Now THAT's customer service

Something odd happened to me yesterday.

I had gone to the train station to buy my ticket to Okayama, where I'll be taking the Japanese language proficiency test next month (outlook NOT SO GOOD). The ticket itself was much cheaper than I expected, thank goodness.

Anyway, I had pulled out of the parking lot and was driving down Kitaro Road (no, not THAT Kitaro), when a van pulled up behind me and started honking.

So I looked around, panicking -- did I do something wrong? Are the cops on my tail? -- but I only saw this van, and a lot of pedestrians wondering what was going on.

I pulled over, and the van pulled in behind me. After a few seconds -- I didn't leave the car, of course -- he pulled around, and tried to say something as he passed my window. (I didn't catch what he said.) He then proceeded about fifty meters ahead of me and pulled over.

He got out of his van, opened the sliding door, and hauled out a box, which he waved at me.

Turns out, he's the local driver for one of the parcel delivery companies, and he had a box from Amazon for me. He had just left the distribution center, which was near the station, when he saw me drive by.

I don't get deliveries from Amazon THAT often, but he recognized me -- or at least my car -- and decided to save some time. Since I wasn't home, of course we would've had to play phone tag for a while. Ever try to play phone tag in a language you don't know?

(What was I ordering from Amazon? Um...random anime stuff. Move along, nothing to see here....)

Acts of Gord: The Book of Apocalypse

Anyone who's ever worked in retail should read The Acts of Gord. Gord used to own and operate a video game shop somewhere up in Canadia, until he up and moved to Korea to do pretty much the same kind of job that I'm doing.

During his four years or so of running said video game shop, he ran into the usual gamut of customer stereotypes that all retailers have to deal with at some point. The negotiator, the emperor of the world, the "I should only have to pay what you paid for this!" guy, the arguments for a mandatory license test before one is allowed to procreate, etcetera. The difference between Gord and the rest of the retailers on the planet is that Gord put up a website describing these experiences in great and hilarious detail. If you've ever worked in retail, give it a read.

For those of you who have read it before, there is finally a conclusion: The Book of Apocalypse, wherein Gord describes his unexpected relocation, and the sad fate of his store. Of course, Gord is ultimately victorious, but it's still a bittersweet ending. The title of this post links directly to The Book of Apocalypse, which is otherwise a bit hard to find....