Tuesday, January 31, 2017

The Pony Express Would Have Been Faster

On January 6, I sent a demand letter via certified mail for a client to a company in Petaluma, California.

It still has not been delivered and the tracking information tells a rather pathetic tale:

First, it took a day to get from the Post Office here to the Post office in Pontiac, a distance of 4 miles.

Then it took 8 days to go from Pontiac to Detroit, a distance of about 30 miles (or 3.75 miles per day), where it sat for a day.

Then it took 4 days to get to San Francisco, where it sat in the post office for another 7 days.

Then it took 8 days to get to the post office in West Sacramento California, a distance of about 86 miles or 10.75 miles per day, which is a bit of a head-scratcher as Petaluma is actually closer to San Francisco than it is to West Sacramento.

Now it is still in West Sacramento's post office, where it has now sat for 4 days through today.

I'm beginning to think had-delivery would have been quicker at this rate.

The message on the tracking is rather bitterly ironic:

The package is delayed and will not be delivered by the expected delivery date. An updated delivery date will be provided when available. The item is currently in transit to the destination.

Yes, I'd say its rather delayed and then some.

Will it ever be delivered? Where will it end up next? These questions and more may be answered soon, perhaps, maybe.

5 comments:

John in Philly said...

We are in Philly, and some time back I watched an ordered package go from the Eastern side of the US, stop for a while in Alaska, and then make its way to our house.
I don't remember the carrier.

Expatriate Owl said...

If you use Express Mail, you at least get your money back if it is not delivered when promised.

Aaron said...

JoHN: Yes, i've seen packages and mail do weird things - such as a piece of mail from here to a nearby city go all the way down to Alabama and come back up for delivery in more time than it would have taken to walk the letter over.

Expatriate Owl: Yep, but the client didn't want the expense of express mail which would have been quite a bit more. Probably have to send the same letter by Priority mail next.

drjim said...

The client wouldn't spring for the extra amount?

Geez....must not be much money at stake!

pigpen51 said...

I bought a new car last Saturday. We had to order new keys with chips in them. We did it on E-Bay, two for ten bucks, free shipping. They came in the mail the next Friday. My wife orders stuff from China online, and she gets it in about 2 weeks. I order stuff online from China and I get it in about 6 months. Go figure. Just little things in small envelopes like keychains or small flashlights. I don't trust them with more money than that.