Sunday, August 22, 2004
Post Office Protocol
So, for my recent birthday, my friend Dan send me a present. For whatever reason, in order to get it here by my actual birthday, he had to send it express mail, so the postage was over 20 bucks. I didn't really need it to arrive on the exact date of my birthday, but it was nice that he tried to make that happen. When I got home on my birthday, I was greeted by a lovely....yellow note from the post office. I'm sure you've all seen them before: a flimsy 4x6 card telling you (if you can read the handwriting) that a package/letter/something came in for you, but they couldn't deliver it because you weren't home.
I've received plenty of these things. I understand why they're necessary, but what really pisses me off is when the little box that says "You must be present to sign for this" is checked. First of all, it's completely arbitrary. UPS often has it checked (their notice is brown and orange and white, not yellow, but the content is the same), whereas FedEx frequently doesn't. USPS is often completely random. I know (cuz I talked to him) that Dan didn't ask for it to be checked. And no matter if I sign and check the box that says I want the package left, and even write a pleading note asking them to leave the package, they won't leave it. Why? Who gives them the write? Dan sent it, and didn't request that it be signed for, and I know what's in it, and am willing to take the risk that it'll be stolen. I'll be happy to sign a waiver that removes all responsibility for said package from the USPS. So let me!
No, no, instead, I get another notice, each one more infuriating than the last, informing me that they tried to redeliver the package, but guess what? I wasn't home! Of course, hardly anyone's home to sign for the package, because....people are at work during the day! Imagine that! After a while, the package either gets held at the post office, and in some cases (like with UPS), it's held in some remote location out where the busses don't run. Something that should be pleasant - receiving a gift - has now become a burden. In this particular case, I was able to go to the post office on Saturday, a significant number of days after my actual birthday. Of course, most of the time these places are only open for like 4 hours smack in the middle of the day, when I don't have time to leave work to get them. Aside from the thought involved, the effort Dan spend in trying to get it here on time was completely wasted. He could have just pocketed his 20 bucks.
Maybe you think that I should just get everything sent to work. Well, that's a decent solution sometimes. For one thing, many people don't have my work address. And for another, often if you're ordering things online, they'll only ship to your credit card billing address. Amazon can be particularly horrible about that some of the time.
There's got to be a better solution. I should be able to sign something forfeiting my right to hold the shipping services responsible for any package left on my doorstep. In return, they'll just leave the crap there. And they won't have to play this silly little yellow note game any more, and we'll all be much, much happier.
I've received plenty of these things. I understand why they're necessary, but what really pisses me off is when the little box that says "You must be present to sign for this" is checked. First of all, it's completely arbitrary. UPS often has it checked (their notice is brown and orange and white, not yellow, but the content is the same), whereas FedEx frequently doesn't. USPS is often completely random. I know (cuz I talked to him) that Dan didn't ask for it to be checked. And no matter if I sign and check the box that says I want the package left, and even write a pleading note asking them to leave the package, they won't leave it. Why? Who gives them the write? Dan sent it, and didn't request that it be signed for, and I know what's in it, and am willing to take the risk that it'll be stolen. I'll be happy to sign a waiver that removes all responsibility for said package from the USPS. So let me!
No, no, instead, I get another notice, each one more infuriating than the last, informing me that they tried to redeliver the package, but guess what? I wasn't home! Of course, hardly anyone's home to sign for the package, because....people are at work during the day! Imagine that! After a while, the package either gets held at the post office, and in some cases (like with UPS), it's held in some remote location out where the busses don't run. Something that should be pleasant - receiving a gift - has now become a burden. In this particular case, I was able to go to the post office on Saturday, a significant number of days after my actual birthday. Of course, most of the time these places are only open for like 4 hours smack in the middle of the day, when I don't have time to leave work to get them. Aside from the thought involved, the effort Dan spend in trying to get it here on time was completely wasted. He could have just pocketed his 20 bucks.
Maybe you think that I should just get everything sent to work. Well, that's a decent solution sometimes. For one thing, many people don't have my work address. And for another, often if you're ordering things online, they'll only ship to your credit card billing address. Amazon can be particularly horrible about that some of the time.
There's got to be a better solution. I should be able to sign something forfeiting my right to hold the shipping services responsible for any package left on my doorstep. In return, they'll just leave the crap there. And they won't have to play this silly little yellow note game any more, and we'll all be much, much happier.
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