Kafka at the post office

Last Saturday, the mailman rapped at the door, and twenty seconds later, when I answered, he was gone, having left a package pickup slip. According to the slip's directions, I went online and requested that they hold it at the post office. I'd planned to pick it up this morning--it's the refurbished monitor I ordered so I can use my "new" laptop with its newly cracked LCD screen. Although I haven't written my complaint letters yet, I will. But I digress.

Also last weekend, I ordered a shed, and sprung for home delivery from Lowe's. They estimated delivery for Thursday evening, after 5pm, and indicated they'd call the night before to confirm. So I planned to be able to leave work earlier on Thursday.

On Wednesday night, they called to say they'd deliver Friday between 1-5pm. I told them there was no way I could rearrange my work schedule on short notice to be home during those hours, and requested that they deliver on Saturday (today) instead. They agreed, and promised to call on Friday night to give me a time window.

They didn't. So I called--no answer--and left a message. Then I called the store. They told me they'd call early this morning. They didn't. Finally, I reached someone who was actually helpful, who said they'd come around 10am.

Which gave me a one-hour window to pick up my package--the one that I wouldn't have needed to pick up had the mailman knocked louder and given me more time to come to the door. The post office opened at 9am. Not a problem--it's close enough nearby. I'd even have time to pop into the grocery store on the way home.

So I get to the post office just before 9am and wait in line for a few minutes. When the guy at the counter takes my package slip, he asks if anyone else in line is there for a package, since he's going back to get them. One person steps forward.

A while later, he returns with a small package that can't be my monitor. He processes it, keeping me waiting, only to inform me that my package isn't at the post office.

He tells me that they never sent it there from my "home" post office on Duke Street. I tell him that the post office indicated on the slip, and online when I made the arrangements, is the one in which we were standing. He said he understood but said they never sent it. I asked who, and asked why it was at no point indicated to me that the package was at another post office, and said that there was no way I could get there (and be home in time for the shed delivery). He *shrugged.* I asked him what I should do. He said to ring the buzzer to talk to a manager.

I rang the buzzer. A few minutes later, he told me to ring it again. This went on for almost ten minutes, until I asked him whether this was something I could resolve over the phone, at which point he went back and found a manager.

And the manager found my monitor. In that very post office.

Meanwhile, people in line, who had observed the entire thing, made comments like, "that's great that they found it." I said, "yeah--I mean, otherwise, I'd have gone to the other post office, and it definitely wouldn't be there." The guy at the counter made some snide comment about how that would be the end of the world, as if he hadn't needlessly caused confusion and delay. And you wonder why the Post Office is losing customers.

Over half an hour later, I left the post office, so now I have a monitor. I don't know when I'll be able to install it or try it out, since the handyman will be here shortly and it will be home repair time. If it stops raining, it may even be shed time.