[News Terms] Unbearable Customer Abuse 'Kasuhara'

'Kasuhara (カスハラ)' refers to the act of customers scolding or making unreasonable demands on sellers despite the sellers having no fault. It is a term used to describe the Japanese version of customer bullying. The word is a compound of the Japanese-style English pronunciation of "customer" (カスタマ, kasutama) and the first part of "harassment" (ハラスメント, harasumento), meaning harassment.

Last month, Daiichi (第一) Kanko Bus, a bus company in Noshiro City, Akita Prefecture, Japan, ran a print advertisement in a local Akita newspaper titled "Isn't that complaint excessive?" The ad caused a significant stir across the Japanese archipelago. It was not a promotion for the bus company but a denunciation of abusive customers.

The advertisement stated, "In recent years, there have been customers who make unreasonable claims or excessive demands over trivial matters," and added, "While we sometimes apologize when the fault lies with our company, there are many customers who attack us unilaterally even after we clarify with black box footage that we are not at fault."

Daiichi Bus Company, with a small staff of 22 including drivers and counselors, found it difficult to endure customer bullying and thus placed the advertisement. The ad protested various forms of customer abuse, such as customers who refuse to pay fares yet scold the staff, or those who demand the dismissal of drivers claiming rough driving despite the drivers not driving harshly. The advertisement quickly received over 120,000 "likes."

As "Kasuhara" emerged as a social issue in Japanese society, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare launched a campaign to eradicate Kasuhara by posting posters with messages like "Isn't it excessive to make claims that force violence, verbal abuse, or dogeza (kneeling and bowing with the forehead touching the floor)?"

In South Korea as well, resolving "customer bullying" remains a challenge for self-employed individuals and service workers. Large companies such as department stores or big shopping malls can take legal action, but self-employed people often endure it due to concerns about malicious comments. According to a 2020 survey by the part-time job portal Albamon of 2,279 part-time workers, 75.5% reported experiencing bullying during work. The majority of perpetrators, accounting for 68.6%, were identified as "customers."