Can I send offers outside business hours?

Universe Tokyo’s Mamiya here. We don’t specifically state that offers can be accepted after 8 p.m. or before 11 a.m., because if we’re unable to accommodate someone on a particular day, it could lead to complaints. However, we’re open year-round except for the three days around New Year’s, so in principle, offers can be accepted after 8 p.m. as well. That said, our staff may be limited outside business hours, and there are days when we focus solely on handling emails. For the most reliable response, please contact us between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m.

I’m Maezawa from the president’s office, and I’ll answer this too. You can view the members’ page 24/7, and you can send offers outside business hours as well. However, anything that happens after you send an offer is handled during business hours. In the morning, staff process the offers and replies from members that have built up, in order. So it’s perfectly normal for a reply to an offer sent at 10 p.m. to arrive around noon the next day. That said, some branches have staff who really go the extra mile. When I was solely in charge of the Omiya branch, the nearby Tokyo branch didn’t do anything about offers or inquiries on my days off（笑）. I hated the idea of Friday’s offers sitting there until Monday, so I replied even on my days off（笑）. Once you get into that habit, responding outside business hours starts to feel normal too, so I often replied around midnight. There were even rare occasions when I handled inquiries while out driving on my day off. So there may still be staff who work that hard even now. That said, there aren’t any branches these days where just one staff member is left to handle everything without anyone helping（笑）. Also, recently they’ve officially started having staff work overnight. I believe they only handle LINE messages and emails regarding offers and inquiries until 2 a.m., but this means you may occasionally receive replies late at night. I think the idea was to prevent nighttime offers from having to wait until noon the next day as much as possible.

I’m Marika, a female member. To be honest, I was starting to wonder whether Universe might be a sweatshop, lol. The other day, I received an offer via LINE at 11:30 p.m. I replied at 11:40, and got a response around 1:00 a.m. I usually try to reply as quickly as possible, but that time, it ended up being about seven hours before I responded! Anyway, it seems they’re actually working pretty quickly on offers that come in after business hours, too. (Although maybe they’d forgotten about the man’s offer and only sent that 11:30 p.m. LINE after he asked, “What’s happening with the arrangements?”) Mr. Maezawa, Do you work nights?! I didn’t realize there were people like that. I’m glad it isn’t a sweatshop after all, lol.

I’m Kaz, a male member. Yes, you can submit offers through the site 24/7, 365 days a year. If you send one after business hours, the staff will check it the following day and contact the woman. A follow-up after reading Marika’s answer: There must be some shady branch, or an overseas team that handles nothing but LINE messages（笑）. Personally, I thought they were a very reputable company. Whenever I sent an offer or inquiry at night, even if it was at 8:10 p.m., I’d receive a reply shortly after noon the next day. For offers, that first message after noon is simply, “Thank you for your offer”—a notification that they’ve received it.