In the mid eighties I was working for an
Agency that represented a Japanese Company in India. One day my Manager told me
that a Japanese Engineer would be visiting India on a Sales promotion tour and
that I would have to make the arrangements for his visit to some large
organisations and also accompany him. Before his arrival I visited the organisations
and fixed an appointment for him, since foreign nationals are not allowed entry
without appointment.
On his arrival, I met him at the airport
and we travelled together by car to my office. He looked out the window and
said ‘Scenery good, many tree.’ Maybe they don’t have trees in Japanese cities.
We visited various cities and his
accommodation was booked in five star hotels. One morning when I met him, he
told me about the problems he faced in the Hotel. He said he hit the mattress
with his hand and noticed dust flying up. He asked for the room to be cleaned
and it took one hour to get it cleaned. He also noticed a crack in a window
pane and complained about it. In the morning he ordered full breakfast which
according to the menu had corn flakes, toast, bacon, coffee etc but when it
arrived there was no bacon. He called the Food and Beverages Manager and asked
him about it. The Manager told him that they will not charge him for the
breakfast. On the next day, while vacating the room he noticed that he had been
charged for it. He called up the Manager again and got it cancelled.
In another Hotel, we were having lunch. It
was a buffet. I noticed he ate a lot and after which he had a plate of fruits
including an apple, an orange, a bunch of grapes and a piece of pineapple. I
could eat only one fruit. I thought he was enjoying the food. I asked him ‘How
do you like the food in India?’ He said ‘Food in India is a big problem for
me.’
On the way to a meeting we were held up at
a railway crossing. He asked me why we had stopped. I told him a train is
expected to pass by. Only after that, will they open the gate and we can
continue our journey. After a few minutes we heard the train’s whistle. As soon
as the train appeared he started laughing, he could not contain himself. I
asked him why he was laughing. He said ‘So slow, the train is so slow. When
will it reach its destination?’ I thought the man is used to seeing Bullet
trains in Japan, he must find our trains funny. Along the way, he asked me to
tell the driver to drive carefully. He said in Japan, if there is an accident,
the driver has to take care of the victim’s family.
When we reached the Company, we met the
concerned Engineers and had a fruitful meeting. After the meeting we walked to
the car and noticed our driver was sleeping in the car. He said, how can man
sleep while at work. In India it is normal for a driver to take a nap when he
is not driving. I asked him if he thinks our people are lazy. He said ‘lazy’ is
not the word, the word is ‘inefficient’. He went on to explain that we had an
appointment for the meeting and we had reached on time, yet it took almost one
hour for all the concerned Engineers to assemble and for us to start the
meeting. He told me that in Japan even if we go to a Company without an
appointment and if they agree to hold a meeting, the concerned Engineers would
assemble within five minutes and we can start the meeting in five minutes.
In the evening we arrived at another city.
When we reached the hotel, he asked the receptionist ‘Do you have a swimming
pool?’ The receptionist said ‘Of course we have a swimming pool.’ He then asked
‘How big is the swimming pool?’ She said it is big. He wanted to see it and she
arranged for a person to take us to the swimming pool. Along the way he told me
‘Tomorrow is a Sunday, I have no work. I want a big swimming pool so that I can
get some good exercise.’
Next day we were free. He told me he could
not sleep last night. When he visited the Indian Embassy in Tokyo to get his
visa, an Indian working there had given him some children’s books to be
delivered to an address in an Indian city. He had forgotten about it and we had
already visited that city. He said he could not keep his word and felt bad
about it. My office agreed to deliver the books and he was relieved. He then
said he would like to see an Indian style cabaret. He mentioned that when he
visits Korea they provide him with girls.
Before leaving, he asked my Manager to
ensure that I remain with the Company. He said Companies where employees leave
for other jobs do not prosper and that in Japan most people work for one
Company all their life. When I shook hands with him to say goodbye, I noticed
he bowed his head slightly. I was tempted to follow suit.
