Bizarreness in Courier Services – 宅配便ビジネスのこと

アマゾンの配達が来る度に「アメリカ的だなあ」と思う。どんなに小さな荷物でもサイズに関係なくしっかり段ボール箱に収められて来る。こんなにも空気とパルプをふんだんに運んで平気でいられるのはスゴイことだ。どうしてそんなことができるのか、先日その理由の一端が解った。彼らの輸送費はすごく安いのだ。僕はちょっと訳あって商品を返品することにした。その送料には元払いと着払いの区分があって、もちろん自己理由の返品では選択の余地はないのだが、その過程で着払いなら400円というアマゾンと業者の特約料金を知った。ぼくはその3倍も払って送り返しているのに！

ところで、何十年も使ってきた大型スピーカーを先日処分した。引取先は九州だ。これにはヤマト運輸の「らくらく家財便」というのがピッタリだと思って電話したら、このサービスは「現行市販製品」以外受付けませんの一点張りだ。大体「家財」というものが現行製品だけという家がどこにあるというのだ！コールセンターのおばさんのマニュアル的な応対もひどいが、命名そのものが誇大表示の疑いが強い。じゃあどうすればいいのかと食い下がったら、ピアノ運送部門に相談をと別の番号を教えられ転送さえしてくれない。そちらでは1台約7万円、スピーカー2台だから14万ととんでもない料金で、揚げ句「らくらく家財便」に相談してみたらとまで言われた。☹☹☹


Every time I receive delivery from Amazon (Japan), I cannot but gasp with the idea that they are core American. Whatever small the item I ordered was, it comes in a decent carton box regardless of the item’s size. It’s just amazing that they are happy to transport that much air and pulp. How could it be possible for a profit-based company? Well, I found one of the reasons recently. I was in a situation to return an item, and in my case I had to bear the cost of course, but in this process it came to my knowledge that the cost Amazon would bear was mere 400 Yen (when item is returned by cause and covered by recipient) while my tariff is 3 times more expensive.

Another topic. I have done with the pair of rather large and heavy speakers that served us for a few decades. They had to be sent out to Kyushu. Yamato Transport had a service so-called “Easy Household Goods Mover” and I thought it was exactly the one I needed, so I rang them up, but the receptionist simply repeated that it was the service only for currently available products (=replaceable in case of loss). I tend to think their official name of the service was wrong and a rip-off. In whose home do household goods consist of current products only fundamentally? I also felt as if I was not speaking to a human but a manual book of receptionist, but I still tried to hang on: “Well then, how could I send these things?” She said their service for pianos and other instruments perhaps, and instead of transferring me to the right section, she gave me a number to call, where I ended up finding their cost was approximately 70,000 Yen for a piano or a speaker therefore appalling enough 140,000 Yen for a pair! I was even suggested to contact their “Easy Household Goods Moving”!!