Employees

Focusing on the labor market for a bit: there seem to be an uncommon number of people employed who are tasked with greeting you or making you feel welcome as you shop/browse/are entertained.  At the Mori Art Museum, there was a guy at the bottom of the escalator whose two jobs seemed to be direct people to either the bathroom or up the escalator, where another greeter awaited us at the top (in case we were confused or got lost on the escalator?)  Inside the exhibit, one white-gloved woman’s only job was to make sure a shiny silver ball that had a remote control and aimlessly rolled around a room didn’t hit the wall. At Takashimaya Department store, there are five women at the tea counter (one of whom seemed to be entirely devoted to Steve smelling each and every flavor.)  Service-based employment is, by our eyes, wasteful.  However, it does make you feel special, and perhaps this is an important stimulus to a nation of savers.  Still, it provides the ultimate contrast to the Toyota factory, where the only worker who didn’t seem to have enough to do was the guy we saw who was training with another man.  My dad has suggested that the company that owns 7-11 has tried to apply its distribution strategy to the US (and has run into problems).  It’s easy to see why it works in Japan.  Even at the convenience stores, there are at least three employees (usually more) one of whom is straightening shelves and constantly stocking more products.