Covid Test Kits Ordered Via USPS

We were lucky to get two Covid test kits from the community library in early December. We thought we might need them if we decided to go to central Virginia for Christmas. We decided not to go to central Virginia for Christmas and we never used our kits. Luckily both of us have stayed healthy to date. The kits are supposedly outdated now. So it was good to know that we could order a free set of four kits using the USPS website. I learned yesterday that the website opened a day early so I thought I’d try it out and it worked flawlessly.  It was very simple to use - you just add your contact information and add one set of four kits to the basket. You receive a notification email that the order was received. Now all we have to do is wait for it to get mailed and delivered here hopefully by the end of the month. Now the K95 masks will also be available but I’m not sure where yet - but you need to go and pick those up. We luckily have one K95 mask for each of us now and several KN95’s that we pretty much exclusively use these days. Having been in health care all of our lives we just wish everyone else would order their kits and wear N95 masks too. 

USPS Informed Delivery

We got a property tax bill for one unit more than a week ago, but never received the tax bill for the other unit. But when I looked it up on line, both bills were noted. Which makes me wonder what other mail we never receive. Since we moved here twelve years ago there have been several instances of lost mail that are never accounted for. And more times than not someone in our building leaves mail by our door because it was delivered to the wrong person. On the “Next Door” app that covers our neighborhood zip code, the comments keep growing about this same subject of lousy mail service. But someone suggested they used USPS Informed Delivery that tracks your mail and shows what is supposed to be delivered. But even with the service, the problem is rarely solved if there is an issue. So I decided to sign up for informed delivery. You get an email in the morning if mail is expected, with a picture of the envelope or subject. Yesterday it was 1-800 flowers, and two other junk items. The actual mail was three pieces - all junk - but two out of three were “correct.”  It also shows package delivery. And you can use the app for other functions like “hold mail” and “buy stamps.” I think the only thing keeping USPS alive is the competition of all the other delivery methods. In the meantime we are still waiting for our property tax bill, an no app is going to fix that. 

Amazon Saves the Day - USPS Doesn't

We really dislike the postal service. Delivery is sketchy at best. There are at least two instances that our building did not receive mail delivery. We complained, and it really doesn't make any difference. On the other hand, we rarely, if ever, have issues with UPS. In fact, we wrote letters of commendation for a particular UPS delivery person in our neighborhood. He not only enters the building, but goes to the specific unit to deliver a package rather than leave it in the common mail area. But I really want to extend cudos to Amazon. We were expecting a package on Sunday when we received notice that it wasn't delivered because no one was at home. We were not only at home, we saw no truck, and there was no notice left to reschedule. So I contacted Amazon to complain about the USPS service in this area, and they shouldn't use USPS for delivery. Within an hour, we received a response from Amazon in the most customer friendly terms, and that they would credit our shipping cost for the inconvenience. We also rescheduled our package delivery for the next day - before 11 AM. Did it arrive before 11 AM? Of course not. It did, however, arrive with the rest of the mail in the afternoon.  All I can say is one company is quite successful while the other continues to make excuses for terrible service. I don't know if it's because we live in DC because we never had issues with the post office in Milwaukee regardless of the ice, sleet, blizzards, and snow. All I know is Amazon is wonderful, and they stand by their customers. 

DC Services Stink - Do Yours?

It takes a certain kind of person to live in this town. Maybe this week was just odd and not typical, or maybe we have nothing life threatening to worry about. I can only compare it to what life was like in the Midwest - and it was nothing as irritating as this. Starting with USPS - our held mail was never delivered. Neither two postal workers nor email complaint has been addressed. We still don't have our mail or a response within the promised 48 hour window. The public garden on the corner is overgrown and full of weeds. A request was sent without any action - they have one more day to meet the two week turnaround. We started a project three months ago for a simple installation with a promised date for tomorrow. Even with several email reminders to the vendor about meeting this deadline, we were assured it would be met. Guess what? It has to be rescheduled another 7-10 days out. Our entire kitchen in Milwaukee was remodeled in less time than this. I hate living my life around incompetence. I've been trying to make a doctor appointment for an annual exam for the past THREE months to no avail. I considered changing offices but don't want to deal with the prescription hassle. They said it has to do with scheduling changed. I don't think they want any patients. And of course there are other things going on in the city that create major inconvenience because of the lousy infrastructure. Thank goodness I don't need to drive to work or use the metro. If you are an organized and reliable and honest type of person - this is not the place for you. In the end probably none of this matters, but when it all happens in the same week it is quite irritating. 

USPS Package Not Delivered

I always get nervous when a package is being sent via USPS. It was a surprise when I received notice from Amazon that this was the case - usually things are sent UPS. Our UPS guy is wonderful! However, since we moved to DC our mail has not been delivered every day, as the saying goes. We have sent a few complaints about non delivery. That was never the case in Milwaukee. And, I had a right to feel this way because the package that was supposed to arrive On the due date didn't. The reason given was the "business was closed." What business? Plus, we were home all day.  An email arrived late at night that stated we needed to either pick the package up or arrange another delivery date. I ignored it and decided to recheck the tracking system on line. The update said it was supposed to be delivered the next business day. But with the holiday Monday and the snowstorm on Tuesday my hopes faded again. Then our regular mail carrier arrived late in the afternoon and all was well. I really don't mind delays and mishaps when there is a good reason. But I really resent an inefficient system especially since we are not a business and we were at home - before the holiday and the storm. 

Packages to France

It was supposed to be a surprise. We wanted to thank our hosts for their kindness and generosity by sending three items to two little boys in France. Thinking it might be easier to send directly from Paris, I used the Apple Store in Paris for package number one. I can understand enough French to figure out what was being asked and thought a transaction was complete. Package number two was sent from the UPS store here in Alexandria - pretty straight forward. Package number three was sent through Amazon's Create Space - two of my children's books that I can get without going through Amazon directly. As usual I began tracking the progress of all three and was getting quite nervous when all the remarks were showing not delivered "because." In the middle of all this I received an email in French and tried to respond. Still not making any forward progress! I was beginning to think the address was wrong and the contact numbers weren't working as planned. In the end we finally sent an email to our wonderful hosts and explained and were sorry for any and all the problems we were creating. What was meant as a pleasant thing turned in to a worry - for us! And hopefully not a headache - for them. The next day we finally started getting "delivered" and "signed for by" and I could finally breathe a sigh of relief. I'm still not sure where the hang up was or even if there really was one. Maybe that's just how it goes in France. 

USPS, FedEx and Crossed Fingers

They came from as far away as Illinois, New York, and Kansas. I was too lazy to drive to the Staples for art supplies and they don't have the white pre cut foam board that I need to mount my pet portraits to hang in the Wagtime Shop anyway. I much prefer pre cut to using a razor to cut a very large piece to size. It looks a lot cleaner and neater too. So Amazon is the place of choice for just about anything, but it gets trickier to meet the minimum threshold for free shipping when items come from outside the Amazon warehouse from separate vendors. So I ended up paying some shipping costs from outside vendors. We had a terrible FedEx experience over the holidays that necessitated us taking a trip to the Maryland pick up location. We received a "not at home sticker" again on package number one that also said it required a signature - for photo paper? Luckily it was delivered on the second attempt and all the others showed up one by one - the business card holder, the Velcro, the foam board, and the spray glue. I still have to go to Staples for refill ink for my printer and card stock for more business cards. But sometimes I like taking the easy way out, even though it may include shipping fees.