Life in the Land of the Rising Sun

Friday, May 17, 2013

Delivery Doldrums


This morning, just as I was getting ready to hurry off to work, the phone rang.  The middle-aged-sounding lady on the phone identified herself as being with a parcel delivery outfit, but it was one I'd never heard of.  She said she had a package for me from Soundhouse.  That didn't surprise me, as I'd ordered something from them.  In fact, I'd asked for it to be delivered the day before (i.e. the 16th, yesterday), and it hadn't arrived.  I was going to ask about that, but then the conversation took an unexpected turn:
Her:  What should we do?
Me:  (puzzled) What should you do?
Her:  Can you come here and get it?
Me:  Um, no...I can't!  I'm working today!  I'll be out all day!  Can you please deliver it?  (After all, isn't that what a DELIVERY company is supposed to do?)
Her:  But no one will be there.
Me:  Yes, there will.  My father-in-law should be there.
Her:  We tried to deliver it yesterday, but no one was there.
Me:  Really?  What time?
Her:  Sometime around noon or so.
Me:   I was there.  In fact, I was waiting for that package.
Her:  We pushed the doorbell again and again, but no one was there.
Me:  At which house?
Her:  What?
Me:  There are two houses on the property, mine and my father-in-law's.  (Every OTHER package delivery I'd had till then had had no problem finding its way to my door...)
Her:  We just went to the one on the road, the one that says (FIL's surname).
Me:  That's my father-in-law's house.
Her:  What, you have two houses?
Me:   (Gritting my teeth and looking at the clock)  My father in law lives in one house, and I live in the other.
Her:  So what should we do?
Me:  Please deliver it.
Her:  But if you're working, you won't be in your home!
Me:  My father-in-law should be there!
Her:  Oh, really?
Me:  Yes!  As far as I know, he should be there!
Her:  So should we take it to his house?
Me:  (No, take it to a random neighbor's house and tell them it's a gift from Kim Jong Un!)  Yes, please!
Her:  But what if he's not there?  Should I return the package?
Me:  If he's not there, please contact me again, and we'll work something out.
Her:  Okay.  We'll try delivering it today, and if no one's there, we'll call you again.
Me:  Thank you!

Luckily, I somehow managed to get to work in time without getting a speeding ticket.  Also, the package was delivered to my father-in-law and (after a bit of confusion) passed to me.  All's well that ends well, I guess.  Even so, next time I want to buy something from Soundhouse, I think I'll just make the trip and pick it up at the showroom.

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