When I returned to America, my husband and I lived for several months on Lopez Island in the San Juan Islands. Because we returned home with nothing more than 4 suitcases to our names, we had to start buying certain things to set up house in the U.S. One of the things I needed, for instance, was a monitor for the Mac Mini I'd carried back with me, so we did have a fair number of packages delivered to us there. I learned pretty quickly that the courier services in Japan were every bit as good as I believed them to be. Not only did they deliver more rapidly, but they also didn't just abandon packages on your doorstep where anyone could wander by and steal them. You had to sign for them in Japan so delivery could be proven. The way people just abandoned parcels in front of unoccupied houses meant that a misdelivered parcel or even a lost one would be hard to prove.
Beyond the superior speed and service of delivery, we found that courier services are much more convenient to arrange for shipping in Japan. I could be wrong about this as I have not lived in a major city in the U.S., but it seems like it's harder to locate a place to send packages from (and it's more expensive!) whereas in Tokyo, nearly every convenience store allowed you to send from their location (and there are convenience stores everywhere).
I definitely miss the courier services I experienced in Tokyo.
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Everyone here moans about the US post offices, and yes they can have long lines at times but by and large I think it's still a great service. What I've seen lately are these small shops around town that are satellites for the USPS and offer all the same services.
ReplyDeleteThis is true. Here in Japan I've had packages delivered as late as 9PM and I know sometimes they will deliver as late as 10PM. In the US if I missed a package delivery (and they didn't leave it on my doorstep) I could only get it from the post office (the next day) which is only open until 5PM and never open on weekends. One time UPS dumped a box into my backyard and I was frantic calling and searching for it until I finally found it hiding behind my backyard garbage can. I've never had an experience like this is Japan. If I miss a delivery here, I can almost always have it redelivered the same day. I love the shipping services in Tokyo. So convenient!
ReplyDeleteHaving just spent a week dealing with inconvenient delivery times, contradictory information, and seemingly ignored instructions from UPS I long for that Black Cat service from Japan. Amazing what can happen if you actually put the customer first.
ReplyDeleteI have shipped luggage to and from the airport, and skis to and from ski hills, and even a bike once... in Japan, of course.
ReplyDeleteActually, you can set up to have a signed delivery service, not just have it dropped off w/o being signed. USPS and UPS are not the same services. I have never once had a problem with UPS. I can set up a time to have my stuff delivered, track the package from dropping it off down to delivery, receive mobile updates on my package, have can it delivered with a signature required or have them deliver to a specific area if I request it. The issue that most people have with these services if by their own ignorance of the many offers that both of these services provide. While USPS can sometimes be a pain, I can honestly say I have almost never had to wait in line and I do live in a well-populated area. In addition, with both you can track the package including delivery time. I am also familiar with the Japanese postal service and it is better than USPS, in terms of deliver convincing, but inferior to UPS in my experience. SO you can’t judge the services on a whole because different people have different experiences based on location and their own knowledge of the service.
ReplyDeleteActually, you can set up to have a signed delivery service, not just have it dropped off w/o being signed. USPS and UPS are not the same services. I have never once had a problem with UPS. I can set up a time to have my stuff delivered, track the package from dropping it off down to delivery, receive mobile updates on my package, have can it delivered with a signature required or have them deliver to a specific area if I request it. The issue that most people have with these services if by their own ignorance of the many offers that both of these services provide. While USPS can sometimes be a pain, I can honestly say I have almost never had to wait in line and I do live in a well-populated area. In addition, with both you can track the package including delivery time. I am also familiar with the Japanese postal service and it is better than USPS, in terms of deliver convincing, but inferior to UPS in my experience. SO you can’t judge the services on a whole because different people have different experiences based on location and their own knowledge of the service.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: I'm not sure if you can have a signed delivery if you are not the sender. When a company sends me a package, I can't control how it is sent or delivered, but they can. And unless they are willing to go to some extra expense, I don't think it'll happen that way.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, my husband bought a new iPad while we were on Lopez and the company sent it one way only. The delivery people (FedEx in this case, I think), just abandoned the package on a doorstep where anyone could have taken it. We had no control over this. I think there is a marked difference in how you receive and how you end, and I found both better in Japan by far (not to mention cheaper). Obviously, YMMV.
That being said, online tracking in the US is pretty good, and I actually never had any problems with the USPS at all as compared to courier services which I think are sloppier and more costly compared to what I experience in Tokyo.
In many cases so long as the company gives you a tracking number, and doesn't state otherwise, you can request for specific drop off option (at your expense). Granted different companies UPS, USPS, FedEx have different policies for different situations. UPS and FedEx in normal situations do allow for these options, but again most ppl don't know this.
DeleteBut i do partially agree with your statement in regards to USPS. They are, for the most part sloppier than the delivery services offered in Tokyo.
DeleteWhile I generally agree with your opinion on the delivery standards in Japan, post or not, I can't help mentioning the postman who brought an unsigned for parcel that wouldn't fit in my mailbox when I wasn't home, and decided to just leave it on my the washing machine next to the door. I do appreciate the logic - if they didn't take away my washing machine, they wouldn't take away my parcel either, but still...
ReplyDelete