Is frustration humorous?
Yes and no.
I sent a package to my niece in Narobi, Kenya. It was full of American stuff. M&M’s, Red Doritos, and a couple books that I wrote.
I almost passed out when I saw the price tag on the shipping, so I upgraded to express. If you are already spending a fortune to mail something, what’s a fortune plus a little?
The promise was delivery in 3-5 business days. I have never tracked a package sent through the post office before, but this time I checked it every day. It took 5 calendar days—that’s 3 business days—to get to Kenya. I thought that wasn’t bad, except this care package has now been sitting in customs for 9 days, that’s in addition to the 5 days it took to get there.
I am internet savvy, so I found my way to the web form provided by United States Postal Service to report the problem. This is where the fun begins.
Among the options provided, if you select report a problem, the webpage will not let you enter text.
If you select complement, you may enter text, but there is no send button. Why select complement? When you can’t get a message through and it looks like this way will work, I can gladly complement the excellence of the abomination that is being pushed off as service.
There are no traditional email venues, though I attached multiple addresses to notes sent to the usps.gov domain. No joy.
The sad part is that I usually sing the praises of the Post Office. Our local folks are top notch and go above and beyond the call.
The USPS website epitomizes the term impersonal.
Where does that leave me?
Safe in the USA where I can have all the M&Ms and Red Doritos that I want, but I am visualizing a bunch of Kenyan men sitting around the customs break room chowing down on these spicy chips and laughing out loud at the price I paid to send these snacks to them.
I feel about as empowered as the man on an isolated island who puts a message in a bottle and hopes, without the beautiful tropical scenery. Somehow, I my venue is a volcanic island void of vegetation (OK, sometimes I get relief in alliteration) and my care package to my niece is still captive in Kenya.
How do you spell DHL?
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