Japanese people love to use the word convenient (or when they say it -- conbenient). Because their lives are so incredibly hectic all the time, they really savor those things that make life just a little bit smoother. Kobini are no exception. Enter any Circle K or 7-11 and you can buy groceries, make copies, pay bills, order birthday cakes, rent movies, ship luggage.... everything but purchase gas (and this is no exaggeration!) Today, during a little jaunt to my local kobini I decided to take advantage of another service -- buying postage stamps. The only problem -- my letter was a little misshaped, unusually weighted, and going to the US. But, this wasn't going to stop the determined clerk. Instead of saying,"Hey, you crazy blonde American, why don't you just go to the post office and have them deal with this since its their job, not mine..." he did the unthinkable. He called the post office. For five-ten minutes he was talking to the post master, jotting down notes, measuring my card with a ruler, and weighing it on the scale. Then, he apologized profusely for the wait as he added up a random collection of stamps so that I would pay the exact postage. He even double-checked with me regarding the appropriate placement for a stamp on an envelope traveling to the US. During the whole process, I was in awe. Now that's what I call "conbenient." As for the letter, whenever it arrives, please let me know!Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The Epitome of Conbenience
Japanese people love to use the word convenient (or when they say it -- conbenient). Because their lives are so incredibly hectic all the time, they really savor those things that make life just a little bit smoother. Kobini are no exception. Enter any Circle K or 7-11 and you can buy groceries, make copies, pay bills, order birthday cakes, rent movies, ship luggage.... everything but purchase gas (and this is no exaggeration!) Today, during a little jaunt to my local kobini I decided to take advantage of another service -- buying postage stamps. The only problem -- my letter was a little misshaped, unusually weighted, and going to the US. But, this wasn't going to stop the determined clerk. Instead of saying,"Hey, you crazy blonde American, why don't you just go to the post office and have them deal with this since its their job, not mine..." he did the unthinkable. He called the post office. For five-ten minutes he was talking to the post master, jotting down notes, measuring my card with a ruler, and weighing it on the scale. Then, he apologized profusely for the wait as he added up a random collection of stamps so that I would pay the exact postage. He even double-checked with me regarding the appropriate placement for a stamp on an envelope traveling to the US. During the whole process, I was in awe. Now that's what I call "conbenient." As for the letter, whenever it arrives, please let me know!
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Wow. What different worlds we live in. A few weeks ago I went to the post office itself to mail a letter to central asia. They weighed the normal letter-size envelope and, after discussing where the country might be, told me a price. Yesterday I go to mail another one to the same country and, without weighing it, they tell me a price that is half as much as the first time. I ask why and they say, oh it's a smaller envelope. (Not that much smaller really, but okay.) Since I've already put the same postage as the first letter, they decide to slap an express sticker on it and call it even.
Kenyans are friendly and helpful - precise they are not.
I'm thinking that by the third or fourth time I go maybe I'll discover the working average price.
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