infobong.com

My mom got me new kitchen knives for Valentine's Day. She learned it would arrive late, so she told me about it one day on the phone. I was like, "Did you send it via USPS or one of the commercial carriers?"
"Oh, I didn't think about it. UPS and whatnot is a pain?"
"Its a bitch. You have to wait around for them, and you have to build your schedule around their's. The post office is so much better; you can just ride your bike over to the post office and pick up your package; with UPS and FedEX you have to go out to the airport."
"Ohh, I should have asked."

On Monday, UPS left one of their tell-tale yellow markings outside my door, and left another last night. It said they would make a final attempt after 5pm today, when I will be holding office hours in Studio 4B. I called them this morning, and the clerk was unwilling to delay the delivery; I had to receive it tonight. After a series of questions, I was like, "Ok, can you deliver it to my work?"
"Sure, what's the address?"
I was reluctant to have knives delivered to school, but I kluged an address for 4B, and, after she entered it, she was all, "OK, we will deliver that to the studio Thursday night."
"Ugggggh! I won't be there Tomorrow. I'm in grad school, so my schedule is different each day."
"Well would Friday work?"
"I'll be at home Friday night?"
She sighed, and said, "OK, let's deliver it to your house Friday night."

I guess I got my problem solved, but it doesn't resolve the issue of why in the Sam Hill do retail mail-order organizations use UPS and FedEX? The private carriers work fine if you have a receptionist or a shipping clerk, but their customer service for residential customers is stone cold crappy. In contrast, our lovable socialist postal service has friendly employees, easily understood delivery practices, and convenient locations. UPS has a deal with USPS for sharing airplanes; it would be nice if they could make a similar deal hold packages at your neighborhood post office, instead of making people drive out to the airport.