Customer Service

Upon entering any store in Japan, be prepared to be bombarded by employees crying out, "Irasshaimase!" The greeting roughly translates to "Welcome to the store!" or "Come on in!"

Not only will you get this greeting from employees in your line of sight, but employees from all over the store will pick up the greeting even though they can't see you at all. I feel like I should say something in response, but my wife assures me that no response is necessary other than a simple smile or nod of your head.

If you walk down an aisle that an employee is present in, you will also get a second greeting acknowledging your presence.

Working in retail when I lived in the United States, we were required to greet customers coming in the door with a simple hello and if you encountered them in aisles, you were supposed to ask them if they needed any assistance. This wasn't done to be polite, the only reason we were told to greet and acknowledge customers was to decrease shop lifting.

I tried to find out if there was a similar reason behind the Japanese greeting, but everywhere I checked, it just stated that it is a form of politeness and that is it, no ulterior motive. The reason behind giving them no verbal response to their greeting?  It is bad form to match or beat their level of politeness.

Could you imagine?
Employee: "Have a nice day."
Customer: "You have a nice day, too."
Employee: "You have a nicer day."
Customer:  "I hope that you have a nicer day, too."
Employee: "You have a nicest day physically possible by the laws of nature." Runs away before you can respond...