Smiles all around on Japan trains

Summary
31 July 2009

In Tokyo, some of the busiest railway stations in the world have installed computerised 'smile scanners' to help employees deliver a better service.

Reporter:
Roland Buerk in Tokyo


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REPORT

Tokyo has some of the busiest train stations in the world. But now passengers can be assured of a friendly welcome from staff no matter how hard-pressed they are thanks to technology.

The computerised 'smile scanner' works by calculating the optimum curvature of the lips. Those with a low score are given words of advice, such as, 'you look too serious'. The idea is that workers maintain their computer-approved grins throughout the day.

Although the railway company says the smile scan system is not compulsory, all staff at the station have used it.

Taichi Takahashi from Keihin Express Railway:
I don't think we've had that much opportunity to stare at our faces that closely and for that long to check our facial expressions. The employees say the scan has helped them check their facial expressions, which helped them communicate more effectively with the customers.

So far the smile scanners have been installed at 15 train stations on the company's network, leaving grumpy workers with few places to hide.

Roland Buerk, BBC News, Tokyo


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VOCABULARY

> no matter
regardless of, not taking into account

> hard-pressed
having a lot of difficulties doing something (especially because there is not enough money or, as here, time)

> computerised
using a computer (to do something that was previously done by people)

> scanner
a device that puts something (most often visual images) into digital form

> optimum
best possible

> curvature
degree of curving; here, shape

> maintain their computer-approved grins
here, keep smiling in a way that the scanner 'thinks' is acceptable

> compulsory
mandatory, unavoidable

> facial expressions
different ways in which people use their faces to put their message across (e.g. a smile, to make others more at ease, or a frown, to show you are feeling aggressive or unsure of something) that form part of human body language

> grumpy
in bad mood, sullen


Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2009/07/090731_witn_japan_smile.shtml