Japan supermarket uses AI to measure staff smiles, boost service quality

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the adoption of an AI-powered smile assessment system by the Japanese supermarket chain AEON, which has sparked concerns over workplace harassment.

🙋 Q&A

[01] AEON's Smile-Gauging AI System

1. What is the "Mr Smile" AI system developed by AEON?

• AEON has adopted an AI system called "Mr Smile" to assess and standardize its employees' smiles across its 240 stores in Japan.
• The system was developed by the Japanese technology company InstaVR and can accurately rate a shop assistant's service attitude based on over 450 elements, including facial expressions, voice volume, and tone of greetings.
• The system also has "game" elements that encourage staff to improve their attitude by challenging their scores.

2. What were the results of AEON's trial of the "Mr Smile" system?

• AEON ran a trial of the system in 8 stores with about 3,400 staff members and found that service attitude improved by up to 1.6 times over a period of three months.
• AEON's goal is to "standardize staff members' smiles and satisfy customers to the maximum".

3. What are the concerns raised about the "Mr Smile" system?

• The policy has sparked concerns over whether the AI system increases workplace harassment, especially from customers, which is a serious issue in Japan.
• There are concerns that forcing service industry workers to smile according to a "standard" is another form of customer harassment.
• Some argue that smiles should be a "beautiful, heartfelt thing" and not treated like a product, and that standardizing people's attitudes using a machine sounds "cold and silly".

[02] Comparison to McDonald's "Smile Zero Yen" Policy

1. What is the "Smile Zero Yen" policy at McDonald's in Japan?

• McDonald's in Japan has had "Smile" written on its menus since the 1980s, which it prices as "0 yen" to highlight that it costs nothing to greet customers with a smile.
• This policy has been increasingly questioned in recent years as it is seen as adding a burden on the employees who get the lowest hourly rate of pay in the country.

2. How does the "Mr Smile" system compare to the "Smile Zero Yen" policy?

• The "Mr Smile" system implemented by AEON has been compared to the "Smile Zero Yen" policy launched by McDonald's in Japan.
• Both policies aim to standardize and promote smiles from service industry workers, which has raised concerns about adding to workplace harassment and burdening low-wage employees.

[03] Efforts to Address Customer Harassment

1. What steps have been taken to address customer harassment in Japan?

• After Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare published a manual of instructions against customer harassment in 2022, more companies were urged to maintain service standards without sacrificing the well-being of staff.
• A supermarket in Japan's Fukuoka prefecture implemented an extra-slow checkout counter, where customers can spend up to 20 minutes checking out without feeling pressured, as a measure to show consideration for elderly and disabled customers.
• Despite the slower checkout, the supermarket's sales increased by 10%, indicating that addressing customer harassment can benefit both employees and the business.