Minna no Tokugi

Subject guide · 接客全般 Customer service

Customer service (接客全般): the eight allergens, date labels, complaints and emergencies

接客全般 (sekkyaku zenpan, customer service in general) is the third-heaviest of the four subjects in the Tokutei Ginou 2 restaurant exam: 60 of 250 points, or 24%, at 3 points per academic question and 6 per practical one. It is the broadest subject, from knowledge that protects lives and trust, such as allergens and date labels, to how to move in a complaint or an emergency.

This page covers the questions and points, the key ideas of each chapter of the official study text, three example questions from Minna no Tokugi’s practice set with all three options explained, and how to study. The Japanese terms are kept alongside the English, because the exam is in Japanese without furigana.

Last updated 2026-11-11 · By Minna no Tokugi, an independent study app not connected with OTAFF

Customer service (接客全般) on the exam: questions and points

10 academic questions at 3 points and 5 practical questions (3 judgement, 2 planning) at 6 points: 60 points in all. The pass is judged on the combined score, with no minimum per subject.

Questions and points for Customer service. The practical part is 3 judgement and 2 planning questions
Part Questions Points each Subtotal
Academic (学科) 10 3 30
Practical (実技) 5 6 30
Total 15 — 60
  • 接客全般 Customer service60 pts · 24%

Scope (our summary of Appendix 3 of the guidelines)

Customer service, allergens, date labelling, religious diets, store and cash management, food loss, complaints, emergencies, public-health administration, health promotion, school and elderly meals, food production. The practical part also tests judging the right action in a situation.

Source: MAFF implementation guidelines (revised April 2026, checked 2026-09-03). The scope summary is ours; the original wording is in the guidelines.

Key ideas, chapter by chapter

The study text volume 接客全般 has five chapters (plus a glossary of service terms), and Minna no Tokugi has one lesson per chapter. Here are the key ideas in chapter order.

  1. The basics of service and omotenashi 接客の基本とおもてなし

    What marks Japanese service is omotenashi (おもてなし). Satisfaction rests on QSCA: quality, service, cleanliness and atmosphere, and missing any one lowers it. On the floor: niko-niko, haki-haki, kibi-kibi (smile, crisp answers, brisk movement). When tasks collide, the order is serve food, register, seating, orders, dessert and drinks, clearing. Serve a table almost together, the child's dish first.

    Written from the study text volume 接客全般, chapter 1 接客に関する知識 (PDF p. 5)

  2. Food allergies and date labels: the basics 食物アレルギーと期限表示の基本

    The eight specified allergens (特定原材料8品目) are egg, milk, wheat, buckwheat, peanut, shrimp, crab and walnut. Everyone in the shop knows which dishes contain them, and the shop itself warns about hidden ingredients such as sauces and about contamination risks such as one pot for soba and udon. The use-by date (消費期限) is the safety limit; the best-before date (賞味期限) is the quality limit and passing it does not make food inedible at once.

    Written from the study text volume 接客全般, chapter 2 食に関する知識 (PDF p. 12)

  3. Opening, closing and cleaning: the key checks 開店準備・閉店作業と清掃のポイント

    For opening, switch on the dining-area air conditioning first, cooking equipment such as the fryer and griddle 30 minutes before opening, and check attendance and grooming. At closing, agree last orders with the kitchen, trace any register discrepancy, and check fire sources and security. Clean to the level the most sensitive guest calls clean, with the tools used correctly and a daily, weekly and monthly schedule.

    Written from the study text volume 接客全般, chapter 3 店舗管理に関する知識 (PDF p. 14)

  4. Handling complaints and foreign objects in food クレームと異物混入への対応

    Every complaint, however small, goes to the manager, who comes to the table in person, and the guest gets a second apology as they leave. The most common foreign object is a hair, then an insect. Confirm the facts, apologise first, ask whether the guest wants a remake, cancel the dish on the slip if not, then find the cause and share the prevention with everyone. Insect traps go where their light cannot be seen from outside.

    Written from the study text volume 接客全般, chapter 4 クレーム対応に関する知識 (PDF p. 20)

  5. What to do when a guest collapses お客様が倒れたときの対応

    When a guest falls ill, stay calm: follow a companion's instructions if there is one, the guest's own wishes if they are alone and conscious, and call an ambulance at once if they are unconscious. Do not lift a collapsed person; leave them as they are. The same goes for an epileptic seizure. For cardiac arrest (心停止), use the AED immediately while someone else calls the ambulance, and practise with the AED regularly.

    Written from the study text volume 接客全般, chapter 5 緊急時の対応に関する知識 (PDF p. 22)

The key ideas and example questions are written and edited by Minna no Tokugi from the study text 外食業特定技能2号技能測定試験 学習テキスト published by the Japan Food Service Association. They are not a reproduction of the original, were not produced or endorsed by the association, and Minna no Tokugi is responsible for their content. Page numbers refer to the published PDF.

Three example questions, every option explained

One question of each format: academic, judgement and planning. As in the app, read why each wrong option is wrong, not only which one is right.

Academic format (学科試験)

特定原材料8品目の組み合わせとして、正しいものはどれですか。

Which is the correct set of the eight specified allergens (特定原材料8品目)?

  1. 卵・乳・小麦・そば・落花生・えび・かに・くるみ

    Egg, milk, wheat, buckwheat, peanut, shrimp, crab, walnut

    Correct

    These eight are the specified allergens. It is not enough that you know which dishes contain them; make sure the other staff know too.

  2. 卵・乳・小麦・大豆・落花生・えび・かに・ごま

    Egg, milk, wheat, soybean, peanut, shrimp, crab, sesame

    Not correct

    Soybean and sesame are not among the eight. Buckwheat and walnut are missing. Remember buckwheat especially: it can get into udon boiled in the same pot.

  3. 卵・乳・小麦・そば・落花生・いか・さけ・くるみ

    Egg, milk, wheat, buckwheat, peanut, squid, salmon, walnut

    Not correct

    Squid and salmon are not among the eight. Shrimp and crab are missing. Learn the eight as one set so you can check each dish against them.

From Minna no Tokugi’s practice questions. Written from the study text volume 接客全般, chapter 2 (PDF p. 12)

Practical: judgement format (判断試験)

あなたの店では、そばとうどんを一つの釜でゆでています。そばアレルギーがあるというお客様が、うどんを注文しました。どうしますか。

In your restaurant, soba and udon are boiled in the same pot. A guest says they are allergic to soba and orders udon. What do you do?

  1. うどんはそばと同じ釜でゆでていることを、注文を受けた時点でお客様に伝える。

    Tell the guest, as you take the order, that the udon is boiled in the same pot as the soba.

    Correct

    Using one pot means soba can get into the udon. Tell the guest before the dish goes out, so they can decide for themselves.

  2. うどんにはそば粉が入っていないので、そのまま作って出す。

    Udon contains no buckwheat flour, so prepare and serve it as usual.

    Not correct

    Even if buckwheat is not an ingredient, boiling in the same water causes contamination. Never decide a dish is safe from its ingredient list alone.

  3. ゆでたあとに水でよく洗えば問題ないので、特に伝えずに出す。

    Rinsing the udon well after boiling solves it, so serve it without saying anything.

    Not correct

    Rinsing gives no guarantee the contamination is gone. If you serve it without warning and an accident follows, the restaurant can be held responsible.

From Minna no Tokugi’s practice questions. Written from the study text volume 接客全般, chapter 2 (PDF p. 13)

Practical: planning format (計画立案試験)

開店時間が11時の店で、フライヤーとグリドルのスイッチを入れる時刻として、適切なものはどれですか。

The restaurant opens at 11:00. What is the right time to switch on the fryer and the griddle?

  1. 10時30分

    10:30

    Correct

    A fryer, griddle or bain-marie takes time to reach working temperature after it is switched on. The guide is 30 minutes before opening, so for an 11:00 opening that is 10:30.

  2. 11時

    11:00

    Not correct

    Switched on at opening, the equipment is still cold when the first order comes in. Cooking equipment goes on 30 minutes before opening.

  3. 10時

    10:00

    Not correct

    An hour early is too soon: the equipment sits hot and idle for a long time. The guide is 30 minutes before opening, matched to how long it takes to become usable.

From Minna no Tokugi’s practice questions. Written from the study text volume 接客全般, chapter 3 (PDF p. 15)

OTAFF publishes no sample questions for this exam. The questions here are practice questions written by Minna no Tokugi; they are not the real exam questions.

How to study this subject

A wide scope at medium points per question: steady coverage that avoids losing easy points is what works. Start with what protects lives.

  1. Allergens and date labels, perfectly

    Say the eight specified allergens (卵・乳・小麦・そば・落花生・えび・かに・くるみ: egg, milk, wheat, buckwheat, peanut, shrimp, crab, walnut) in one breath, and explain the difference between 消費期限 (use-by, safety) and 賞味期限 (best-before, quality). For contamination, the answer is “the shop tells the guest”.

  2. Learn the sequences

    Priority when tasks collide (food, register, seating, orders), the complaint flow (report, manager to the table, second apology at the door), the foreign-object flow (apologise, ask about a remake, cancel the slip, find the cause and prevent). Judgement questions are built by reordering these.

  3. Emergencies: stay calm, do not move them, call

    Follow a companion if there is one; otherwise the guest’s wishes if conscious; otherwise an ambulance. Never lift them. Cardiac arrest means AED and ambulance at the same time. Learn the pattern as it is.

  4. Opening and closing: the numbers and the purpose

    Air conditioning first, cooking equipment 30 minutes before opening; at closing, last orders, the register, fire sources and security. Planning questions ask for these times and steps.

In Minna no Tokugi, up to 20 practice questions a day and mock exam 1 are in the free plan; the customer-service lessons are part of the paid plan.

Points from the MAFF implementation guidelines (checked 2026-09-03). The order is our suggestion and is no guarantee of a pass.

Cover the breadth of customer service without gaps.

Minna no Tokugi has five customer-service lessons, practice questions that explain every option, timed mock exams in the real 55-question, 70-minute format, and Toku, an AI tutor who explains in English. Free to download; practice questions (20 a day) and mock exam 1 are in the free plan.

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