[Staff Interview] Gion Matsuri Reserved Seating Tickets: What We Value Most in Customer Service and Heartwarming Stories

I handle inbound reservation responses, tour material arrangements, and product registration at Holiday Travel. I'm originally from Tainan and can speak Traditional Chinese and English.

That's right. My main role is online reservation support, but I occasionally have opportunities to speak directly with customers as a guide.

These are reserved seat tickets that allow you to watch the Gion Matsuri yamahoko procession up close and comfortably. Since Gion Matsuri gets extremely crowded, these tickets are perfect for those who want to sit and enjoy watching the yamahoko procession in comfort.

Exactly. Gion Matsuri tickets are also paper tickets, so we deliver them by mail. We send them to the address where customers are staying in Japan.

Though it's rare, when mailing to accommodations is difficult, we sometimes arrange to hand-deliver tickets directly to customers.

One particularly memorable experience was with a female customer who was traveling solo from somewhere in Europe.

She was communicating with me in English through WhatsApp using translation tools, and she was worried about receiving the tickets at her accommodation, so she said she wanted to "receive the tickets directly."

Initially, we planned to meet at our Tokyo office, but her flight was delayed the day before and she seemed exhausted, plus she didn't know the area well. So I decided to travel to her Tokyo accommodation to deliver the tickets personally.

When I actually met her, she was very cheerful and talkative, chatting away even though we couldn't communicate perfectly (laughs). She was earnestly telling me about her travel concerns like "This accommodation is a bit..." and "I'm hungry but I don't know where to eat."

She seemed to be having various difficulties, so I was worried thinking "Can she really travel from Tokyo to Kyoto alone?" But then she contacted me via WhatsApp. She sent me photos showing that she had safely reached the shinkansen station and even pictures from the actual Gion Matsuri day.

Yes! The photos showed her really enjoying the festival even in heavy rain, and seeing them made me happy too.

She was so delighted, and I was really glad we made it in time.

Yes, I occasionally take on guide duties. Last month, I suddenly had to handle a Makoto Shinkai pilgrimage tour.

Originally, another guide was supposed to handle it, but they suddenly became unavailable. It was a family from Taiwan, and their high school daughter was a huge fan of "Your Name" and "Suzume no Tojimari."

Since her daughter had such high expectations, I felt I couldn't disappoint her. To make the tour more enjoyable for them, I rewatched the anime and did reconnaissance visits before the tour date to prepare thoroughly.

I prepared screenshot captures from the anime and guided them saying "This scene appeared here," and the daughter was absolutely delighted.

The elementary school son wasn't initially interested in anime and didn't want to walk around. But the mother skillfully mediated between them.

Exactly. But gradually the son opened up and even started calling me by a nickname. He was so cute! (laughs)

What I always keep in mind is thinking "If I were in the customer's position, what would I want them to do for me?"

I proactively provide necessary information before being asked, and send reminders about heat protection and hydration for festival days. People coming from overseas might not be able to imagine how hot and humid Japanese summers can be.

Even for guide tours, since a one-hour photo session can involve quite a bit of walking, I send advance reminders via WhatsApp saying "Please take care on the day."

Customers have come all the way to Japan from overseas and chosen our services. I want them to enjoy their experience to the very end. With that feeling, we provide the best support we can within our scope.

Thank you very much as well.