Have I mentioned before how good the post office near my work is?
It's mostly the people. Once they rummaged around in their own internal mail to find something I could use as a mailing tube since that is the one kind of packaging they don't sell.
One woman is especially nice. When I tried to buy a sheet of lackluster stamps, she pointed out that some really pretty ones were going on sale the next day. Another time, when another employee was weighing a package, she came over just to make sure she was sending it at the cheapest rate.
I was glad to see her when I went in yesterday, underprepared on the vocab front.
I said in Japanese, "Please help. I don't know what you call it, but I'd like to send this so that it's registered."
She said in English, "Register?"
Yup.
She zapped the envelope twice with what looked like a bar code reader and tallied it up. While I was fumbling for change, she pulled a receipt out of the printer with the weight, mailing class, and space for comments. The spots for sender and addressee were filled in with photographs of the address and return address. How cool is that? I'm pretty sure I had to fill out forms by hand earlier this year to send registered mail. No? Has this been going on forever all over and I just missed it? Or is Japan on the cutting edge of postal technology?
Official Japan Post info on registered mail.
It's mostly the people. Once they rummaged around in their own internal mail to find something I could use as a mailing tube since that is the one kind of packaging they don't sell.
One woman is especially nice. When I tried to buy a sheet of lackluster stamps, she pointed out that some really pretty ones were going on sale the next day. Another time, when another employee was weighing a package, she came over just to make sure she was sending it at the cheapest rate.
I was glad to see her when I went in yesterday, underprepared on the vocab front.
I said in Japanese, "Please help. I don't know what you call it, but I'd like to send this so that it's registered."
She said in English, "Register?"
Yup.
She zapped the envelope twice with what looked like a bar code reader and tallied it up. While I was fumbling for change, she pulled a receipt out of the printer with the weight, mailing class, and space for comments. The spots for sender and addressee were filled in with photographs of the address and return address. How cool is that? I'm pretty sure I had to fill out forms by hand earlier this year to send registered mail. No? Has this been going on forever all over and I just missed it? Or is Japan on the cutting edge of postal technology? Official Japan Post info on registered mail.
11 comments:
I dunno if it is just Japan, but I love the Post here as well. They are usually incredibly polite and do a really good job at going above and beyond!
awww. you should give her a holiday present. or is that just not done?
Since I am totally dreading my impending trip to the U.S. post office today, I am in awe and a little jealous.
To cool! with all the mailings I've had to do with all the customs forms, that's nice to see ( and it is amazing where the Japanese are leaving us in the dust sometimes).
In the UK they have a post office rule, the more people who are queuing the less counters they have open.
Thus, if you go in when its not busy there are 5 windows (booths?) open with staff doing nothing
but when its really busy there is only one booth (window?) open.
I'm a little jealous too. And I agree with Baxter!
My wife and I always exchange stories about how rude our American postal employee is at our post office!
ah,,, the grass is always greener
now if only my local post office was not in a dingy old building with rude workers and half as cool as this.
Holly, I was totally thinking that, too! I think it would only create confusion. Gift-giving is a serious business, not to be undertaken lightly by amateurs.
Yes, yous outside of Japanland, I've always associated going to the post office with hassle and unpleasant service. The one in Brooklyn was not only aggravating, it wasn't near anything. It was like they made it hard to get to on purpose. It is really nice to have this one nearby.
Baxter, did it work out okay?
It could have been better. Long lines but customer service was OK once I got up there. I noticed the rates went way the hell up though. Is that just for the holidays? It's pretty annoying that shipping costs 1/3 of the price of the thing in the box.
oooh I wonder what you were sending..? : D
Haha! "underprepared on the vocab front". My thoughts frequently upon undertaking various expeditions...
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