Allow me to set the scene, I was walking home from the train station in the pouring rain because there weren’t any buses back to my house at midnight and the best thing to do in this situation is to go to Maccas. So that’s what I did.
Keep in mind there is only one McDonalds in Shimonoseki, and there’s only vending machines every 100m as opposed to every 25-50m, so most Japanese people think it’s ridiculously rural. IE I’m going to Shimonoseki! Normal reaction: Where the hell’s that? Yamaguchi-ken? There’s nothing there, is there?
Anyway, back to the story at hand. I rock up to the Maccas as one of only a handful of white people in the whole city and I’m the kind of guy who likes to make conversation no matter what language it’s in, no matter what country I’m in, no matter what time it is.
So, I’m making small talk to the girl at the counter about how crazy the rain is and she’s looking a bit awkward. I order my large big mac meal for 650 yen and then I decide to make a joke. ’You wouldn’t happen to sell umbrellas would you?’, I asked with a cheeky grin and hearty chuckle. Obviously I know full well that McDonalds does not stock umbrellas, but the nice people at the Shimonoseki McDonalds would not hear of it!
First, the crew trainer explains that there is a convenience store just 1 minute away if I run, then I tell him I was joking and that I’ve already walked more than a kilometre in the rain, I’ll be fine. He then disappears. I was slightly amused because he took what I said so seriously, but then suddenly he’s back again with lo and behold an umbrella in his hands. At this point I’m feeling a little confused but then he comes up to me and says, “Somebody left this here, so if you’d like please take it.” To which I respond, “Are you sure this is alright?” Eventually realising I have no choice but to accept the umbrella, I take it and thank him and his staff profusely. I then told them if they see me around town to make sure to say hello so I can buy them booze in return for their kindness.
To cut a long story short I go into McDonalds for a midnight snack, make a joke and leave with a free umbrella. They even told me I don’t have to return it and to take care. Now that’s what I call service.
simple; they did not want to offend the first foreigner they have seen in 25 years.:)
ReplyDeleteAlso, vacuuming up an insect is wrong, next time get a few leaves from outside, put in a cardboard box, open the side, wait a few hours and they make their way inside. then take him outside and let him live.