On valuing the cogs

In the last entry I looked at a very negative aspect of the Japanese character. In this entry I want to talk about a much more praiseworthy aspect of Japanese thinking.
If you zoom in on the picture above, you’ll see an ad I snapped on the train a few days ago. Can you guess what it's for? It’s an ad for a classified magazine that lists part-time job vacancies.
In the ad you can see such a part-timer, a cook, holding a whisk and crying floods of tears. They’re tears of joy. The caption reads ‘An Italian (customer) is ordering a second helping of my carbonara!’
I love this ad. It really sums up the Japanese idea to work and service. They take pride in doing the best they can do, no matter how lowly the job may seem. Even a part-time worker earning minimum wage is encouraged to feel responsibility and a sense of earnest obligation. Accordingly they feel proud of their achievements and full of self-respect, whatever the post.
A powerful symbol of this responsibility / respect equation is the uniform. In Japan, everyone wears a uniform: From the old woman cleaning the toilets to the construction worker waving on traffic. The uniform signifies a valued role. Each cog is important to the working of the entire clock.
Customer service in Japan is by far the best in world. Going home to Ireland I’m met with such gruff, unfriendly, sloppy service. I think in Ireland employers (and customers) forget the value of every worker. And because the worker feels he (she) has no worth, he (she) feels no sense of obligation, no sense of self-respect. So quality suffers.
I think I (we?) could learn a little from the Japanese. I’m going to try and ensure that each worker I meet feels recognition for what they do and is encouraged to take pride in their work. Watch me as I smile at my waiter, make eye contact with the cleaner, say hello to the security guard.
I give it a day - I'll be criticizing the server for her peasant hands again before long!