Post Office Piss Off

Today the Post Office (and therefore it’s four subsidiaries) announced that it was in the black for the first time in four years. Incredible given the current economic climate, but perhaps not so surprising given its still near-monopoly position in a lost of cases.

However, I can tell you one thing that they’ve managed to do which would explain their financial stead-footedness: they’re ******* ****. Still.

I’ve railed on about the post before, and today I found another example. Last week I ordered some laptop memory from a company called Offtek. I had it sent recorded delivery and expected it in a couple of days, maybe a week as the post at Leah’s is particularly ****. I think Hanoi is the only other place I’ve been with such regularly inexplicable delays.

I remember from one argument a few years ago, that the Post Office now promise to deliver your mail by midday (remember when you got it before breakfast?), yet Leah’s arrives around 13:30 each day. Not that it makes any difference to someone who’s working as they won’t be in to collect anything that requires a signature anyway.

Regardless, I got an email from a member of staff at Offtek earlier. My package had been bounced back to them as the postie couldn’t find the right letterbox and gave up. For ****’s sake. Without giving her address away, Leah lives on the third floor of a 3-floor block of flats. There are two flats on each floor.

The address on the package was “Flat 3/2”. Now, this could mean two things – third floor, second flat; or third flat, second floor. As the latter simply doesn’t exist you’d think the obvious reasoning therefore is that it must be the former.

Remember that the package was recorded delivery, so someone would have to sign for it anyway. This means they could double-check. And if nobody was there to receive it, then they’d have to provide ID to pick it up at the parcel depot.

So why the **** did it end up being returned to sender? Oh, that’s right. Because the Post Office is ******* ****.

I do know someoe who works as a post-person and I don’t think she’s that stupid, so perhaps we just have a particularly workshy, brain-starved YTS-er working here. Either way, it’s bloody frustrating as I’d really like the chance to burn in the memory before I bugger off to Thailand next Tuesday.

As it is, Offtek very kindly agreed to re-send it to Andy down in London for me. And they reckon it’ll get to him tomorrow when he’s working from home. All at no additional cost to me. So thank you, Offtek. Assuming the memory works you’ll be getting a very rare recommendation from yours truly!

The Post Office, on the other hand, can **** off. I don’t care if you’re doing well if the reason for doing so is that your service is ****.

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