“Well, the Peach Frappuccino doesn’t come with syrup, so if you prefer it sweeter, I recommend adding some White Mocha syrup! It’ll cost slightly more, but this is the most popular add-on right now.” (Haruto)
“Wow~ Do any customers also add citrus pulp to the drink?” (Rina)
“Yes, we have two customers doing that today. We use orange and yuzu peels, so you can enjoy a variety of flavors.” (Haruto)
“I see.” (Rina)
(He explained it so politely… If you’re a first-time customer here, you’d definitely feel like you want to come back.)
He kindly explained to me without showing any signs of annoyance.
Though it was my first meeting with him, my first impressions were quite favorable.
(I should probably take note of this in my streams…)
Because she uses facecam when streaming, first impressions are all the more important. In that aspect, there’s something similar to maintaining retention rates and repeat visitors.
Rina’s goal is to reach 1 million subscribers.
To achieve such a milestone, attention to details like this is necessary.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking… but you seem really knowledgeable despite the product coming out today.” (Rina)
“Oh, thank you! Well, you see… I’ve actually tested about four different cups today to confirm their taste.” (Haruto)
“Four cups!? Are you okay?” (Rina)
“I-I’m… managing.” (Haruto)
“Fuu, that’s definitely tough.” (Rina)
For a brief moment, the staff, Haruto, showed a face of discomfort before reverting back to his friendly expression.
Caught off guard by the unexpected revelation, Rina couldn’t help but laugh while holding back her mask.
(This might be the first time I’ve seen such a hard-working staff.)
He’s not drinking those cups because they were his favorite, but to accurately answer questions related to customizations based on his own experience.
(So, he was smiling so much because he saw me looking at the posters and thought there might be a chance I’d order a Frappuccino?)
He endured the discomfort from excessive drinking just to be able to answer such questions. It’s normal for him to hope that he will have the opportunity to make use of his knowledge.
(Fufu~ That explains why there was a pause during his greeting; he must have been nervous about whether I’d order it or not.)
Thinking about it that way, the cool staff member starts to seem cute. You can even imagine how everyone around him adores him.
“Then, this time I’ll add the White Mocha syrup. Next time, I’ll try it with the citrus pulp.” (Rina)
“We’ll be eagerly awaiting your return. That’ll be 755 yen, including the customization.” (Haruto)
“I’ll pay with card.” (Rina)
“Thank you very much. Please insert your card here.” (Haruto)
“Mm, here you go.” (Rina)
After being politely guided to the card reader, she lightly nodded and inserted the card inside.
(I want to treat him to something for all his hard work but…)
If his stomach hurts, being treated might end up being more of a hassle than a favor. That can’t be helped.
It was just bad timing… Feeling slightly disappointed, Rina finished the payment and moved to the waiting area.
After a short while, the same staff returned with the drink in hand.
“Thank you for waiting. Here’s your Peach Frappuccino.” (Haruto)
“Wow! It looks good! Thank you so much~!” (Rina)
Rina took the Frappuccino from the staff and prepared to head out.
“Well then, bye-bye, onii-san! Good luck with your work!” (Rina)
“Yes! Thank you very much! We look forward to your next visit!” (Haruto)
She waved goodbye to the polite staff and as she was leaving the store, she quickly checked her phone to check something she was curious about.
(Positive word-of-mouth really does make a difference…)
Looking up the store she just visited, there was a total of 123 reviews. With a surprising average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Checking the reviews, as expected—there are many high ratings that seem to be referring to the staff member she just encountered.
There are also reviews stating ‘I’ll definitely be coming back!’ and ‘I’ll be a regular!’
Indeed, customer service and streaming are quite similar.
“Hmm. If that guy went streaming with that kind of skill, I could see him becoming popular.” (Rina)
Rina unintentionally let out her thoughts while bringing the straw to her lips.
“…Huh?” (Rina)
Then, she noticed something written on the container.
When she turned the cup around to read it…
[Have a wonderful day ahead! I’m rooting for you!]
There was such a message accompanied by a cute illustration.
“Hm… Hmm!? ‘Rooting for you’… Me… He knew!? Seriously!? Also, this is delicious!” (Rina)
The shock of the revelation and the deliciousness of the Frappuccino caused her mind to blank out.
(…And this illustration… A cute alien? Jellyfish?)
The quirky and incomprehensible illustration further clogged up her thoughts.
“…” (Rina)
As she tried to clear her mind, she took another sip of the Frappuccino, blinking repeatedly.
(…If he knew about me, that means he probably also plays ABEX. I wonder what rank he is… It would be great if I could play with him…)
While she wished that he could send her a message on Twitto, someone who writes down messages in such a roundabout way and respects her privacy wouldn’t do such a thing.
The only thing way she could make progress was to go back to the store next time.
(…Hihi, oh well. I can talk about this when streaming. Maybe I should name it ‘The Jellyfish Experience’ or something like that.)
With that, she quickly switched gears and shook off any lingering thoughts.
Not only was the customer service exceptional, but the fact that the staff considered her privacy made her happy.
(I’ll tell Ayacchi about the nice staff I met today!)
With a cheerful mood, Rina headed home with those thoughts in mind.
∮
As time passed, it was now 8 p.m., with the moonlight illuminating the streets.
“Now then, let’s see…” (Rina)
In her stylish and clean soundproof room filled with Axcis Crown merchandise and sponsored products, Rina, whose voice resonated like musical notes, reported on Twitto that she had set up a waiting room1 and was preparing for her stream.
First, a quick tidying of her room. Then, a light touch of makeup.
Rina was one of the rare few in the industry who had grown her channel through the inclusion of facecams.
Since she constantly showed her appearance against the backdrop of her room, she had to pay attention to her appearance and her surroundings.
And then—
“Oh, right, I almost forgot.” (Rina)
She tested the camera she would use for the livestream. After checking the angle, she hurriedly adjusted it such that the sponsored products were facing forward.
“Alright, this should be fine.” (Rina)
Once she finished preparing her surroundings, she sat in her gaming chair and opened a drawer.
“Hmm… Today, I’ll need these.” (Rina)
She took out two items: a notepad and a five-color ballpoint pen.
The notepad contained a list of topics to discuss during the stream. As she thought about new topics, she added them to the list to remind her to talk about them that day.
The most important thing for Rina during her streams is her motto to deliver as many topics as possible to her viewers.
To avoid awkward moments, she made sure to minimize periods of silence.
This was something she had been conscious of since the day she started streaming—so it was surprising when…
(Who would have thought there would be someone else doing the same thing as me…)
Even the troublemaker of the ABEX community, known as “Oni-chan”, had been creating scripts and doing similar things.
While Oni-chan’s streaming style was completely different from hers, the fact that they shared the same mindset naturally evoked a sense of respect.
Thinking about him brought forth more and more thoughts.
(Actually, I don’t think someone who can do this needed to rely on acting toxic as their selling point…)
[Continuous effort to entertain viewers will eventually be rewarded.]
If someone were to call this “idealistic”, there wouldn’t be much she could argue against, but Rina still believes in it.
“…For Aya to get involved to that extent, he must really be a good person. His streaming style really doesn’t match up.” (Rina)
As she sticks a notepad onto the wall, she unconsciously smiles.
She can say this because of the actions she’s observed from Aya so far.
This is especially evident during streamer gatherings or pro-gaming team gatherings she’s attended.
In stark contrast to her friendly demeanor during collaborative streams, Aya was known to cling to female acquaintances, including Rina.
Even if circumstances led to a one-on-one interaction with males, she quickly showed a knack for escaping, like playing tag, and immediately returned to her female friends.
Even if invited to hang out by popular colleagues of the opposite sex in the industry, she would always decline without hesitation.
Her overly cautious nature, which was influenced by her all-girls school background, became apparent only when meeting her face-to-face, but she seemed to have no issue getting along with Oni-chan.
From this, it was clear that Oni-chan was a person who was not the “toxic” person he made out to be outside of streaming.
“Fufu, well, I really resonate with Oni-chan’s approach.” (Rina)
For streamers, it’s crucial to have their own unique strengths, to solidify their character.
To stand out among many others. To leave a lasting impression.
Oni-chan must have thought about these two things when he chose to go down the path he did.
And—Rina, too, has carefully considered her impactful strengths and created her character accordingly.
With a flashy appearance, plenty of romantic and adult experiences. Any such consultations were no big deal to her.
…At least, that’s the fabricated persona she created.
“…Alright, maybe it’s time to get to work.” (Rina)
Glancing at the clock, there are five minutes left before the start of the stream.
Normally, she would wait until the remaining time passed, but Rina decided to start her stream earlier to help establish her character.
“Ahem. Alrighty, everyone, sorry to keep you waiting!” (Rina)
As soon as her voice and face appear—
Comment: [She’s hereee!]
Comment: [Hoorayyyyy!]
Comment: [Nice early stream!]
Comment: [She’s starting early again lol]
Comment: [You’re cute today too!]
A flood of viewer comments streams in, and she continues to speak while reading them.
“Well, I just couldn’t wait until the reserved time~ Oh yeah, that’s right. For everyone who waited early, I’ll show you something special.” (Rina)
From now until the start of the main stream, she always created this kind of private time.
Standing up from her gaming chair and showing her whole body to the camera, Rina displayed the mini-bottom2 attire she wore for this stream.
“Wasn’t it been a while since I showed off my legs? And, isn’t this super cute? I’m confident enough that I could wear it for a fashion contest.” (Rina)
As she extended both hands lightly to her viewers, there were immediate reactions.
Comment: [Oh, legs!]
Comment: [Your legs were too beautiful.]
Comment: [Thighs… that’s nice.]
Comment: [Ecchi.]
Comments flooded in, touching only on her body and not mentioning the fashion.
From past experiences, this reaction was expected—and it was something she had intentionally aimed for.
“Heh. It’s because you guys make such naughty comments so quickly that you can’t graduate.” (Rina)
As she lightly dismissed it, she returned to her gaming chair and received passionate comments like “Let us graduate with Rina-chan!”
“Hmm? You want to graduate with me? Well, if I feel like it, maybe it’s not a bad idea. Clumsy people are cute in their own way.” (Rina)
She smirked as she responded, causing a surge of excitement in the comments.
“Well, I don’t have time to entertain everyone individually.” (Rina)
And so, just as planned, Rina spent her time leading up to the main stream establishing her character firmly as she intended.
Then, two hours into the stream, she took a break.
“Ah, right, right. By the way, did everyone try the new Peach Frappuccino at the café? I tried it, and it was seriously good. By the way, I got them to draw something for me. Take a look at this… Isn’t it cool?” (Rina)
Bringing up this topic, Rina shows the cup she finished drinking from on the stream.
Comment: [LOL]
Comment: [What’s with that drawing lol]
Comment: [It’s certainly unique.]
Comment: [The barista who drew that is cute HAHA]
Comment: [Wait, isn’t Rina-san just showing off lol]
At that moment, comments started flooding in.
“Hey, hold on everyone. Isn’t this cute? You don’t need to laugh so much.” (Rina)
She continues to enjoy bantering with her viewers.
Little did Rina know, one of her teammates who happened to stumble upon the stream was staring in shock at the unique illustration.
TL Notes:
Thanks for reading!
That didn’t last long, Aya found out within the same day lol.
I’ve never heard of the anology that streaming and customer service are similar before. Well, customer service and streaming are definitely similar in that you get bullied by strangers.
I said before that this illustration was latte art, but I’m obviously wrong since the cup is empty. I have no idea what it is anymore.
I was also going to make a comment about Rina’s streaming style, but you know what, I won’t.
I think the illustration was on the cup itself? Or on the cup holder
yeah i think the same as well . The illust is probabily on the cup’s lid so that way rina could show the illustration without the drink , though the real question becomes why would you keep a drink cup that long?