Job Discussion Forums

[ironopolis]

I've heard about the story of the Canadian guy and his Japanese GF with H.I.S. It was undoubtedly a bit of an own goal by the staff involved, but I'm pretty sure that travel agents all over Japan and elsewhere will do similar things, just being a bit more clever how they do it though.

I don't want to tempt fate here as I have two pending trips booked with them, but I've been using HIS in Kyushu for over 7 years and never had a problem with them at all. On the contrary, their staff have often gone out of their way to be helpful and I know several other foreign customers who'd say the same.

I expect that, as with all big companies, you'll get some branches somewhere that are not so friendly or helpful.

[JimDunlop2]

Ahh, but you see, grasshopper, that's very easy to ascertain. The site that I mentioned earlier in the thread (AB-Road) is all in Japanese and quotes Japanese prices to ANYONE... It does not ask you for your nationality and which passport you will be travelling under.

Dakara... Check the prices on AB-Road, call the travel agency in question, and see whether the price they give you over the phone (now knowing you are a foreigner) matches the price on the website. Easy.

As a point of interest, most of the travel agencies I did this test with passed with flying colours... Frequently the price was 5,000 yen higher, but when I confronted them with it, the travel agents told me that I was looking at the "Internet booking price" and if I wanted that price, I should send them an e-mail and deal with them that way as opposed to calling them by telephone.

H.I.S. (No.1) on the other hand, I asked them regarding the very same itinerary as I had with all the others, and the price they quoted me was about 20,000 more expensive. I informed them that so far the price that they gave me was by far the highest of all the companies I had spoken with, and the fellow on the phone started making excuses about fuel prices rising and the fact that it was Christmas, and basically laying out every excuse in the book... At which point I just thanked him and told him I would be buying my tickets with a much cheaper company. "I guess you really don't need my business that much then, huh?"


FWIW -- HIS, for all their English-speaking and friendliness and helpfulness can shove it all up their wazoo! That's not what they are guilty of. What they ARE guilty of is illegally fixing prices to be higher based on nationality (or LACK OF nationality, rather).

The problem is complex. The government doesn't have ANY incentive to action this or to put pressure on the company. Why should they? Corporate law-breakers in Japan are as common as household cockroaches! The company itself has no incentive to change on their own, as foreign idiots like us KEEP GIVING THEM BUSINESS!!!.... (Hello, people!) And finally, it's just about impossible to create any sort of awareness or media campaign, because the media gets MAJOR advertising dollars from these companies.

Believe me, I wrote a letter to the Yomiuri. Of course they didn't have the cajones to publish it (even though I didn't name any companies specifically) because they place massive ads in the paper each week! Ditto on Japanese TV spots. No one will bite the hand that feeds them.

Until such time as foreigners wake up and stop giving money to racist companies that are discriminating against them, this will NOT go away.

I strongly encourage everyone to make a stand against HIS and No.1. Do it as a matter of principle! There are LOTS of companies you can buy your tickets from that DON'T follow racist principles which have the same quality of service, helpfulness and even English ability. If we don't start putting an end to such crap, it will only get worse. Stop selling bleach to the KKK, folks!

P.S. No offense meant personally to those who have recently bought tickets from the racists... But in the future, please reconsider which company you will buy your tickets from.

[ironopolis]

Jim, I hear what you're saying, and whilst I've had no bad experiences in my dealings with HIS, I appreciate the frustrations of people who feel they've been messed about by them.

But I think if you were to consistently apply the same principle of boycotting any major Japanese company which had somewhere in the country, at sometime similarly treated some non-Japanese customer differently because they were a foreigner then you'd have more boycotting to do than you could realistically cope with.

I WOULD take my business elsewhere if they'd messed me or people I know about, but I know they haven't. A friend of mine is a manager at an HIS branch in Kyushu(I'd been using them before I met him and we became friends through through a contact unrelated to HIS) and the opinion I expressed earlier about the Canadian's case in Tokyo was similar to his own thoughts on the issue when I asked him about it.

He said it was all a bit silly the way the branch staff and senior company officials dealt with it because the losers were not going to be the Canadian bloke, but the company itself losing potential customers in such a P.R. disaster. He added that in the city where his branch is, they've worked damned hard in creating an excellent reputation amongst the local expat population and they'd be mad to do something to alienate such a significantly sized and loyal customer base. He also said that, as in any kind of retail business, you sometimes offer better deals to customers who you think, for a variety of different reasons, are more likely than others to give you some customer loyalty in return. There must be times when HIS or other companies offer certain Japanese customers better deals than they offer other Japanese customers for the same kind of reasons.

I KNOW what he was saying was true because I've personally benefitted from this a couple of times. In fact, I'm sure on those occasions I was getting a better deal than some of their Japanese customers. Perhaps if any of those Japanese customers are reading this, they'll be moved to call for a boycott of the HIS branch I used for its discrimination against Japanese.
Or perhaps not


Of course, I'd feel differently if I'd had crap service from HIS. As they have so many branches, I know some people will have somewhere and they have my sympathy.

[canuck]

[Jon Taylor]

www.statravel.com

A better option to No.1 Travel and good prices too.

[ironopolis]

[JimDunlop2]

I have few issues with some of the ideas in your last post.... First:

[ironopolis]

Jim, yes, they are a chain, but many chains do a lot of things differently in different parts of the country they're operating in.
Having used the HIS branch I go to for many years and personally knowing both the former manager of the branch and a few of its Japanese regular customers, I think I have good reason to believe I'm not being messed about by them. If you really know better, then I'm not going to argue, but if so then until I'm convinced otherwise, the one with the smile on his face will be me.

I think you've missed the point my mate had been making about giving certain customers better deal to retain their loyalty. He wasn't remotely suggesting that this is done based on nationality alone and was totally in agreement that the case referred to had been a major cock-up on the part of the staff involved, and in the way the company officials responded. As was said before, there are a variety of different reasons totally unrelated to nationality for retailers to give customers favourable treatment; instead, usually related to how likely they are to bring their custom back. Have you really never been given a better deal anywhere for being a loyal customer?


A question for you, Jim. In Fukuoka Prefecture, both major cities, Fukuoka and Kitakyushu, offer something called a Welcome Card to foreigners. This gets them discounts ranging from 5-15% at a variety of restaurants, shops and other places across both cities. I think it's a good idea and none of the many Japanese people I've come across who heard about it were remotely upset by it.
But it's clearly racist, as it means that in these cases certain (i.e. Japanese) people have to pay more because of their nationality. So do you think it should be boycotted?

[TK4Lakers]

I have a question for some of you......

I am currently planning on going back home (to the US) for the winter vacation to celebrate xmas and new years with my friends and family.

I have been told two things:
-buy your ticket asap. the earlier the better, so tickets dont get sold out/you get your planning done early

-wait out about a month and buy it in nov....where fares will be the cheapest.

Any advice?

[JimDunlop2]

Ironoplis, I don't think we'll be seeing eye-to-eye on this anytime soon, but to answer your question:

[markle]

[David W]

[ironopolis]

[cafebleu]

You're missing the point Ironopolis, sorry.

Many cities in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US offer special discounts to tourists and foreign visitors, not to mention foreign students studying at institutions.

It's not usual for those city's residents to huff and puff about this as it's seen as smart tourism, attracting foreigners like students who then spend money on fees and services etc, helping the economy.

Comparing getting a discount card in Kyushu favourably with giving Japanese people a discount of around 15,000 to 20,000 yen when they buy airline tickets through HIS/No 1 travel while charging foreign residents in Japan that kind of money extra, is blatantly illogical. There's no similarity whatsoever.

It is, to put it without the tatamae used to excuse it, cheating. Period. What made HIS/NO 1 travel so despicable in what they were doing to the foreigner customers who trusted them, is the way they justified their dishonest/unfair business practises after the facts came out in the Japan Times.

As for Kyushu, I lived there before. I had some contact with HIS/NO 1 but found better travel agents and reading about how they cheated foreign customers I'm glad I didn't give those people any more than I did of my money. I don't believe it was only HIS/NO 1 in Tokyo or wherever.

All the branches protesting (including the Tenjin one I heard from a male friend still in Fukuoka) that they didn't do it makes those of us with some years of experience in Japan smile cynically. I'm sure they did it - do you really think they're going to miss out on the chance to make more money like the one in Tokyo admitted to doing?

As for your Japanese HIS friend giving you that special insider info - sounds more like the usual justification for institutionalised discrimination in Japan. Supposedly all are deserving but the Japanese are more deserving than others of 'special' treatment for being 'special' customers.

I think he's making the same old iiwake. I still have foreign friends in Kyushu, some of whom used HIS/No 1 consistently and never had any notable good service or special treatment for their good custom.

Apart from the usual smiles and polite language, and pleasantries. And, of course, as they found out the extra 15,000 to 20,000 yen "Gaijin Airfare Surcharge" to reward them for giving HIS/NO 1 their business. Plus less travel insurance coverage than Japanese customers. There is absolutely no comparison with discounts from a foreigner card.

[fion]

I'm sorry I can't be constructive and suggest a good travel agent, I wish. I'm just mentioning that I had good service from HIS, and was quite happy with them. until I read in the Japan Times about this 'gaijin surcharge'. I also didn't like the fact that the HIS spokesperson didn't really understand that they had done anything wrong, but thought it was sufficient to offer a token apology and probably continue to do the same thing in the future. Actually, I can afford the ni maan yen or whatever HIS gaijin surcharge, but it just turns my stomach on principle and I don't think I will be dealing with them again.

No 1 travel, basically a spin-off from HIS, has traditionally had lower prices because they deal with foreigners who shop around rather than Japanese people who have a degree of loyalty to their regular travel agent. However this 'gaijin surcharge' thing has put me off No 1 as well, simply because of their association with HIS.

Back home, I used to work in the airline industry, and I have also had extensive dealings with travel industry companies in Japan. (Not as a customer). Airline ticket prices are a total minefield, but the best way to get a cheap ticket is usually to travel at a time when nobody else wants to travel, and to accept some restrictions on your ticket. In Europe, it helps if you are going to stay away over a Saturday night, but that doesn't seem to apply in Japan.

Sorry I can't be more helpful. Like I say, it's a minefield.