Sunday, September 13, 2020

They don't call it snail mail for nothing

"Dated 1920, a Postcard Finally Gets Delivered".

13 comments:

Veeshir said...

I've notice the last couple weeks mail has been taking significantly longer.
It took a week to get from AZ to MD. My first paycheck is not direct deposit and they mailed it Thursday and I haven't seen it. A package was supposed to be here Wednesday, it's nowhere to be found, they just say "It's going to be significantly late." on the tracking software.
I wonder if they're messing with Trump.
Of course, in 1920 they were probably messing with Harding.

Spiny Norman said...

I used to know someone who worked for the Post Office. This sort of thing happens more frequently than you'd imagine. What usually happens is that when a sorting facility is moved or equipment is replaced, "lost" mail is found behind or underneath the old equipment, and the mail is sent on its way, sometimes actually finding the intended recipient.

The facility this one was found in must have been in a large city, and ancient.

Paco said...

We've experienced the worst delivery service in our present location of all the many places we've lived. And it's definitely happening at the letter-carrier level.

I'm just glad that ammo is delivered by UPS.

Spiny Norman said...

Oh hell, there's at least one day a week that they never even come down my street, and I'm hardly out in the sticks.

ck said...

Actually, I have pretty good service. Maybe it's because I'm 20 miles outside of Salt Lake, everything comes through Salt Lake City. I get reloading components from Florida in 2 or 3 days.

kc said...

If the regular, long-time guy (The Mail Dude - 50yo surfer guy who listens to Rush Limbaugh on his rounds) is on, everything is good. If it's one of his subs, on his off days? Crap. Just complete crap. We are the only foot-service neighborhood on the west side, maybe in the whole city, so all the subs hate it, hate us, and avoid doing any work they don't absolutely have to do. Expecting centralized boxes by Spring.

JeffS said...

The service ranges wildly here, from great to Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!?!?!? Package delivery is generally OK, but when it effs up, it effs up BAD.

We're mostly foot service around town, but most of the problems seem to come from the regional sorting/distribution center. The local carriers are not without their problems, though.

Deborah said...

My family lived in a rural area of central Arizona in the '70s/80s. We had to go to the Post Office to pick up from our box. My sister and niece live in that area, and have to pick up. I could tell you stories of ineptitude that didn't exist before. Maybe it was a lower population back then.

Deborah said...

Or maybe it is the quality of the workers.

The first year I rented, they delivered my bills and returned all Christmas mail/presents.

Later, I had a medium size box in North Hollywood, California (not part of Hollywood). The picture of VP Dick Cheney and I was folded to put in the box, rather than putting a pick-up notice.

Walking Carriers have been known to abandon mail on the sidewalk.

Deborah said...

I mailed a payment that should have taken a day to be received because the company was about a mile away. But no. First it went to the local office, then to the sorting center 20+ miles away, then back to the local center. It caused a late fee. Lesson learned.

Spiny Norman said...

Jeff,

The service ranges wildly here, from great to Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!?!?!?

Our regular mailman retired about 5 years ago, and service has been mostly WTF since. It also depends on the origination location. The last of my clients to switch to direct deposit is located only 60 miles from here, and delivery was 3 days about half the time, but sometimes delivery of the check from there could take up to 10 days. I shit you not. If mail volume is heavy, first class mail would take a tour of all the major towns in California.

Thank God and ACH, I don't have to deal with that anymore.

rinardman said...

When I mail out my single shot adapters, I tell them to expect it to arrive within 7-10 business days if they are less than 300 miles away; if more than 300 miles, I up it to 10-14 days just to be on the safe side. Most of the time that works, unless it never shows up. Which doesn't happen all that often, I have to admit.

Like Spiney said, thank God for ACH. I no longer have any bills I pay by mail, and insurance premiums get paid by credit card online, so I'm no longer at the mercy of the PO.

Paco said...

ck: Well, it's good your cartridge components arrive regularly. I believe the USPS doesn't handle manufactured ammo at all, and I've had no trouble with UPS.