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I had to mail a certified letter today, so I stopped at the post office. I just recently moved to a fairly small town, which has one tiny post office. There’s never more than one person on duty at the counter, and naturally that means a line. Not usually too bad, though – it’s not like I have to do this more than once every few months.
But today…..ugh.
The problem was the guy directly in front of me. He wanted to mail a package. If you taped one shoebox to the top of another, you’d come up with something approximating the size, shape, and general proportion of his package, so…. Not exactly a ‘small’ parcel. The issue was he wanted to insure it for like $1800.
Problem: the place he wanted to mail the package to was in some far-away land – Umbulagoozafrakimastan or something. Insurance isn’t going to do him any good – and despite several attempts by the clerk to explain the problem, he just couldn’t fathom it. And to top it off, he was just really rude – essentially telling her that she ‘didn’t know what she was talking about.’
The problem is, while the USPS can accept the package for shipment, they aren’t going to be the agency delivering it. The USPS does not operate in foreign lands, with the exception of US military installations and embassies. The package goes on a plane, and when that plane lands in Umbugaloozafrakimstan, it will be the Umbugaloozafrakimastanian post office that will (theoretically) take charge and deliver the package. Therefore, the USPS cannot accept responsibility, because it’s not unlike handing the package to a complete stranger. And let’s face it – there are some countries where the postal system is essentially a bureaucratic black hole into which packages and letters vanish forever without a trace – and we’re not even considering the issues involved with customs!
After listening to the clerk explain this for the fourth time to someone who was clearly not interested in comprehending what he was being told, I finally suggested that he take his package to UPS or FedEx. The difference is those are GLOBAL companies, and are not reliant on foreign governments to complete delivery. The company that accepts your package for shipment is the same company that delivers it, and there’s tracking and accountability from start to finish. The clerk agreed with this suggestion.
His response? “They’re too (expletive deleted) expensive!”
Really. So you think it’s less expensive to send an item that you feel is worth $1800 to a foreign country via a system that will not – indeed, CAN not – accept responsibility for it?
Brilliant, dude. Let’s count the sins:
1. You’ve been a complete and monumental jerk the entire time you were here.
2. You’ve ignored repeated attempts – from a person who deals with this sort of thing on a daily basis, and again from a neutral party – to explain what a bad idea this is.
3. You’ve made your final decision based solely on cost – COMPLETELY IGNORING the more secure options, without any regard at all for the possible consequences.
Say….. I’ll bet you’re in management, ain’tcha?
But today…..ugh.
The problem was the guy directly in front of me. He wanted to mail a package. If you taped one shoebox to the top of another, you’d come up with something approximating the size, shape, and general proportion of his package, so…. Not exactly a ‘small’ parcel. The issue was he wanted to insure it for like $1800.
Problem: the place he wanted to mail the package to was in some far-away land – Umbulagoozafrakimastan or something. Insurance isn’t going to do him any good – and despite several attempts by the clerk to explain the problem, he just couldn’t fathom it. And to top it off, he was just really rude – essentially telling her that she ‘didn’t know what she was talking about.’
The problem is, while the USPS can accept the package for shipment, they aren’t going to be the agency delivering it. The USPS does not operate in foreign lands, with the exception of US military installations and embassies. The package goes on a plane, and when that plane lands in Umbugaloozafrakimstan, it will be the Umbugaloozafrakimastanian post office that will (theoretically) take charge and deliver the package. Therefore, the USPS cannot accept responsibility, because it’s not unlike handing the package to a complete stranger. And let’s face it – there are some countries where the postal system is essentially a bureaucratic black hole into which packages and letters vanish forever without a trace – and we’re not even considering the issues involved with customs!
After listening to the clerk explain this for the fourth time to someone who was clearly not interested in comprehending what he was being told, I finally suggested that he take his package to UPS or FedEx. The difference is those are GLOBAL companies, and are not reliant on foreign governments to complete delivery. The company that accepts your package for shipment is the same company that delivers it, and there’s tracking and accountability from start to finish. The clerk agreed with this suggestion.
His response? “They’re too (expletive deleted) expensive!”
Really. So you think it’s less expensive to send an item that you feel is worth $1800 to a foreign country via a system that will not – indeed, CAN not – accept responsibility for it?
Brilliant, dude. Let’s count the sins:
1. You’ve been a complete and monumental jerk the entire time you were here.
2. You’ve ignored repeated attempts – from a person who deals with this sort of thing on a daily basis, and again from a neutral party – to explain what a bad idea this is.
3. You’ve made your final decision based solely on cost – COMPLETELY IGNORING the more secure options, without any regard at all for the possible consequences.
Say….. I’ll bet you’re in management, ain’tcha?
I AM the evil bastard!
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