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Path: utzoo!watmath!watarts!dharris
From: dharris@watarts.UUCP (Dave Harris)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: more postal flaming (or, You think you have it bad)
Message-ID: <8282@watarts.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 26-Feb-85 07:19:53 EST
Article-I.D.: watarts.8282
Posted: Tue Feb 26 07:19:53 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 27-Feb-85 20:37:53 EST
References: <1643@pur-phy.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 36

You will forgive me if I appear unsympathetic about the U.S. postal
system.  I think perhaps you don't know how good you have it 'way
down there'.
 
For some time now, we here in the frozen wastelands of Canada have
paid 32 cents for domestic mail, 37 cents for mail to the U.S., 
and 64 cents for surface mail overseas.  I personally wouldn't mind
paying that if there were any hint of service or efficiency here, 
but of course that's just me being silly.

I imagine everyone has his/her horror stories about the mail system
either in Canada, the U.S. or [insert-your-favorite-country-here].
Well, folks, Canada's got it all.  We've refined bad mail service
here to an art.   It typically takes three to five days for mail
to move within the same city.  If it has to leave the country, God
help it.   

There's also talk of a 10 cent surcharge *per letter* if there's no
Postal Code on it.  That would be fine, if the postal code actually
served any purpose.  Back in the days when that was first introduced,
any letter that contained a postal code in the address moved slower, as
the postal workers were protesting automation.  (Now, of course, it just
moves slower *anyway*, as a matter of general principle).  I am
forever getting mail with either no postal code or an incorrect postal
code, and it arrives FASTER, since it gets rejected by the machines
and must then be sorted by hand.  How's that for cleverness?

And then we have the strikes.  Once every year or two, whether we 
need it or not, we have a postal strike.  Usually it's the month
before Christmas, but they're late this year (or is it early for 
next year?) -- it's scheduled for March 8.

All in all, I don't think you have it so bad in the U.S.  For that
matter, we mostly don't have things so bad in Canada, either, but
given a choice between the Canadian and American postal systems, I'd
take the American one any day of the week.