Fricken postal service....
I needed 170 post-card stamps. No more, no less. So Honeybunny and I go to the post office during lunch, stand in a horribly long, extremely slow-moving line to buy the stamps. It is finally our turn. We march up to the counter, credit card out and ready to use. I state my needs. PostPerson goes and rummages around, comes back and pronounces that they don't have any sheet stamps, only rolls.
I say, 'Fine, but I only need 170 stamps.' To which he replies, 'Sorry, no sheets, only rolls.' Me: I don't need 200 stamps, I only need 170. I don't want to buy extra stamps. It's too hard trying to use them (yadda). He said, 'Sorry.' [which he really wasn't] To which I replied, 'You can't break a roll open?' Short answer, 'No.' He suggested that I go to another post office. I asked where and as luck would have it, it was only two blocks out of my way on to my next errand stop.
[Commentary: The stamp value is the monetary value whether its in sheet form or roll form. If the postal service has a rule that a roll cannot be opened in order to make a sale, then their policy well and truly sucks. It's not like trying to buy a six-pack of sodas or a package of cookies. It's postage. They can still sell the remainder as single unit sales...for the next person that wants one or ten stamps....not 100.]
At this point, I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of going ahead and purchasing two full rolls so I very loudly left the building.
Got to the next post office, walked in. Only two people working. Natch. Amazingly slow moving lines. One. More. Time. but, they had exactly what I needed. Was friendly with the natives, made my purchase and left.
But before I made my purchase, I noticed a stamp vending machine that sold books of five stamps quantities. Cost: $1.40 making them 0.28 cents each. I look at my purchase receipt and the stamps are 0.26 cents each. Yep. Rip off by the postal service.
In retrospect, no one ever said that this was a not-for-profit entity but sheesh. I kinda liked it when they didn't waste money on television adverts, t-shirts, caps and other items that have nothing to do with moving general mail around the country. Maybe the cost of postage would not keep going up thereby making people and especially me look for work-arounds around using the postal service.
End of rant.
ps. Honeybunny was supremely patient during my stand on principle. *pets him*
I say, 'Fine, but I only need 170 stamps.' To which he replies, 'Sorry, no sheets, only rolls.' Me: I don't need 200 stamps, I only need 170. I don't want to buy extra stamps. It's too hard trying to use them (yadda). He said, 'Sorry.' [which he really wasn't] To which I replied, 'You can't break a roll open?' Short answer, 'No.' He suggested that I go to another post office. I asked where and as luck would have it, it was only two blocks out of my way on to my next errand stop.
[Commentary: The stamp value is the monetary value whether its in sheet form or roll form. If the postal service has a rule that a roll cannot be opened in order to make a sale, then their policy well and truly sucks. It's not like trying to buy a six-pack of sodas or a package of cookies. It's postage. They can still sell the remainder as single unit sales...for the next person that wants one or ten stamps....not 100.]
At this point, I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of going ahead and purchasing two full rolls so I very loudly left the building.
Got to the next post office, walked in. Only two people working. Natch. Amazingly slow moving lines. One. More. Time. but, they had exactly what I needed. Was friendly with the natives, made my purchase and left.
But before I made my purchase, I noticed a stamp vending machine that sold books of five stamps quantities. Cost: $1.40 making them 0.28 cents each. I look at my purchase receipt and the stamps are 0.26 cents each. Yep. Rip off by the postal service.
In retrospect, no one ever said that this was a not-for-profit entity but sheesh. I kinda liked it when they didn't waste money on television adverts, t-shirts, caps and other items that have nothing to do with moving general mail around the country. Maybe the cost of postage would not keep going up thereby making people and especially me look for work-arounds around using the postal service.
End of rant.
ps. Honeybunny was supremely patient during my stand on principle. *pets him*