The Postman
On Sunday, September 22 a client in a suburb of Dallas mailed me something important via snail mail. On Saturday, Oct. 6, two weeks later, it became time critical that I have that piece of mail. (It wasn't before that.) Yet it had not arrived. Much drama ensued and the client stopped payment on the check that was in the envelope and reported the other item missing and started the process to get a replacement item. On September 22 he had plenty of time before the October 15 due date, but no longer, now it's a big fucking piece of drama.
On Tuesday, October 8 it arrived in my PO Box, 16 days after he mailed it, but too late, he already went to the bother of getting it all redone. It was a standard #10 business envelope with first class postage and a typed, legible, correct address on the envelope.
It had a post-mark on it from Dallas on September 25, so it took three days to get from a mailbox in the Dallas area to whenever a postmark gets stamped on it. Twelve days later it had gotten 1700 miles closer to me; on Monday, October 7, it has a new postmark on it for a post office one district away from mine. On Tuesday, October 8 it arrived in my PO Box.
I was in the post office this morning and asked the mean guy who works there if there was something going on. A train derailment? A nuclear blast that the Feds were keeping secret? A strike? Taking the month off for Eid? Why would first class mail take 16 days to travel from Texas to Massachusetts? He just shrugged and said that wasn't abnormal, that's just what it takes.
Okay, noted.
(I don't know where this fits, but this is a good time to link to my stories about my "absolutely have to have it the next day" $20 envelope not getting to me the next day, and the " priority 2 day mail" taking three days.) Guys, we need to stop using the #firstworldproblems tag. Our country is doing a very very bad job of some really basic skills.
On Tuesday, October 8 it arrived in my PO Box, 16 days after he mailed it, but too late, he already went to the bother of getting it all redone. It was a standard #10 business envelope with first class postage and a typed, legible, correct address on the envelope.
It had a post-mark on it from Dallas on September 25, so it took three days to get from a mailbox in the Dallas area to whenever a postmark gets stamped on it. Twelve days later it had gotten 1700 miles closer to me; on Monday, October 7, it has a new postmark on it for a post office one district away from mine. On Tuesday, October 8 it arrived in my PO Box.
I was in the post office this morning and asked the mean guy who works there if there was something going on. A train derailment? A nuclear blast that the Feds were keeping secret? A strike? Taking the month off for Eid? Why would first class mail take 16 days to travel from Texas to Massachusetts? He just shrugged and said that wasn't abnormal, that's just what it takes.
Okay, noted.
(I don't know where this fits, but this is a good time to link to my stories about my "absolutely have to have it the next day" $20 envelope not getting to me the next day, and the " priority 2 day mail" taking three days.) Guys, we need to stop using the #firstworldproblems tag. Our country is doing a very very bad job of some really basic skills.