Re: US Postal Service

John Taylor [The Banshee] (rphjt@minyos.xx.rmit.EDU.AU)
Mon, 7 Mar 94 21:11:16 DST

>I have been a strong supporter of the US. Postal Service. They have
>transmitted my letters to Europe in only a week and Canada in less than two
>weeks. They have whisked packages across the country in only a couple of
>days and with minimal damage. The rates have been reasonable and the people
>friendly, at least at my local Post Office. But they've gone too far...
>
>Saturday I received a two day priority package from Florida in only 11 days.
>I thought this outrageous and confronted the Postal Jerk. I was informed
>that the two day delivery was not a guarantee, but a possibility (apparently
>remote). The package stunk, but the plants inside appeared alive and may
>even survive. So, I was a little mollified.
>
>The same day I received a letter from San Francisco postmarked February 16,
>1994. This letter reached me in only 17 days. Obviously, the sender should
>have used 2nd day priority. So, I let this one go.

Looks as though your posties take the scenic route - via Europe and Canada...

The equivalent service here in Australia would be Australia Post's Priority
Paid which also doesn't guarantee next day (?) delivery - but usually does.
Even our standard mail service seems pretty reliable - normally only 2 days
interstate delivery. Maybe it's just that we have few major cities and "local"
airlines (and no snow etc. - especially during the ski season :-( ) that we
have pretty good service. There's also no real competition for standard mail
- it's a monopoly (government owned). There's talk of opening up the postal
service for private companies to act in competition to Australia Post - I hope
we don't get your kind of mail "service" if that happens...

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| John Taylor [The Banshee] | Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology |
| rphjt@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au | Department of Applied Physics |
| MOKING IS A HEALTH HAZARD. | Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA |
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