Tightwaddery Is…

Update#5: Well, 10 days late, it’s here. BTW, that “10 days late” is a generous estimate from the PO’s own records showing when it first received the package, reluctantly confirmed by PO customer “service” person “Grace”(less). Any attempt to compensate me for the PO’s graceless, disgusting lack of service? Of course not. Any apology for sitting on the package for at least 10 days, scanning and re-scanning it but NOT simply putting it on the truck for delivery? Of course not!

*sheesh* Any wonder I hate the normative union “workers” found in POs? (Our local gals were a bit sheepish when I told ’em the circumstances. I told them I was very sorry they worked at the sharp end of the stick for such a disgustingly mickey mouse operation.)

Update#4: Gee, after doing some more cage-rattling at USPS and Fedex, amazingly, the USPS says it’s finally “processed” the package it’s been sitting on for nine days. Shipped on December 1st. Been in USPS hands for 9 days now–10 if one were to accept the word of the first “customer service representative” from the USPS I talked to today–languishing in a PO center 90 miles away. Maybe, maybe, it’s finally on its way here. But I’ll probably not know anything until Monday. My paternal grandfather worked for the post office before it became the “postal service”. He’d probably have a few choice words to say about now were he still around… And Congress and The Zero want another bunch organized by the federal government to manage health care? “Yeh, he’s been in the emergency room for 10 days now. We should get him ‘processed’ by tomorrow or the next day or whenever. He may have bled out by then, but we’ll deliver the corpse.”

Update #3: As of 12-17-10, according to “Grace”–laughingly called a “customer service representative” at the USPS–the USPS acknowledges receipt of the package on 12-7-10 (?!?) and shows NO information on where it may be now. She said to call back tomorrow if it’s not here by 2:00 p.m. and the USPS will try to locate it. Of course, she wouldn’t even try today, because… she works for the Postal “Service”. And, also of course, our third world county post office closes at 10:30 a.m. on Saturdays, so what this really means is that Monday is the first time I can even check to find out if it’s been delivered or is somewhere becoming munchies for reindeer.

Update#2: As of 12-16-10, a Fedex phone rep asserts that Fedex has indeed tendered the package to USPS and I ought to have it by now. I’m assured that a Fedex rep will track down and let me know the score in the next couple of days. Imagine trying to do that with the USPS. I’d probably have to wait til the 12th of Never to get a callback.

Update: As of 12-15-10, my package, according to USPS is nowhere, mon frere:

——————————————————————————–
Electronic Shipping 12/07/10
Info
Received
——————————————————————————–

Although Fedex says,

Dec 8, 2010 6:14 AM
At U.S. Postal Service facility
KANSAS CITY, KS
Tendered to U.S. Postal Service for delivery – Allow one to two additional days for delivery

Now, which one do you believe?

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A very good, and in today’s economic climate probably essential, approach to take toward life in general, but sometimes it’s a pain in the neck (by “pain in the neck” you may take me to indicate that the pain is somewhere much lower down on one’s anatomy). Take for example the “free” shipping option at Amazon.com on orders that exceed $25.

Nice, but. (No, not “Nice butt!”) They’ve taken to shipping certain of those “free” shipping orders by Fedex “Smartpost” which would be all right I suppose but for one irritating factor: USPS. Yeh, Fedex delivers to USPS which then applies the marvelous efficiency of the Post Office system to slowing down the delivery of the package.

I’ve had a package just sitting in Kansas City for five days now. And the post office delivery system can’t seem to find a record of anything about it save for the fact that it’s been electronically informed by Fedex that they are to receive a package.

OTOH, Fedex says it’s left the package with the PO twice, so…

Oh, for the days when we used to get calls from Fedex asking where the heck we were, asking for directions to our house, or even for the days of an even earlier time when we had to call Fedex to ask ’em how they’d missed us since we were here when they supposedly tried to deliver, then giving directions to the lost driver. At least in those days we got our packages in a far more timely fashion.

But in these days, putting up with PO inefficiency is still better than paying money we don’t have to pay for delivery, I suppose.

That’s just sound economic policy*. 🙂

But patience and deferred gratification are difficult virtues to practice at times.

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* As Poor Richard put it, “A penny saved is a penny earned.”

Note: yes, we do pay shipping costs when necessary, like for time-sensitive things such as course materials for one of my Wonder Woman’s courses. In that case, though, I really would prefer that some professors gave adequate notice of textbook requirements…

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