Last night, my wife and I were celebrating technology by using Skype for our nightly conversation with my mother-in-law in Tokyo. She was born before the war and has done quite well with getting the computer set up, the Skype application up and running and more importantly, the microphone plugged into the right slot with the video camera turned on. For nearly two months, my wife and mother-in-law talk for about an hour every night. It is a good way to show what was recently bought or will be the next meal, for example, since we can see each other.
In 2007, when we left Japan for the US, we decided that we would still make an effort to assist my mother-in-law. It was our goal when we first when to Japan in '04 and will do the same despite the time difference. This has been accomplished due to another celebration of technology, online shopping. One to two times a month for the past 24 months, my wife has been using Seiyu's online store to buy groceries for my mother-in-law. American retail giant, Wal-Mart is operating in Japan under the Seiyu flag. For example, Wal-Mart's "Roll Back" signs can be seen in Seiyu stores despite the average Japanese person not really understanding what the sign means.
Last night, my mother-in-law read her upcoming list to my wife while on Skype. My wife wrote down the order and while my mother-in-law was still connected through Skype, my wife accessed the Seiyu site, placed the order, paid for it with her American credit card and selected that the order be delivered later that day to my mother-in-law who was waiting in Tokyo. A few minutes after this, we told my mother-in-law good night and turned in for the night. While we slept in the US, the order was accurately delivered to my mother-in-law in Tokyo. She took a picture of the order and e-mailed the picture to us. My wife woke up this morning, and while the coffee was brewing, checked her e-mail to confirm that the order had been received.
My American mind assumed that the order placed prior to going to bed would be delivered in a few days. After all, the order was placed on a Sunday, around noon, needed time to be processed, payment confirmation, etc. A mere four hours later, the order that originated in the US, was delivered in Japan. Since the order was more than 5000 Japanese Yen (roughly US$60), you'd think that due to the size of the order, there would be a pretty penny charged for shipping. Shipping for this order was free, less than 5000 Japanese Yen would cost a whopping 500 Japanese Yen (roughly US$6).
With the way this American economy is, and it is so sorry that it is bringing down places like Japan as well, who could afford to perform less than the benchmark that Seiyu set for all to follow? I'm so impressed with how efficient Japanese customer service is. While us Americans hope for the best and settle for the worst, the Japanese get the best.
The Divine Wind Vault
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(C) 2006-09
