THIRTY-SIX DAYS
How long is too long?
I have a feeling it should not take a total of thirty-six days for the U.S Postal Service to take a small package from one location on the coast of Virginia, inland to a point perhaps 130 miles westward. That's with Interstate Highway connections, rail service and adequate air connections, as well, had they been needed.
Fortunately, there were not any special requirements concerning the delivery of the particular package, nor were the items of any great intrinsic value. This was a package including operating instructions for an older model sewing machine several household articles and some too-small-for-me clothing items being passed along on the chain of hand-me-downs.. It was not a special parcel and it was, for that reason, not insured or given any special attention . I checked it over carefully when it finally did arrived and it was properly packaged and addressed. It was in excellent condition and showed no markings of any kind which may have indicated why it had been delayed or held for some particular reason.
It proved inconvenient for us not to have the instruction book for the sewing machine. We found that mimeographed copies of the specific book are available for $l5.95 or so a copy. A :”tracer”was placed on the package at the senders end about three weeks of so after mailing date, the package appeared about one week later at our doorstep without any explanation of how it got there, or where it might have been for over a month.
I wonder if this sort of thing is common with mail deliveries in other sections of the nation. If so, there is good reason for the Post Office Department being subject to criticism and being made a thing of ridicule by late night TV funsters. We have come to hear more about the Pony Express days in recent comments on TV than people did when it that horsey-hastened service was functioning.
The Postal Service certainly has enough problems as it is without allowing charges of poor service to arise. On the other hand, we customers should realize that the service operates under condition which are not always of the best. It is very easy to imagine this package of ours being “lost” for a time in a contract-haulers truck. We don't have “public” transportation any more our Post office department has to depend on privately owned trucks to move their tonnage around. From general appearances, I would say this private “fleet”is often inadequate. In all fairness, if we expect top grade service we ought to take some interest in providing the Department with more improved methods of mass movement for milk. The puny “express” I see operating in some areas is no longer adequate.
A.L.M. March 7, 2003 [c470wds]
