This seems excessive: Yamato deliveryman kept 2,723 packages at home because he was 'too busy' to deliver them

Yamato deliveryman kept 2,723 packages at home because he was 'too busy' to deliver them

I find the delivery services and the post office here in Japan to be fairly reliable.  One of the best aspects of their business is they allow you to call an English-speaking help line to schedule re-deliveries if you're not at home when they stop by.  The information you need will be on the "notice of undeliverable item" the delivery person leaves in your mailbox.  Most of the things I receive come via Sagawa, and I've ordered enough crap the guy who brings it and I have developed a rapport.  He knows to come after 6pm.

When I moved from Chiba to Shizuoka, I had a negative experience with Yamato.  I scheduled a pick-up on the day I was supposed to leave and they never came.  I trucked my baggage to a store in the rain, found I couldn't send it from there because of size limits, then had to lug it all back to my apartment... again, in the rain.  Time was tight that day because I had to be at some friends' house by early evening so they could go on vacation.  My friends were able to get a Yamato truck to me and I made it within my built-in leeway (I always include tolerances), but it was an unpleasantly close experience.  Since then, though, I've had nothing but positives with Yamato.  I especially like being able to reschedule same-day deliveries.

We hear about letter carriers in the US hoarding mail from time-to-time, but this is the first I can remember of something like this happening in Japan.  I'm not saying it's the only time or even the historically first time.  Just the first time for me.  When my dad was a letter carrier, he was extremely diligent about making sure his customers got their mail.  A number of them were elderly people totally dependent on those monthly checks, and Dad took that responsibility very seriously.  I can promise you that man delivered every circular, mailer, catalog, personal letter, bill, check or credit card offer that came through his route.  His sense of right and wrong would not allow him to do otherwise.

And he worked part-time jobs after hours and on weekends.  For a guy who called himself lazy pretty often, Dad was one hard-working dude.

Those days are long gone, as is Dad.  There are probably some very responsible letter carriers still working for the post office, but you know if that includes the person handling your route.  I doubt anyone could stack up to the job my father did.  I guess I take package and mail delivery personally.