Why do they say "irashaimase"?

Enter any major department store in Japan, and about six perfectly dressed and groomed Japanese girls will bow to you and say "irashaimase".

They are the professional greeters stationed at the entrance to every store. When you first see them, you think that they are your long lost old friends, really happy to see you.

But do not try to talk to them, because by then they will be greeting the next customer.

I have some questions:

1. Why do they say "irashaimase"?
2. How much are they paid?
3. Do they receive special training for this?
4. Are they required to be young and beautiful?
5. Do they receive more or less than regular sales clerks in the store?
6. What do they do when they get too old for this job?
7. Can I ask one out for a date? What will happen to her if I do?

Sam Sloan

On Sun, 15 Apr 2001 09:04:22 +0900, "Osugi Sakae" wrote:

> I have some questions:

> 1. Why do they say "irashaimase"?

They are welcoming you to the store. irashaimase is a very polite / customary way of welcoming someone.

> 2. How much are they paid?

No idea. Not much I imagine.

> 3. Do they receive special training for this?

I have heard that they receive some training in using polite language and in proper bowing technique.

> 4. Are they required to be young and beautiful?

Yes. (Has anyone ever seen an ugly one, or one who was over 25? Didn't think so.)

> 5. Do they receive more or less than regular sales clerks in the store?

No idea.

> 6. What do they do when they get too old for this job?

Married and pregnant. Or they just get another part time job. In my office, there is a different contract for OL's - they are limited to 5 years and don't get raises, bonuses, or a host of other benefits that the "regular" workers get. The assumption is that they are just working til they find a husband and start raising kids. Greeters might be in a similar situation.

> 7. Can I ask one out for a date? What will happen to her if I do?

Why not? Cannot imaging that anything would happen to her. But have no info one way or the other.

Osugi Sakae

On 19 Apr 2001 08:53:49 GMT, in rec.games.go echa@red.seas.upenn.edu (Edward Cha) wrote:

Do you really think those ladies are really happy to see you? They, like everyone else, are simply doing their jobs, and aren't particularly happy to see you whether they are smiling or not.

1. They say 'irasshaimase' to greet the customer walking in, so that they feel welcome, but also probably so that the customer feels obliged to buy something.

2. Ask them.

3. They probably do receive a little training for this.

4. Would you rather be greeted by an old hag? Would that convince you to enter the store? Although I have seen not-so-young-and-beautiful women greeting customers, they are typically not terrible.

5. I have no idea.

6. They either get married and leave the company, or do some other job.

7. Don't you have a Japanese girlfriend already? Shouldn't you be asking her these questions? Aren't you a bit old for women in their twenties?

Ed

On 19 Apr 2001 08:53:49 GMT, in rec.games.go echa@red.seas.upenn.edu (Edward Cha) wrote:

Answers.

1) It just means "welcome".

2) About 800 yen an hour.

3) Yes. They endure intense training to become robots, devoid of any emotional feeling. You can say anything to them, and they will just continue to babble polite phrases with that fixed smile on their faces. I have never tried to feel one of them up or anything like that, however, but I am sure they are used to this treatment, because during their training period, they constantly receive this kind of harassment from their trainers. So my prediction would be that they would just continue to smile and let you abuse them in any way you wanted. The risk you would run is that the management would intervene because you were preventing them from greeting the next customer.

4) Lecherous Japanese managers only hire beautiful young girls as daughter substitutes to provide fantasy objects.

5) Standard wage is about 800 to 1,000 an hour regardless of job based on seniority.

6) They usually quit after the first reasonable man offers them a position as a slave in his household. If they refuse to quit, they become the store whore for all the male employees to do with as they please. It rarely reaches this stage as they are sensitive enough to take the hint that their services are no longer required. A similar job condition exists for stewardesses working for Japan Airlines.

7) You certainly can. Whether she accepts depends on whether she likes you or not. Nothing will happen to her as long as she performs her job duties, which can include giving the store manager his regular blow job. What she does after hours is her own business. Best chances for success are during the slow hours. Prime time for this activity is Mondays 2:00 to 3:00 pm.

Post it anywhere you want, but don't use my name. I pick up a lot of girls who work in department stores. I never hit on them in the stores though. If I see a girl who appeals to me, I will buy something from her. If I feel good strong vibes coming from her, I will hit on her after she gets off work by a "chance" encounter. Success rate is about 10%. Hitting on them while they are working is bad form. It makes them ill-at-ease, and they think you are just a lech. Reimer would hit on them at their jobs. In spite of his claims, his success rate was ZERO. He would interpret their phony smiles and polite talk as evidence that they were enthralled by him, when in fact they found him repugnant. Besides his wife and one ugly girlfriend he once had, Reimer got his sex exclusively from whores.

Feeling a girl up or rubbing her breast in public is the best way to strike out. You can't even do this to a hostess in a bar. You can, but they will consider you a lecher and will put up with it only for the money, and the meter is always running at full speed in these cases. I know this for a fact because I have spoken to the hostesses in the two bars I have part ownership in. Reimer would always trap the girl in a corner and start with his elbow rubbing their tits. He would claim that they were "digging" it. He would give them my office number and ask me to inform him of their names and phone numbers when they called. I never got a single call for him in this regard.

Most women are interested in men and in having sex with the ones who appeal to them. But they go mainly for men who are gentlemen and appear to be both socially and financially successful. This means conducting yourself with a certain amount of dignity because most women, especially Japanese, are very concerned with their social images. The reason why Reimer was such a loser in this department was that he was essentially a barbarian and an embarrassment to any girl who would be unfortunate enough to be seen with him.

Anonymous

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