Yesterday I needed a stamp. So I went to the post office. I stood in line. For a long time. For ever. In a long line. With other people – just buying stamps.
As I stood – waiting - & waiting – I thought about WHY I was standing – for –ever – to buy a simple book of stamps.
Last Fall I had come to my same local post office in search of a stamp only to discover that the stamp machine had been ripped off the wall. So – I had to go stand in line. I did. For ever. When I finally got to the counter & asked for my stamp & inquired about when the stamp machine would be fixed, I was told it wasn’t coming back – gone for good. Naturally I asked why. The explanation was that the person in charge of the machine had retired & the position was being discontinued. I asked – with the faintest hint of sarcasm – so that means we have to stand in line just to buy stamps? Yes. Making the line longer? Yes. Taking up more of your time? Yes.
After putting my precious stamp on my piece of mail & mailing it, I pondered the idiocy of all of this. Grumbling about the Herculean effort to be required in the future to buy stamps. Shaking my head at the lack of foresight of post office officials about efficiency. Needless to say – I was irritated.
Now – like many people today – I don’t use that many stamps. Maybe 2 or 3 a month. I pay most of my bills on line & lord knows I don’t send anyone any personal letters. So my stamp needs are minimal. And perhaps this was calculated into the post office’s decision to do away with the stamp machine – our changing mail habits. And yes – I could buy a large quantity of stamps all at one time to avoid the occasional stand in line (I buy 10 at a time) BUT BUT BUT I stopped doing that because they keep raising the price of stamps & then when I actually do have to mail something I am at a loss to know whether or not I have the appropriate stamp & if I don’t then I have to scrounge around looking for 1 cent stamps – not having a clue which drawer I left them in & then giving up & going & buying a new stamp anyway – you get the picture.
So – in other words – back to the post office to buy the appropriate priced stamp. To stand in line. To wait. For ever. Again.
So did they just rip out the machine at my branch? If I took the time & precious gas to drive to another branch would there be a stamp machine or was the now-retired person in change of those machines too? And is any of this logical? Weren’t machines introduced to save on expensive human labor hours? And now, when the post office is threatening to go down to 5 days a week to save labor money, there are no machines to fill in the gap for the lack of human postal workers? Does any of this make sense????
As you can see – I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the loss of my local stamp machine. While standing. In a long line. To buy a stamp. With nothing but time to think. To ponder. To gaze nostalgically at the gaping hole in the wall where once upon an efficient, logical time a stamp machine once resided.
ATMs sell stamps and you can buy "forever" stamps that remain valid even if prices go up.
ReplyDeleteNo sign at my local PO that the machine is in danger - there's even a machine that weighs things and prints the postage for you.
Hi Fogg - yeah, I know there are other places to buy stamps but because I use them so rarely I just simply never think of buying them when I am at the grocery store, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe larger point of my post, though, was that I was bemused by the fact that in this instance a machine was perceived as COSTING human labor rather than SAVING human labor. Supposedly today people are being increasingly replaced by machines in order to save on cost. So anyway - this silliness with the stamp machine just struck me as being so contrary to "modern thought."
Squid, I was about to suggest you write a letter of complaint to the Postmaster General on ways to
ReplyDeleteimprove the mail service. But on second thought, fahgetaboutit. The letter will probably get lost.
Better option: Go on a shooting rampage.
You obviously have no grasp of the logic of the postal service.
ReplyDeleteI was standing by my front door the other day and I am BIG and was wearing a red shirt. My mailbox is by the driveway and my mailman delivered my mail as I stood there. In my mail was a note that I had a registered letter and that since I was not home it could not be delivered.
So, I had to wait till the next day and go to the post office and pick up the letter. I was in the same line that you were in....in fact we could have been standing next to each other.
When I got to the counter I had to sign for the letter two times, once on their new computer system and again on paper. Then I was asked the delivery address...
So, I looked at the lady behind the counter and asked her for the address of the post office that I was standing in...
She asked why?
She informed me that I had to put my home address down and I informed her that it asked for delivery address and you did not deliver the letter to my home but rather I had to come and take it off your hands at this address....
Then a few days later I happened to meet my postman at the mailbox and I asked him why he needed to put stickers on the inside of my box with my name on it while my mailbox as my street address on the side.
He told me that he did that to make sure that all mail with my name on it is delivered to my box....
So, I asked, if that is the case then why do I keep getting mail addressed "Resident"
Its not on the sticker on the inside of my mailbox...
TAO, this experience reminds me what it is like to buy stamps. When you ask for a book or a roll, the clerk asks: “What denomination?”
ReplyDeleteSo lets play their game as say: “Give me 11 Catholic, 12 Presbyterian, 10 Lutheran, and 22 Baptist."
Tao! I laughed myself silly at your comment - better than my post!
ReplyDeleteSo here's another story - I once moved to this town & did the usual thing like changing my address with my cel phone co. etc., setting up utilities, etc.
Days went by - no mail. More days went by. I finally went to the local post office to inquire. They asked for ID & then brought me out a stack of mail - all addressed to me at my new address. I asked them why they hadn't delivered it. They said because I hadn't told them that I lived there.
I kid you not.
According to that post office I was supposed to check in with them when I moved to town. I have moved at least 10 times in my adult life & have NEVER had to alert the local postal authorities to my sudden presence in their midst!
And Octopus - denomination? You're kidding?
Squid, do I ever kid? You know how dour and sour I am. But let me leave you with this (you do believe me, don't you? Don't answer that!):
ReplyDeleteRecently, the US Postal Service recalled a stamp bearing a likeness of George W, Bush.
A problem was discovered -- reports of stamps not sticking to envelopes, and mail using the Bush postage not being delivered. What the USPPS discovered:
1- The stamp was manufactured properly.
2 - There was nothing wrong with the adhesive.
3 - People were spitting on the wrong side of the stamp.
About five times a day at work, an angry caller asks why they have not received their medication yet. Here is the typical response:
ReplyDelete"Ma'am, your prescription was received on the first and shipped less than 48 hours later. The US Postal Service has it. We do not have it. Please bug your postman and not us. Thank you."
My wife handles all that stuff. I am blessed.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had a good post office story. But alas, I live in a small town and a long line is 3 people.
ReplyDeleteWell - now that we've thoroughly dissed the postal service . . .
ReplyDeleteOCTO!! Did you think that up all by yourself? 'fess up - who writes your material?!
I thank you % Tao for making a squid laugh today.
Squid: fess up - who writes your material?!
ReplyDeleteOkay, okay, meet the writers. Afterwards, I eats them mit butter.
Now don't be hatin' on Mr. and Ms. Postman -- most of us have probably had a few misdelivered letters over the years, but when you consider the volume still moved even by today's somewhat reduced postal service, they do a good job. A lot of the horror stories one hears about deliveries gone wrong tend to be "foaf stories" (friend of a friend). Occasionally, we might come across a doofus letter carrier who keeps getting things wrong, but most carriers know their routes and serve them well. Offices vary greatly in their efficiency -- there are a few local ones I tend to avoid because they seem to take longer than usual, but most are fairly efficient.
ReplyDeleteHad it not been for the U.S. Postal Service, the classic movie Miracle on 34th Street would not have had such a happy ending and millions of children would not believe in Santa Claus. Think about the kids before dissing the postman people!
ReplyDeleteThe first huge crush of my life was on Wally the postman who delivered mail in my neighborhood. I was probably about 9 years old. I used to walk the route through the neighborhood with him.
ReplyDeleteMy mother ran into him years after he retired. He still remembered me.
As far as buying stamps, I kind of like hanging at the post office, but lots of places sell them. I'd bet your local corner convenience does. They do here anyway. And they'll sell you a few at a time.
Libby - what a sweet story.
ReplyDeleteTruth - yes & I guess the real santa clause has been getting kids' letters successfully for years as well - so credit must be given to the UPS.
Dino - yes - my musings about illogical use of machine/human resources did turn into a "bust on the UPS" party. On behalf of all - I stand somewhat - though not completely - chagrined.