On day of tsunami, customer receives godly service at restaurant in Japan

Customer service in Japan is pretty often praised, but for situations where it's felt that a worker really went the extra mile, the term "kami-taiou", or "godly customer service" has been popularized. Nintendo in particular is quite well known for stories worthy of the phrase, and a Japanese airline that made special accommodations for an adorable plushie has also been a recipient of such praise.

Japanese Twitter user Mana (@ron_lily0126) recently shared a touching story that has once again put the phrase into play. Earlier this week when a massive underwater volcanic eruption near the island country of Tonga occurred, Japan's pacific coast was hit with by a tsunami, causing evacuation orders in multiple prefectures.

One prefecture was Miyagi, where Mana lives and happened to be eating that the time the evacuation order was issued. Mana had just finished their meal at Bikkuri Donkey, a popular Japanese hamburger steak chain. Upon hearing the news and preparing to leave the restaurant, Mana was moved by a kind gesture from Bikkuri Donkey's staff that has been warming hearts and being praised heavily on Twitter:

"Dear Tagajo city Bikkuri Donkey staff,

Even though we had eaten all of our food, we were told that we did not need to pay for the meal today and that the evacuation order was the priority.

I bow my head in gratitude to the staff who told us to evacuate and prioritize our lives, even though we had eaten all our food.

I cannot thank them enough. I will visit again and express my gratitude."

The staff at Bikkuri Donkey told Mana's party not to worry about paying for the meal they had finished and were perfectly ready to prepare for, and to prioritize getting to safety. Obviously, in times of emergency this may strike some as obvious or natural, but in Japan sometimes service can be very "by the manual", and many on Twitter were struck by the kindness shown by the restaurant staff.

After safely evacuating and when things had subsided, Mana returned to the restaurant with the intent of paying their

After work, I went to Bikkuri Donkey to thank them and pay the bill.

I was told that the company's policy is to give priority to human life, so they can't accept payment. They politely refused to accept the payment, saying that they really couldn't accept it because they had destroyed the bill.

All I could do was thank them!

I will definitely eat there again!"

The story was met with many comments from moved readers such as:

"I don't want to cheaply use the word "god", but this was truly divine service."

"Wonderful. It shows how workers always look out for the lives of their customers."

"What a wonderful and immediate response in a time of disaster. This moved me to tears!"

It certainly looks like the Tagajo city staff at Bikkuri Donkey understand the value of human life trumps a meager bill, and definitely look out for the customer's beyond the meal.

By - grape Japan editorial staff.

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