The convenience store—konbini—is at the centre of daily life in Japan; it’s not just a place you just leg it down the road to in an emergency when you’ve run out of milk. They have everything you could possibly need to get through the day, from some of the best snacks you never knew you needed to delicious counter food like the renowned Famichiki.
Last night’s State of Play trailer for inKnobini: One store. Many stories renewed the excitement I felt after playing inKonbini’s short demo over the summer. Set in '90s rural Japan, it captures the unique energy Japanese convenience stores have—there’s a sense of care and reverence to truly provide a service to the community. I wouldn’t want to do a Tesco simulator, but this, I like.
As someone who works in customer service, it’s not something you’d think I’d want to replicate in my downtime—that being said, I took a busmans holiday in Two Point Museum this year and thoroughly enjoyed it—but Two Point has a knack for turning the mundane into goofy Aardman-style skits. You’re not down on the ground dealing with customers, happily disconnected from the associated chaos that can bring.
InKonbini takes a very different approach and changed my perspective on how we view customer service. In the western world, the idea of exceptional customer service isn’t universal—it’s frequently considered menial and staff are often talked down to, but inKonbini centres on the importance and joy that can be found in purportedly inconsequential human interactions a shop or venue can provide.
Stepping into the shoes of student Makoto, you’re encouraged to drink in the ambience on your first shift: listen to the sounds of cans rattling in a basket, refrigerators humming, or the rain falling gently outside. Assisting your first customer ‘Chief’ helps you become more fastidious, as you learn more about what’s on offer and customer needs, but his visit to the konbini becomes the center of a life-changing moment for him—it also provides solace for you as you share experiences and how you feel as an uncertain student looking down the barrel of ‘the future’.
It turns out that slowing down and finding meaning in the little things is actually really fulfilling. It’s so easy to forget that feeling you get after helping out a stranger or taking care in your work—regardless of your job title. inKonbini encourages me to take in those incidental interactions, sights, and sounds—even if they seem dull on the surface. Scanning products and stocking shelves has never been so satisfying.
I’m looking forward to becoming even more obnoxiously philosophical in April next year when inKonbini fully launches.
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