Yesterday a business sent us a package by United States Post
Office Express Mail. They paid extra to have
delivery guaranteed before noon today.
At around 10:00 my in-laws came over.
At 10:30 my mother came over and found a note from the postman saying
that they tried to deliver it and we weren't home. That’s despite the fact that we were one room
away from the front door (so we probably would have heard a knock on the door),
and we were in the room with the doorbell ringer (so we definitely would have
heard the doorbell if the postman rang it).
Everyone makes mistakes, so that comes under the heading “do-do occurs”.
However, the delivery notice said volumes about the Post Office. If the package had been sent by FedEx, the
note would have said that they would retry delivery the next day, or we could
pick-up the package between 5:00 & 7:00 p.m. tonight. In other words, we would have at least been
able to get it the same day, and we could have picked it up after normal
working hours, when it is more convenient for customers who work.
On the other hand, the delivery notice from the post office
gave a couple of options. We could
request redelivery (either online or by filling out the form and leaving it
where the carrier can see it). If you
request redelivery, then you have to give the Post Office at least 2 delivery-days
notice. In other words, they will
attempt redelivery within 2 days at the earliest; if a weekend is involved, and
you fill out the form which will be picked-up the next day, then it could be up
to 4 days after the overnight package was supposed to be delivered. The other option is to pick up the package
yourself at the Post Office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. the next day.
In other words, if it absolutely, positively has to be there
overnight, the USPS really doesn't care, so you better send it FedEx!
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