I went to check my mail one day in the week before Christmas to find that my mailbox was empty. I thought nothing of it (I really don’t pay too close attention to the mail, at least I used not to), until the next time I checked (I usually only get around to checking every other day) and still no mail. No mail in 3 consecutive days? Not even catalogs or ads within days of Christmas??? Something was wrong.
Still I didn’t do anything about it until I got a call from my mom. She’d received the Christmas card she’d sent me back – Return to Sender, Undeliverable. It was properly addressed as she confirmed by reading the address back to me over the phone. The next day I called the Post Office (1-800-ASK-USPS, if you ever need it). The lady who answered informed me that she’d file a report with my regional office and someone would call me within one business day. Well that was Thursday and I got no call on Friday, but I did get mail. Ok, no problem, if they fixed the problem that’s all I care about. I got a call from my regional office (at the very unexpected time of) Sunday morning, and I told the guy what the problem had been but that I was now receiving my mail.
The holidays passed and I got back from visiting family. There was mail in my box (though did seem unusually light for having been out of town for a few days). This time I was watching the mail though, in part because of the pre-Christmas issues and in part because Mac OSX Leopard was on it’s way to me (estimated delivery date of the 28th of Dec). The 28th came and went, I got some mail but no Leopard. Still the 28th was an estimate and actual span of time for delivery was the 28th through the 4th. So I waited. Some days I got mail. Other days none. Currently I have been expecting but not recieved:
- Mac OSX Leopard – $130+$10 s&h
- Latest rental from Blockbuster Online – $10
- Rewards Check from my gas card – $50
So all in all the Post Office has cost me $200 now and a fair bit of stress. I called them today, again, so we’ll see what happens. Fortunately, I pay all my bills online. I think from now on I’ll pay extra to have anything I’m able to shipped via UPS or FedEx.
This is stressful, I’m sure, even worrying. But it probably wouldn’t have happened back when the USPS was, in fact, a government program. But it’s a quasi-independent organization and has been one since 1970. (IIRC, that’s also when there stopped being 11 mail deliveries/week, and when postage rates started going so high.) Not that that helps you any.