Most Japanese miss good service when they go overseas, and especially here in Germany. It did not take me very long to figure out that the people in shops never apologize, even if they are at fault. Many Germans consider work to be a burden. Once I paid the cashier with a €20 note in a supermarket, and she mistook it with for a €5 note. I agree that the €20 and €5 note are similar, so I pointed this out to the cashier, but she was rude and asked me to wait.

After she closed her cash register, she started to count the cash left in the register in order to compare it to their computer. During that time I just hoped she had not made the same mistake earlier in the day. She found out the cash register had €15 extra so I got my money back, but not before having to wait 25 minutes, and when I got my money, it didnAft come with an apology.

This incident reminded me that most people working in the German service industry are dissatisfied with their jobs and therefore one should not expect exceptional treatment in Berlin.

Nevertheless, I think I have to pass comment if I feel I have been unfairly treated, otherwise, the people who offer the service never learn from customers. Here, we have to forget the word shikataganai (it cannot be helped) and it is very important to ask "Why." This is different from Japan, because "service" is nothing special for us and we believe we are simply entitled to it as customers.

Over a long weekend in summer, I tried to book a train seat but there were none available because it was the high season, so I had to reschedule my plans. I was irritated because the station was in chaos and there were so many people coming and going. I was waiting at the correct platform after checking my ticket several times, and the train came after a delay of a couple of minutes. But it was not the one I wanted to take. I asked the station attendant where my train was, and she said it had just pulled out behind me because they changed the platform only for today. What a mess! I ran to the service point.

A station attendent saw me looking a little strange -- I must have been very red in the face -- and she claimed that they had announced my train would arrived at platform 4 and not platform 5. I asked her how I was supposed to hear the unclear announcement in such a loud station and whether I would be able to get a seat on the next train for my four-hour journey. I also demanded a reserved seat -- even in first class if they were the only spaces available as the entire mix-up was not my fault.

The lady looked confused and just laughed at me. She said it would be impossible to get a later seat because all trains were full and the ticket indicated (in tiny letters) that the platform might be changed in special circumstances. I was sad not only because of that, but also because of her attitude. Her taunting smile infuriated me. Then I said that I have the right to get back the reservation fee at least. That was the only thing I gained after 40 minutes of negotiations. Nevertheless, I thanked her for her help. When I turned my back, she said that there is always a carriage of unreserved seats and I should ask the conductor where that is. That was a small surprise and I thought this is maybe typically German: If you want to get good service, you have to give staff respect.

On a recent return trip to Japan, I was sitting next to a Japanese man who was probably on his way back from a hectic business trip and looked very tired. When all of the passengers were seated, a couple of Japanese stewardesses asked him if they could move his luggage for safety reasons. He quickly became irritated and questioned why it was his luggage that would have to be moved even though he was one of the first to board the plane. The stewardesses apologized to the man repeatedly.

After one year living in Germany it is annoying to see such an arrogant customer. My Japanese friend, who also has been overseas for a long time was taking the same flight and I said to her that if the man lived in Germany, he would learn that his egoism does not work at all. My friend said he was probably frustrated throughout his business trip -- especially if he could not speak any foreign languages -- because he could not get the service he had grown accustomed to. Therefore, she said he was probably very happy when he saw three stewardesses working for the airline, and complained about such a petty thing.

If I were one of the stewardesses, I might have laughed like the lady at the train service counter in Germany, and asked him how I could know that he had boarded earlier than the others.