U.S. Mail

[Robb]

I was sending off bills this afternoon, and thought to myself how remarkable the postal system seems to me. Anyone had bad luck?

Tell me about things you've sent (not things you were waiting for), for your entire lifetime, and we'll limit it to letters, not packages (which is another ball of wax).

[Shrek]

1. I hve lst sevrl lttrs

Mstly vwels.

[ixion]

2. I lived in an apartment for awhile that had a 5 digit apt number

and this seems to really screw up the major billing systems. I had a dozen or better incidences of lost mail (incoming and outgoing) from this address. Other than that, I would say it has a fairly high delivery rate. ;-)

[pmbryant]

3. I had very bad luck once

It was with a Valentine's Day present that I sent to my girlfriend in Hawaii. (I was living in California at the time.)

She never received it and, obviously, that didn't look good for me, after claiming to have sent it off several days early.

A few weeks later and it still hadn't shown up. I go down to the post office to inquire about it, and they discover it lying around in some box in the back, never sent (!!)

A least my girlfriend forgave me finally! ;-)

--Peter

[RobertSeattle]

4. When ever a RW'er pulls out the "as efficient as the post office" crap

I think about how 37 cents can send a letter 3000 miles in 4 about days. Put that in your "Government is Inefficient" pipe and smoke it.

[ima_sinnic]

5. A letter containing an antique postcard worth $15

that I sold on eBay.
I checked into the buyer's story that she never received it and it did seem legitimate. Antique postcard collectors are not like electronics, CD, and computer-parts buyers, they are just collectors, not scam artists. It was a beautiful old postcard of a scene on Long Island. I refunded her money, but now I state in my listings that the buyer must pay for postal insurance for items more than $15 in value. The only time I can think of that a letter didn't make it.

[denverbill]

6. Ooops. Wrong answer.

I had one lost, but no idea if it was the US or Brazilian postal service.

All in all, the PO does a pretty damned good job, considering the volume of mail.

[Padraig18]

7. An unabashed 'thumbs up' from me

In my admittedly short lifetime they have never lost a letter or package for me, and at 37 cents, it's about the best thing going! My hats off to you, the USPS!

:thumbsup:

[TreasonousBastard]

8. I find the Post Office amazing.

I know it's a favorite thing to bitch about, but who else is going to get a letter anywhere in the country in a couple of days for 37 cents?

Privatize my ass. Sell it to UPS and it's all over.

btw, here's a fantastic service from the Post Office that's had very little publicity. It's cheap, and it works:

http://www.usps.com/netpost/

Every small business should know about this.

[4_Legs_Good]

9. I hate it when people ream on the PO

I mean for $0.37 (is that right?) you can send several sheets of paper from one side of the nation to another. It's astounding.

I think the PO Rocks!

david

Kucinich 2004

Arianna YES
Recall No

[SOteric]

10. I've had many letters lost, but in fairness

A few years back we had a round of break-ins in local post boxes (you know, the squat little things on the neighbourhood corner), and my neighbourhood was particularly hard hit. So it may have been the post office, but more likely my mail and that of many of my neighbours was plundered by smarmy gits.

I also had to deal with a postal carrier who, we're told, went off the deep end. After his arrest for a particularly gruesome murder, piles and piles of undelivered mail was found in his apartment and seized for a time as evidence, then delivered.

Obviously, these are aberrations and the vast majority of my mail was delivered without difficulty.