Gas stations in Japan are AMAZING.

When you start to pull into the station, immediately you will notice that two people run — not walk — RUN, over to where your car is pulling in.

They then guide you into the spot next to the pumps, and cover your side mirror with a little red sleevy thingy to show that they are attending to you.

After taking your request for gas, they then ask if they can please clean the front windshield and side mirrors for you. And if that wasn’t kind enough, they offer you a clean blue rag to wipe down your dashboard.

The best part? After all that, they then ask — so nicely!!! — if they can please, please relieve you of any errant garbage that you may have laying around in your car.

Can you imagine? A gas station attendant asking if they can please clean your car and get rid of your trash for you?

Good grief…… this is civilisation.

Sorry T&T… but you have such a long, long, looooonnnnng way to go in customer service.

This is what pumping gas is like in Trinidad:

Pull into gas station. All gas station attendants are either (1) sitting down on their fat asses doing f*ck all, or (2) liming and chatting with each other. You pull in, turn off the engine, pop open the gas tank, and then wait a few minutes. And a few minutes more. Said gas station attendants are laughing about something. Some perhaps on their phone, texting someone. They glance up and look at you, decide the text message they are reading is more interesting then you and more important than doing their job. Finally, FINALLY, one of them may get off said fat ass and come over to see what it is you want. By then you’re already frustrated, sighing, steupsing, cussing under your breath, wondering why the ass it takes so long just to fill up one tank of gas. Don’t even ask about how long it takes to pay for the gas.

And even worse — banks in T&T!!!  I would rather shoot myself in the eyeball than waste another hour of my life in a Trini bank!

The politeness and ultra-efficiency of Japan can be a bit tiring sometimes… and I imagine it is also tiring for the people running around doing their jobs super fast and super politely. It might be over the top and unnecessary and excessively polite….

…but still…. this is preferable to the awful service you receive in T&T!