I went to the Post Office - oh, I know, that is probably enough to get many people to want to spit nails, but wait - it gets worse! I went to mail a care package to my son who is on his 3rd deployment to the Middle East. He is in Kuwait this time (two previous in Iraq), which is less dangerous than Iraq or Afghanistan, but by dint of being in that tinder spot known as the middle east is nonetheless NOT a safe place to be.
I waited in line, and waited, and waited, with my package not taped closed yet, as I needed the Customs form required for sending a package to an APO address. You see, they don’t have the forms out and available - you have to ask for them at the desk - and these forms require you to inventory the contents you are sending. You might send them something dangerous - oh wait, THEY ALREADY HAVE DANGEROUS STUFF – such as grenades, automatic weapons, one is hopeful that they have SCADS of ammo; what they mean is you might send them something dangerous according to Islamic culture like prayer books, rosaries, bibles - really dangerous stuff.
Twenty five minutes later I get up to the front of the line and ask for CP72 - Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note.
Perhaps the worker was new. No, I assure you that is NOT the case - I have seen her here many times in the past. “What is that?” Ah, in her many years of working for the Post Office she has never seen a package go to one of our military members before now. I tell her what it is and she says “I don’t think we have any of those.”
“You don’t have any of them? Well, I’m sure our soldiers serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere will be glad to know they can’t get care packages because you don’t have any customs forms.”
I said it nicely, really I did, just in a nice voice that also made it clear I expected SOMETHING from her other than a dumb look
She then did bestir herself to look - at her station, the next guy’s station, the 3 unoccupied stations. She even went back to another room and came out where the cattle, I mean customers are forced to wait in varying degrees of patience until they get a chance to transact their business.
“No, I think we’re all out.”
“You have NO Customs forms for mailing packages to our G.I.s.” Seriously?
She is forced to reenter her station right by me (since they wouldn’t let her back into the back via the locked door through which came down into the cattle pen) and as she does she mumbles “oh it’s unbelievable.” as if by empathizing she will deflect any irritation at the ineptitude displayed both by her lazy attitude and the FACT that the POST OFFICE does not have the required form for sending a package that THEY REQUIRE you to have.
By this time, there are easily 20 people in line waiting, irritated that everything in the station has come to a complete halt as she meanders around searching for something that they do NOT have.
She wanders back down by the office, flips through some papers AGAIN, “no, I think we don’t have any.”
She has this look and sound of hope that this comment, repeated for the 4th or 5th time will magically make everything better.
While managing to keep my temper MOST admirably, I say “If you don’t have them, you don’t have them.” I’m pretty sure I don’t want her to pull them out of her butt – or try to!
So I gather my package and my purse and begin to leave. What? No parting shot? No expression of irritation or frustration on my part? No.
Except - I say directly to the other head of cattle in this roundup of USPS misery - and making direct eye contact with them while speaking:
“If you are here to mail a care package to your soldier - you can’t do that. They don’t have the required forms.”
On the way home, I go to my Pak-Mail store. They have the forms. They have actual friendly customer service. (WHAT!!?)
It also costs more to send my package. Flat rate medium size box at the Post Office – IF THEY HAVE THE FORM - costs under $10 to send. I pay $18 at Pak Mail. But they had the form.
Now I had the leeway of spending a little extra cash, and a little extra time to get that package out today. What about the people who do not have extra money in their budget and do not have the luxury of a little extra time to go somewhere else? Even if it were to another Postal Station. If you do not have the means to go 10 miles out of your way to mail a CARE PACKAGE, for heaven’s sake - what are you supposed to do, then?
What about a soldier’s wife who is watching her pennies and her time? What is she supposed to do?
There is NO excuse for this.
Our military members have their lives on the line every second of every minute of each hot, miserable day they spend in theater. And the USPS can’t keep the forms on hand to send care packages to them? The forms REQUIRED by the USPS?? Are you kidding me?
The Postmaster General received a huge bonus last year in addition to his salary. What the heck for? Is he working in 119 degree heat? Is he under constant threat of mortar attack like my nephew who lost a good friend just last week to mortar attack? Does he suffer from a lack of food because the drivers hired wouldn’t deliver their supplies as they feared the Taliban? Doesn’t look like that is the case from his photograph!
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