Culture of Convenience?

April 30, 2010 psychoballerina
Tags: Japanese Life

A minor rant…

I took my computer to be repaired recently, thinking in my mind it would only need a couple of days – simply replace the harddrive and give it back to me. I enquired cheerfully of the assistant when I could come back. “It will take ten days” she replied dourly. My shock could not be disguised. As it happened however, a phonecall two days later informed me that the whole process had been completed and I could pick up the computer at my leisure. Feeling confused, although not displeased with this situation I couldn’t help but wonder why the gross overestimation for processing time.

This scene is all too familiar, and often in situations more important than a simply laptop repair. The “Alien Registration Card” is needed for, among other things, bank accounts and mobile telephones, necessities when starting life in a new country. On application however, one is informed it will take up to a month. The stress starts to accumulate and the impatience sets in, images of delays start coursing through the mind. Very often however the card is completed within two days and then simply sits around Immigration gathering dust. The frustrated cry goes up, why can’t they give a more reasonable estimation of time.

One has to suppose it is really about managing expectations. If we expect something in two days then it can be hard to explain away delays. Giving a long time estimate does not allow for ‘hiccup’ time. Nonetheless, some time estimates are very much unreasonable. I remember when I went to get my internet installed. The time between my buying the connection and their installing it was a delay of three months. I still feel shocked when I think about it today. I was told it was due to a large amount of customers. Really? Three whole months worth of 8 hour days and 6 day weeks? Rather I just think it is a fear of disappointing a customer, the old adage of loss of face. It is much easier to give a long time than fail to deliver. What these companies perhaps don’t realise is the stress they cause by their long time delays.

Sometimes, I will grant, such long delays will exist. It’s inevitable that certain busy times crop up; maybe there will be a spate of national holidays or just an unprecedented demand. Most of the time however It is simply a matter of procedure, to give an estimate blindly without considering the actual situation. It would be rather nice if companies could consider for a few more moments the actual time something might take to give a more realistic estimate. It is unusual in our supposed ‘culture of convenience’ that such long time delays still exist. Funnily enough, the only organisations that give a good time estimate are purely consumer based, like shops you mail order from. Then, and even though it might be Golden Week, they give you just a few days before you can buy the item. On the whole though there is a lack of reality regarding the actual times these things take. Guess noone told Japan that convenience is not just limited to the local conbini store.