have a big display screen so that family members accompanying the customer can join in the counseling and learn about hearing aids.”Proposing hearing aids tted for each customer through conscientious counselingKanako Fukuda is in her sixth year at Rion. is spring, she proudly became o-cially certied as a hearing aid technician. She has been highly successful with her close and attentive style of customer service and her attention to detail.“I learn a lot while on my job, in both the knowledge and technical aspects, day in and day out. Our customers have a wide range of hearing problems. I try especially hard to be polite, respectful, and attentive during the counseling sessions.”People who visit the shop to purchase a hearing aid may be aected by a range of factors—some may have trouble communi-cating with their families; some may have trouble understanding speech during important meetings; others may have trou-ble trying to listen to their teacher speak during a haiku or guitar lesson. Fukuda tries to learn as much about the details of the hearing problems specic to each of her customers.“e COVID-19 pandemic has kept many people indoors. ere are elderly people living alone who now feel that com-municating with others is bothersome. It would be great if I could get them to wear hearing aids, to try once again to enjoy connecting and communicating with others.”e three major types of hearing aids are in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids, which t inside the ear, behind-the-ear (BTE) hear-ing aids which are hooked behind the ear, and body aids, which ares worn around the neck or placed in a pocket. For each type, there’s a whole lineup of products that oer various functions and designs. e Rionet sta proposes the optimal one for each customer based on repeated trials and tting.“We have hearing aids with various functions to meet the individual needs of our customers. Some people may want to be able to converse in noisy environments; others may want to improve their hearing by accentuating dierences in sounds. In recent years, we’ve had more and more customers who choose the custom-made ITE type hearing aids, which are made according to their ear shape, instead of other types. ey are popular not only because they are less noticeable, but also because they are a natural t for one's ears and t close to the eardrum, allowing the sounds to be heard more naturally. And the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in more customers switching from the BTE types to the ITE types, because the BTE types are bothersome when putting on or taking o a mask.”A hearing aid helps mend family tiese rise of online classes and telework-ing has resulted in more people coming in for counseling on their tting for hearing aids. Rionet doesn’t just sell products but emphasizes the importance of aer-sales services.“We have customers come in for clean-ing and maintenance of their hearing aids once every three to four months, at a fre-quency not letting our customers feel burdened, as a matter of course. To remain eective over long periods, hearing aids have to be maintained aer the purchase, and we sometimes have to propose replacement with new ones. We have a long relationship with our customers, so I try to treat them as if they were a part of my family.”From her long experience of interacting with customers, many touching episodes remain in her mind.“I have a story about an elderly women customer. She came in for the rst time aer a taxi driver told her about us. She mentioned talking to the taxi driver about her hearing problems. He told her that there was a store nearby that specialized in hear-ing aids. She rented hearing aids on her rst visit. I rmly recommended that she talk to her family before deciding to purchase them, since they would be expensive. But she told me things weren’t going well with her daughter, a problem that seemed to have something to do with her inability to carry a conversation. She decided to purchase hearing aids. One day, she returned to our shop for an aer-sales service session, accompanied by her daughter. e hearing aids had made it possible for her to commu-nicate with her daughter more and allowed them to reconnect. I found it so heartwarm-ing that this tool, the hearing aid, had helped them mend their bond.”Kanako FukudaRionet Center, Medical Instrument Sales Department, Medical Instrument Divi-sion. Joined Rion in 2017. At Rionet Center Shinjuku, she’s found success with her close and attentive style of cus-tomer service. “Hearing problems make it harder to communicate. So I strive to make hearing aids something more commonly encountered in daily life.”Counseling boothThe store has nine counseling booths. The booths have different sizes to accommodate groups of varying numbers. Customers visiting with their families are escorted to the cyber booth with a large monitor screen.Repair service roomThe repair service room is permanently manned by experts highly familiar with the internal structure of hearing aids. These highly skilled individuals can spot fine stains not visible to the naked eye and identify the slightest changes in sound. Repairs can be completed on the same day.Measuring roomMeasurements of hearing and the effectiveness of hearing aids are conducted inside a closed, sound-proof room. This spacious, comfortable room encourages customers to relax while measurements are made.An environment simulator that reproduces the sounds in our everyday livesRionet Center Shinjuku features an environment simulator that lets you experience various virtual environmental sounds while inside the shop. The system draws on sound sources from 22 scenes—from a road to a railway station, inside a car, and inside a coffee shop. Before making a selection, customers can experience the difference in performance of the various models and between wearing a hearing aid in one ear or in both.13
元のページ ../index.html#15