"I don't know Tokyo Gas's phone number" - Who is the customer?

My workplace is also my home, so unless I'm visiting a client, going to a drinking party, or attending a business owner's meeting, I'm usually at home.
I'm working, but everyone around me is doing something else...

The other day, my doorbell rang.
When I went out, the elderly lady next door said, "I want to call Tokyo Gas, but I don't know their contact information."
She was worried because a button on her water heater, or something similar that uses gas, was blinking.

Tokyo Gas's phone number, huh...
I was surprised because I never expected to be called out of the blue and asked something like that, haha.

But, as a neighborly gesture, I said, "Please wait a moment," opened my computer, and went to the Tokyo Gas website.
But I couldn't find the phone number...
"Here we go again... this pattern again."
Recently, more and more large companies are clearly hiding their phone numbers. I wonder, is it really okay to simplify that in a B2C business?

But since Tokyo Gas is, in a way, public infrastructure, I think it's fatal that their contact information is so hard to find.
They should have it at the very top of their homepage, right?
Especially since they deal with hazardous materials.

Even when you click the button labeled "Emergency," it just shows text explaining how to handle various situations.
I thought, "This is impossible to find." When I searched "Tokyo Gas phone number" on Google, it was finally listed in one of the many Q&As on the Tokyo Gas website.

If you didn't think to ask Google, you'd feel like you were wandering around the Tokyo Gas website forever.

Grandmas wouldn't be able to figure this out, would they?

I wonder if they've forgotten their role by prioritizing efficiency.

But I think small and medium-sized enterprises should be even more careful about this.
Are they prioritizing efficiency and cutting off service to customers? Sometimes, that very inefficiency is the company's strength.

When you define a persona, you also need to think about what is being demanded in situations like this.
For example, if you only look at the process of receiving orders or providing services, it might seem like efficiency is good, but you have to approach it by imagining how your customers place orders and how they receive services.

While there is the importance of firmly grasping the persona here, another key point is whether the business owner understands their company's strengths, can articulate them, and shares them within the company.