"We Care"

Occasionally at work I get the mail.  When the weather is ideal, or I simply need to get away from my desk.  Yesterday I'm glad I did.  Upon bringing a giant stack of mail inside and sorting it into three logical piles - 1. things I'll open and put away, 2. things I'll open but let my boss actually take care of (I like to use the letter opener that's why I open his things!), and 3. junk.  Upon sorting I stumbled upon what I considered an amusing surprise...

The amusing surprise was a letter from the good old United States Postal Service. The USPS definitely caught my attention.

The USPS has seen their share of letters, and while I pulled the ripped, battled, and worn Purchase Order out of this little bag, I stopped to see what it was the USPS cared about...

My favorite lines, with commentary of course:  

"We hope this incident did not inconvenience you."  No of course not, I really didn't want that picture from my long lost cousin in Africa that is the last known artifact to exist for my family.

"Although every effort is made to prevent damage to the mail, occasionally this will occur because of the great volume handled and the rapid processing methods which must be employed to assure the most expeditious distribution possible." So we're shooting for efficiency and quantity, not quality?  OK, I mean that's acceptable in most professions right?  Here in America we just want to be fast!

"We hope you understand." That you're fast?  That you really do "care"... why of course I understand...  I just can't understand what my long-lost cousin is trying to tell me.  That part of the letter is well... you care that's all that matters.

Finally the letter was pleasantly closed with :

What really can you say?  They said please and they're sorry!



In all honesty though, the Purchase Order that was damaged was not too bad, (the fact that it was mailed out in mid-December made me give a second thought to their speediness), but all in all, no harm-no foul.  However, I did stop and think of these few key points displayed through the simple letter the USPS wrote:

1.) Why can't it always be this simple with work?  Ya boss I wasn't able to get that presentation done for the client, but I'm sorry, just tell them I am, I'm sure they'll accept!
2.)  Why is this somehow acceptable for the USPS when it's not in the real world!?  Only obvious answer I could come up with is what can they really do to fix it.  Offer you some free stamps?
3.)  Possibly the biggest issue here is why is "the most expeditious distribution possible" more important than good quality work?  And if this is acceptable within a government agency and they'll tell you flat out on their "opps" letter, why doesn't any one care!

I saw a mail room in the movie Elf.  I know they're crazy and hectic (movies don't lie)... Buddy didn't really think it was all it was cracked up to be, but good quality work is important no matter what.  Or at least that's what I believe.



Sidenote/Disclaimer:  I really do love getting mail.  It's like a mini-Christmas 6 days of the week! :)   Even when at work and it is never mine.  Getting the mail is so unpredictable and exciting.  Sometimes you are waiting for something to show up, and sometimes things come unexpected!  Maybe it's one of my kid-like characteristics, but getting the mail (even since I've grown and receive primarily bills and credit card applications) is still exciting to me!  I won't hold this one instance against my mail lady!