Dissin’ the Post Office

It must have been a pretty slow news day in Modesto, CA. 

The headline reads, “Couple’s Tax Documents Certifiably Lost”, by Jeff Jardine.  Basically a couple had sent their tax stuff to their tricky accountant, and the package was instead delivered to the IRS in Fresno. 

Several things: 

1.  I love the mean, ‘unamused’ look the couple gave for the picture.  Perfect indignation for someone so very wronged. 

2.  Their tax documents, according to the story, are not lost, as the headline proclaims.  Their location is known. 

3.  I was awestruck by the coincidence that their tax documents were mistakenly delivered to the IRS.  Perhaps the mail clerk was merely clairvoyant, and expedited delivery to the final destination.  Or perhaps the couple in question accidentally put the IRS label on the envelope.  Choose for yourself which scenario is more likely. 

4.  I’m a postal employee, so perhaps my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt, but the US Postal Service processes about 700 million pieces of mail each day.  Why is it that when one gets lost (or misdirected), it is newsworthy?  All the people I know at the post office are hardworking and conscientious.  And sometimes make an error (most often resulting in delay rather than misdelivery). 

5.  The writer mentions at the end that the couple will send their copies either UPS or FedEx.  They’re willing to spend more money on a company that, in their eyes, has a less than 1/700 million chance of “losing” their package.  Dave and Ann Milhous, I salute your acumen. 

6.  This is.... aggressive: 

Nor has she gotten an explanation from the post office about how their information wound up in Fresno which, if my AAA road map isn't outdated, is still due south of Modesto. San Jose is due west. 

What kind of explanation would satisfy them?  Do they think that one of us, in the process of delivering it to the wrong destination, thought to scribble down the reason for doing so?  I have encountered many such people in my time, “demanding” an explanation, when there is no way of knowing.  However, I refer the reader to Number 2, above.

And Mr. Jardine's smart-alecki-ness seems unwarranted as well.  Does he think we sort the mail by the direction it's heading?

7.  While not the subject of my rant, I am amused that they think anyone at the IRS has the time to stop what they are doing at this time of year, and go sort through what must be a mountain of post looking for a package with a specific return address.  That borders on delusional.