‘So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodnight. Adieu, adieu. To you and you and you.’ The Farewell song the angelic Von Trapp family sing as they escape the evil clutches of their Nazi captors shows that saying goodbye can be as important as saying hello.

Last impressions

Whilst the old adage ‘you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression’ is true, what about the opportunity to create a last impression?

Take luxury hotels, for example. Much is made of your arrival: warm welcomes, cool drinks and polite conversation.

Yet when you leave, the experience is often more transactional with precious little evidence of the Von Trapp’s good manners for ‘goodbye’.

More echiketto could be the answer

Uniqlo is one of the world’s fastest growing retailers and no slouch when it comes to offering the complete ‘politeness package’. You’d expect nothing less from a retailer hailing from etiquette-driven Japan, of course.

To stay on top of its game, the brand studied the conversational constructs of ‘shopper’ dialogue. Eventually this led to what are known as ‘the six standard phrases’:

‘Hello, my name is . . . , how are you today?

‘Did you find everything you were looking for?’

‘Let me know if you need anything. My name is . . .’

‘Thank you for waiting.’

‘Did you find everything you were looking for?’

‘Good-bye, we hope to see you again soon.’

Each customer is expected to hear at least four of these phrases as they go about their shopping excursion. The second and fifth are repeated because they are required at two points: on the floor, and at checkout. There’s also a satisfaction survey for customers to fill in as their clothes are being bagged.

You could question how far this could be expanded for a Western culture, but at least the blueprint for Uniqlo’s conversational style is clear. Sayonara is just as important as Konnichiwa.