While Japan’s service sector is widely lauded for its high standards of politeness, punctuality, efficiency and attention to detail, one issue front-line workers are contending with is “customer harassment” in which retail workers or call center operators get subjected to overly aggressive behavior or unreasonable requests. “Kasu-hara,” as it’s known colloquially in Japan, is prompting local governments and businesses to look at ways to protect workers from abuse at the hands of customers. Furthermore, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (Labor Ministry) is mulling legislation to require companies to take protective measures, such as creating manuals and guidelines on how to respond to abusive customers.
SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434), which has front-line employees and subcontracted employees stationed at its retail stores and call centers across Japan, published its own approach to customer harassment on May 15, 2024. The guidelines, based on the Labor Ministry’s ”Customer Harassment Prevention Company Manual,” cover ways to deal with violence or verbal abuse, excessive or unreasonable demands, and other acts of harassment.
To create a comfortable work environment, SoftBank is also looking into technological solutions. “SoftBank Innoventure,” an in-house program that encourages the commercialization of new business ventures, came up with the idea to develop an AI-powered system that softens the voices of angry customers when they contact a call center.
Photo of a demonstration where “Emotion Canceling” softens the voice of an abusive male customer
The “Emotion Canceling” solution is now in the research and development phase and a commercial introduction is expected within fiscal 2025 (the year ending March 31, 2026). The Institute for AI and Beyond – a world-class AI research institute established by The University of Tokyo, SoftBank and others – is also participating in the development of SoftVoice.
The solution is expected to help lighten the psychological load of call center operators and create a work environment where they can work safely to provide even better services to customers.
(Posted on June 7, 2024)
by SoftBank News Editors
