclaimed my desire to learn how to windsurf. After a brief discussion with my wife, it was agreed upon. I shall learn.
After a google hunt, I have lessons scheduled for the Fourth of July weekend.
My first lesson was on the 4th, starting at 10am. The flags around the learning area clearly showed learning to harness the indefatigable power of the wind would be difficult, considering there was no wind. The dry land simulation worked as well as it could, without any wind a lot of it was made more difficult.
Entering the water I quickly found out how wobbly things are. My experience with snowboarding and slacklining was helpful, but the slipperiness of the board and shape made it difficult to find sure footing. As such, I fell rather frequently in the beginning.
The actual sailing aspect of it was very simple. You either turn upwind or downwind. You sail in a zig-zag line. I could tack effectively, and had at least one successful jibe.
All in all, I feel almost disappointed at how easy it is to understand the mechanics of sailing. It was much easier than expected. I'm at a point where I can understand the technique and what is supposed to be done, and just have to convince my bodily mechanics to make it happen. In other words, it's time for more practice.
So, off I go for day 2. Where I will be practicing jibing and have much stronger winds.
(Of note, I did have one rather "good fall" as the instructor put it. I stepped back and misjudged where my foot was and completely missed the board. The second amusing fall was when I was attempting a jibe, tripped over the mast and caught my foot between the sail and the board as I fell off. Good times)
