I hate the post office. Unfortunately, it is my only means to send mail economically. There is nothing wrong with the post office itself, only the experience of being there. Back in NYC, the post offices rarely make any of their supplies available–no delivery confirmation stickers, priority mail envelopes…anything. You usually have to wait in a line the length of the Great Wall just to get any assistance. The postal employees are unlikely the ones at fault; it’s a fact that most governmental offices are understaffed.

I religiously use the automated stamp dispenser to avoid the dreaded line. Today I scurried off early to the post office to brave the early crowds. At 8:30am (the post office opened at 8am), the line was already to the doorway, with only two employees. Fortunately I was mailing a flat-rate envelope and did not require human assistance. As I smugly deposited my letter in the bin, I caught eye of a customer at the counter epitomizing the cause of long post office lines.

She was attempting to mail a poorly sealed cardboard box while claiming that the automated stamp dispenser ate failed to print out her postage. As evidence, she displayed a crumpled receipt of dubious origin. The postal employee was kind enough to dispense new postage AND correct the erroneous zip code marked on the box. Ironically, the customer scratched out the corrected zip code and rewrote the original one, seconds after being told that the zip code did not correlate with the destination city. I could sense the frustration exuding from the rest of the crowd. I ducked out before I became visibly irritated from the scene. Good grief.

How difficult would it be to package your missive properly before leaving home? Is it too much to ask to KNOW where you plan to send your letter? Postal workers are overworked without having to deal with incompetent customers.

I dream of the day I have postal pickup in my office. That would be paradise. In the meantime, I guess that the automated stamp machine will have to do.

misc life, rant