Rant of the Day v2.

[bob2s]

Back in 1968 I was working in the New Hebrides (later named Vanuatu) and mail from Australia would take over a month to reach me, Australian post
would sort it into the UK pile and off it would go to the Hebrides, where someone with the ability to read would underline the word NEW and draw
an arrow pointing to the New Hebrides before it went back on its merry way to Australia and finally on its way to me. Even writing South Pacific under
New Hebrides was no guarantee it would not visit Scotland.

[tango15]

Back in 1968 I was working in the New Hebrides (later named Vanuatu) and mail from Australia would take over a month to reach me, Australian post
would sort it into the UK pile and off it would go to the Hebrides, where someone with the ability to read would underline the word NEW and draw
an arrow pointing to the New Hebrides before it went back on its merry way to Australia and finally on its way to me. Even writing South Pacific under
New Hebrides was no guarantee it would not visit Scotland.

Some years ago now, I was on my way back from Ascension Island on the Falklands Air Bridge, and found myself sitting next to a chap who worked for the Royal Mail. He had been on Ascension trying to sort out an anomaly whereby mail addressed to Ascension would turn up in Paraguay's capital, Asunción. He had been to Asunción and found several large bags of mail languishing in a corner which, when opened, were all addressed to Ascension. Since the Paraguayans had no idea where Ascension was, and had made no effort to find out, the mail had lain there for up to two years, and was about to be destroyed. Once rescued, the bags had been flown to Chile and then on to Mount Pleasant. Curiously, Ascension had never been allocated a postcode, but they were shortly afterwards!

[1DC]

Watched a bloke from the big river throw a parcel from his van into my garage one day when it was raining to save himself a 30 yard walk to the house, he then photographed the front of the house from the van and left.I then received the delivery advice on my phone.After much difficulty in finding a contact number I complained to be told that their drivers didn't do that sort of thing. I asked if they would like me to send a copy of the security camera film showing it happening so they said they would locate the driver and discipline him! I thought, that will be the day, but at least I know the attitude prevails right through the company.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

..latest is that my parcel is delayed near Chicago Airport.
It would appear it's been to the settlement with the same name in Illinois, where someone has probably exclaimed "Morons! I'm working with morons!", and underlined the "CANADA" in the address.
It appears to have been sent back and is now at the airport.

Needless to say, the electronic announcement of this claims it is an address "issue", and that somehow it's my fault.

I suppose I should be lucky that at least the parcel went in the correct general direction, and was initially delivered to the settlement very close to a big UPS hub airport.

Unfortunately, as well as this settlement name appearing in half the states in America, it also appear in half the provinces in Canada, including one at the other end of the country.......

[llondel]

My most recent packages arrived sensibly early in the day. Amazon stuff often says "by 10pm" and I think sometimes we've been last stop on route because it was close to that time, but the past couple made it by lunchtime, allowing me to start using the contents that day.

[PHXPhlyer]

As I am in am major urbanization with one or more major Amazon distribution warehouses I often see Amazon products looked at late at night offering "overnight delivery" with a window of between 4AM and 8 AM.

PP

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I receive delivery messages from Amazon which are the wrong time zone -2, and from one of the delivery companies wrong time zone +2, about the same deliveries.
In fact, the deliveries either arrive at 11am or 4:30pm, whatever the 'out for delivery' message says.
The morning ones are dumped in the driveway by some recent immigrant from the Punjab (judging from the Bhangra music belting out), gig-working in his own car sometime before his lunchtime shift in the fast food restaurant.
The afternoon ones are delivered to my door by either a local chap, or his wife after the kids are back from school (same car).
All of them are apparently called 'Nick', although none of them actually are.

[llondel]

As I am in am major urbanization with one or more major Amazon distribution warehouses I often see Amazon products looked at late at night offering "overnight delivery" with a window of between 4AM and 8 AM.

PP

I've had a few of those, and yes, some did turn up not long after 4am according to the door camera. If Tesla was still around she'd let us know about it too, but Kepler and Cassini don't seem as bothered, although they get random cat-generated noises in the night so I assume they have more tolerance.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

The plot thickens.
Parcel will be airborne soon, but now continuing by USPS, not UPS.
This is a new one on me. Never had transfer between non-government and government carriers before.

[llondel]

The plot thickens.
Parcel will be airborne soon, but now continuing by USPS, not UPS.
This is a new one on me. Never had transfer between non-government and government carriers before.

Around here, UPS and USPS seem to have some sort of deal where USPS will do the final delivery occasionally.

[G-CPTN]

GDPR!

[ricardian]

Non-Royal Mail packages addressed to this island (Stronsay) are deemed to have been "delivered" by the carrier once they have arrived in either Aberdeen, Inverness or Kirkwall, it's at least another 2 hour ferry journey from mainland Orkney to Stronsay before they get delivered by the island's official haulier who only delivers on Wednesdays & Fridays.

[1DC]

Just opened a packet of jammy dodgers been banned from biscuits since before Christmas and only just persuaded herself to relent.Only EIGHT in the packet, what kind of robbery is this..

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Parcel postscript.
After an attempted delivery to the wrong address 2,000 km away in the wrong country, then being handed on from UPS to USPS and then Canada Post, the parcel arrived intact today, 9 days early.
Although Amazon doesn't know it has. They still think it's in Customs somewhere other than Chicago.
World's gone mad.

[G-CPTN]

Pass the parcel?

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I guess.
As I said earlier, I've never known private carriers pass to government carriers before, or v.v.
And doubly weird is that once the parcel disappears from tracking, it turns up early.
It was only supposed to be delivered to my local post office, but my friendly postie realised it would fit in my mailbox and delivered it anyway.

So the official service gets worse, and the unofficial gets better.

[PHXPhlyer]

There are a lot of "last mile" agreements here, most of which seem to be between UPS and USPS.
Usually it seems to be mostly small stuff which will fit into a mailbox.

PP

[jimtherev]

Just had me car insurance renewal letter. £1800. EIGHTEEN HUNDRED QUID.
Ridiculous - the telephone will be busy tomorrow morning. Admittedly, it's been a bit of an unusual year: started when a scrote stole my catalytic converter from outside my front window, and finished last month with two falling roof tiles which smashed a wing mirror and a front wing and the windscreen. But £1,800!!!

Then a thought came. What proportion of my total car expenditure does this represent? An interesting answer. 8,000 miles. At 60mpg, which is about right this translates to £410 worth of fuel. (Don't keep receipts any more) Add another £500 for servicing and annual Test Certificate: a total of £2,710.
So insurance at this level represents two thirds of my motoring expenses.

Don't seem right, some'ow.

Just an additional thought. Done the sums again, and based on 50, not 60 mpg Would save about £80 over the year. Just 3% of expenses. All those quibbles on the Electric Vehicle thread on a few percentage points - 'ardly worth bothering about, is it?

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Whilst my insurance is a lot lower, so are my miles and fuel costs. My insurance cost is also about 60% of my motoring expenses, and I have had zero claims (ever).
So it maybe could be worse for you Jim. I know that US insurance costs are now astronomical in many places.
On the plus side, My carbon tax rebate is now actually more than my annual fuel costs, so the government is paying for my fuel (about 3,000 miles a year in the car, plus some more for assorted machines, like snowblowers).
Ironically, this makes me even less likely to switch to an electric car.

[OFSO]

Are certain professions higher- rated, and if so, why ? For example, doctors with midnight call-outs (if they still do them) or hospital staff working 12 hour shifts, or commercial pilots with time- zone changes ? Or Reverends coping with post-exorcism demons materialising and wresting the steering wheel from their hands....