Six months ago, the post office lost 90% a customer. I’ve greatly reduced the amount of shipping I do with them both online and in person, due to the costs and hassle I incurred when they dumped my PO Box. With the hours of time I spent updating addresses and things like business cards and forms, I estimate it was at least a few hundred dollars. I later discovered that I will have to pay the US Copyright Office $135 and the Secretary of State’s Office $100 for filings I made last year that cannot have their address changed without an entirely new filing. Great how governments conspire to screw you out of money, isn’t it? Conservatively, $500 down the drain, assuming no more costs are incurred. Nice.
Well, on the plus side, after months of delays, the new post office is now open. Indeed, they skipped right over my PO Box number for reasons known only to the minds that run the place. Fortunately, the new facility is great. Parking and access is even easier than before. The same great staff are back at the counters, too. It was definitely worth the wait, but certainly not worth $500 and all the hassle! I wonder if it was worth it for them?
Another CarseatBlog saga is coming to an end, too! The same day my post box ordeal ended, Kecia was reviewing a Ford Explorer, one with the inflatable seatbelt option. We were supposed to receive one after the 2011 Chicago Auto show, but a comedy of events delayed the review model until now. Is it a good fit for your family? We’ll have more to report soon!
I had to mail a special letter a couple of weeks ago so it meant going to my local post office and standing in the requisite 20 minute line. There’s always a 20 minute line to deal with crusty, unhappy, smokey-smelling CSRs no matter when I go–and an additional 20 minutes tacked on during holidays. I glanced up to see a huge banner strung up saying they had won some kind of post office customer service award and it was all I could do to keep from peeing myself as I laughed. Simply amazing. Who are they comparing themselves to? The DMV?
I priced USPS Parcel Post to ship a Kiddy World Plus from Chicago to Los Angeles. They want $98! That’s $5 more than UPS and $30 more than Fedex. Ouch.