Gordaen’s Blog

I’ve talked about the USPS previously when I found out about their outsourcing (using Canadian-made boxes) and I’ve talked about the insurance scam of delivery services, but there is another thing about the Postal Service that really annoys me. This time, it’s something different.

Last week, I received a USPS notice saying that I had a package. I started filling it out to tell them to leave it with the apartment complex office (like UPS and FedEx do), and then I saw the tiny print that said if a signature is required, you can’t use the “leave at ___” option. So, I don’t even have the option of pre-signing and telling them where to put my package.

What really annoys me is that I had to go pick it up from the Post Office, which is open the minimum possible amount of time and always full of disgruntled customers (I wonder why…). Fortunately, I have a bit of free time on Fridays, so I didn’t have to miss work, but I started thinking about it. The Post Office only did half of the delivery. Now, I have to go to them to pick up my package. Can I receive a 50% refund on the delivery cost? What if I had to take time off work? That would have meant I would have to actually lose income in order to pick up a package that I already paid to have delivered…

Unfortunately, if you want something done right, you don’t want it done by the government.