Shipping and Murphys Law

[Chas]

The UK introduced Post Codes in 1959 but it wasn't until the early 70's that they were used by everybody. In 1971, the Post Office started a national campaign to get everybody using the Post Code. The adverts, shouting 'USE THE POST CODE' were everywhere.

I was in the RAF and stationed at RAF Honington in Suffolk. I decided to test this new 'fantastic' system. I had a morning off work and caught the early bus to Bury St Edmunds, a large market town some 10 miles away.

At the Post Office, I purchased a pre-paid 2nd class envelope and wrote on it:

Q8089960
IP33 1EE

I posted it at 10:00 and was back at camp by 12:00. I started my afternoon shift at 13:00 and there in the post rack was my letter waiting for me! 3 hours - in the days pre-scanning and pre-computers, everything looked up and done by hand. I always use the Post Code now.

Regards

Chas

[Jerry]

Back during the last century, my cousin and I enlisted in the Navy on the same dy. I was delayed two weeks longer than him in reporting to Great Lakes ill. for boot camp. Of course, when I got there, I had no idea where he was. Over a year later, after I had been to some schools, and my cousin had been giving a medical discharge, I was serving aboard an Atlantic fleet destroyer. I received a letter that my cousin had written to me when we were both in boot camp. It had post marks from nearly every state in the country, so many that I could not read them all. The irony was that when the letter was written, we were both at the same Naval base (Great Lakes), and even worse, in opposite ends of the same building!

[bunchdescendant]

I still get my brother's mail, even though he lives a few blocks down the street from me, on the opposite side of the road.

There are only five of us in town with the same last name (as far as I know) and we're all related, thank goodness.

Still, I really think somebody's asleep at the wheel to do such a thing.

Ray :ootd:

[The Guy in the Kilt at UC]

And the USPS customer service people are the worst! Indifferent, rude, insulting, full of excuses for shortcomings. It seems that having government jobs that they can't be fired from, they just don't care, for the most part. I have yet to encounter even one who accepted responsibility for a problem and went out of his way to help.

Correction: USPS is no longer exactly a governmental entity.

I suppose all this will change when they adopt kilts in the uniform code?

[Graywolf]

Since this thread seems to be tales of woe with deliveries:

Sent a package UPS from VA to MASS.
After two weeks with no repsonse contacted vendor to whom it was sent.
No package.
Tracked package to Mass. Inquired - package had been damaged. It was being returned.
Tracked package back to Richmond. Waited two days. NO package.
Inquired. Damaged package had been damaged and returned to MASS.
After two days inquired -package had been disposed of. The story was the package had been disposed of when first damaged and never retruned to Richmond - some employee was tinkering with the system to make it look like it was travelling back to VA, to cover up the damage.

Gave up.

[Fit2BKilted]

I get packages from Hong Kong, India (my wife LOVES saris), the UK, Japan...average shipping 1-2 weeks.

So does mine! I guess that's why she appreciates my kilting so much?

[Rex_Tremende]

Never had much trouble with any shipping service. My mother shipped some date nut bread for me once. The carrier left it on the porch. The terriers really enjoyed that date nut bread.

Once I mailed a note to Australia. It came back twice, so I took it down to the main branch to see what the trouble was. Well, it turned out that the OCR (Optical Character Reader) was having trouble deciphering the address, despite it being quite clear as to where it was to go. I was told that I'd have to apply new postage and put it in a special envelope. Of course, I was outraged (OK, not really) that I'd have to buy additional postage just because of the inadequacy of P.O.'s equipment. I appealed to clerk behind the desk, a wiry, post-hippie sort of fellow with a mop of curls and blue tinted eyeglasses. I asked him to look at the address on the envelop and tell me where it was supposed to go. Australia, he said; he could see it just fine. "So, you're telling me that you can do something that your equipment cannot, and you're willing to cede your job over to that thing?" I asked. Without another word, he took the letter and placed it behind the desk.

A few weeks later, I got a very nice reply from my friends in Australia.

Regards,
Rex.

[Deirachel]

More amazing shipping....

I received today a dress I ordered for my wife from Connecticut.


A Year AGO.

Of course, I did get a replacement with two months of the original order. But, somehow, the USPS's Priority Mail took a FULL YEAR to deliver a package.

[SoulFyre777]

More amazing shipping....

I received today a dress I ordered for my wife from Connecticut.


A Year AGO.

Of course, I did get a replacement with two months of the original order. But, somehow, the USPS's Priority Mail took a FULL YEAR to deliver a package.

Holy cow!!! How'd they deliver it, on horseback?!?