Thursday, April 1, 2010

Why the US Post Office should just give it up.

OK, this is a rant so there are no pictures.

  1. Amazon tried to send me a package. Their only mistake was in sending it via the United States Post Office.
  2. At 4:30 pm yesterday -- while I was sitting in my living room on the computer and the part time doorman was at the front door..... they said they tried to deliver my books but were unable to find a "safe" place to leave them. (Needless to say, I can think of two, my apartment and with the doorman.).
  3. I wouldn't have known a thing about this had Amazon not notified me that the package was at the post office.
  4. Through the tracking number on Amazon, I used the USPS "tracking" process to try to find the package.
  5. USPS website says that there are two post offices that serve my area and that they left a notice telling me which one it was at, but since there was not a notice anywhere that I could find I still had no clue where to go to get the package.
  6. When I entered my zip code and my address the site said the zip code was wrong and I couldn't get the information. They gave me this zip code, but I guess now they have taken it away because I don't exist.
  7. So I tried to phone.
  8. Do you know that if all you are given for a phone number is 1 800 ASK USPS and you have only a blackberry for your phone that you CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHICH NUMBERS ARE ON WHICH LETTERS???????? (there is probably an app for that).
  9. Well, I don't have the app and since the 1 is over the W and the 8 is over the X and there is NO number over the A, the K, the U or the P and I don't have a "real" phone, I was sort of out of luck.
  10. Smart phone, huh....... Big Sigh.
  11. USPS does not choose to share their phone number in anyplace obvious so I had to go on an Easter Egg hunt early. After 7 pages I found it and called them.
  12. They asked me if I wanted to speak to them in Spanish and then spent a full minute telling me when my taxes were due, where to get forms and how late the post office was open on April 15.
  13. My choices when I finally got them were to order supplies, get postage amounts and FINALLY, track a package. They then asked for my tracking number ... by the way, that number is TWENTY-THREE digits.
  14. Then they told me that they couldn't track that package on the phone and said "good-by" and HUNG UP ON ME.
  15. Seriously people, I finally called Amazon .. or gave them my phone number and they called me.
  16. They found my package in less than 10 minutes and I now know which post office I have to hike over to in order to pick it up.
  17. Do you think, when I go, I should ask for the station Manager? Do you think there will be a manager on site when I get there?
  18. The USPS thinks it should drop Saturday delivery. I think they have already dropped delivery. I think the goal is to have us go TO the post office and just pick up our mail there. That worked in the olden days didn't it?

1 comment:

Gill said...

Oh, don't get me started....our post office - aka The Royal Mail - is just as bad. We got our morning post at gone 3pm these days. Work that one out.

So, being nosey, what did you succumb to on Amazon, then?!