Wednesday 12 January 2011

A note on the Royal Mail


I’m not impressed.  Ever.  In the five years we have lived here we have had 3 (almost 4) packages sent from abroad go missing without a trace, even when they were ‘tracked’ (that doesn’t include letters, contracts, bills, etc. lost during reoccurring strikes).  At least two have arrived looking as though they served as substitute balls for an impromptu football match, the broken contents confirming.
Our families always receive Christmas presents late even when we get them in the mail ‘on time’ for international delivery, but this year was a real treat.
In an attempt to get our presents to our families in time for Christmas we started our shopping early.  I mean in October we were buying Christmas presents and were done before Thanksgiving.  We checked the Royal Mail timetable for guaranteed delivery for Christmas.  We made sure every box was under 2kg (so the shipping wouldn’t be equivalent to a month’s rent, but still ended up being over £100).  Then we went to the post office in three shifts over two days.  The packages (10 in all) were all going to either New Zealand or Ohio. 
Here’s what happened.

The three New Zealand packages (which were mailed in the last shift) arrived two days before Christmas.  One large package (mailed on the first shift) for my parents’ house arrived in a week.  Two smaller packages (mailed the second shift same day as the NZ packages) to central and southern Ohio also arrived in that week.  So far so good.  Over half of the packages arrived before Christmas between the 13th and 23rd.  And this is where it all went to s**t. 
There were five more packages on their way to my parents’ house holding gifts for them, my grandparents, and aunt and uncle.  All of whom were getting together on Christmas Day. 
By Christmas, none of them had arrived.  By New Year’s Day, none of them had arrived. 
The post office claimed that the ‘freak’ snow storm just before Christmas delayed delivery.  But that doesn’t explain how the rest of the packages mailed on that day or the day before got to their destination, this same destination.  Just so you know, the ‘freak’ snow storm hit a week after we mailed the packages.  We also received packages from the US within that time frame. 
On January 4th, two small packages arrived on my parents’ front porch.  The following Monday, the 10th, another package arrived.  The next day, the final package arrived. 
32 days after we mailed the first package, all the Christmas gifts finally arrived.  With them came the explanation for the delay. 
 
The packages were initially sent to OSLO instead of OHIO. 

Geography Matters. 
Especially when presents are involved. 

1 comment:

  1. Hahahaha, so ridiculous! Although I'm not surprised . . . it took about two weeks for a small (under 3 lbs) box to arrive in New York City that we sent from Toronto. I can DRIVE that in 8.5 hours. Canada Post and I are not friends.

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