Brides, beware
My fiance and I hand-made our wedding invitations this spring (“First-class mess,” June 25 cover story). With the help of some friends, we put about 80 hours into crafting them. Just days after sending them from the post office at the Thompson Center, the carnage started returning in the mail: response cards that had been separated from envelopes, pieces of envelopes in bags with the “postal service’s apologies” form letter.
Then the phone calls came from friends and relatives. At least 75 percent of our guests received mangled invitations — envelopes split on the top and bottom with only part of the contents, and some only received the front of their envelope and nothing else. The post office has not yet addressed our complaints posted to their Web site, and we have no idea what caused this widespread destruction.
Without the time or desire to remake all of the invitations, we ended up buying an invitation kit from an office supply store and sending out a second invitation to all of our guests; and we definitely did not send them from Chicago. We figure the whole thing cost us at least $400 in supplies and postage. So to all those brides-to-be out there, take my advice and avoid the Chicago Post Office!
Rachel Hecker, 23, South Loop
The cost of bad mail service
Something very unfair occurred with a former employee in regards to the mail delivery system that I wanted to share, so people can see the impact unreliable mail service can have on one’s life.
An employee terminated her employment with us fall of 2006. She chose to continue her family health insurance coverage with COBRA, and since last November she had been mailing in her COBRA payment.
In May of 2007, she received a note from the health-care provider that her coverage had been dropped due to non-payment. She’d mailed the check as she did every month and was quite shocked by the letter. If she didn’t have proof of mailing the check and/or a cleared check, there was nothing that could be done to reinstate her insurance.
Her explanation that she mailed it and it must have gotten lost just didn’t cut it with the health provider. The employee and her husband had to take legal action. Fortunately her coverage was reinstated, but not without a big fight and many, many phone calls. The employee is pregnant and to not have health insurance … [it] goes without saying how this can impact one’s life.
Diane Sapko, 48, Downers Grove
Shout-out to the good mail carriers
The request for submissions of “mail delivery horror” stories should have also included requests for stories that reflect the good deeds that many postal workers provide daily. Many of them provide excellent service consistently to customers, going beyond the level of service that is required. For example, many customers depend on letter carriers to purchase stamps, provide items such as certified and delivery confirmation labels, they request shipping supplies, etc. Let’s not destroy the morale of good postal workers, because if it weren’t for them, your mail service really would be a horror story.
Michelle Luster, 52, Wicker Park
The case of the missing package
I ordered $90 worth of a product online, and the Web site sent all packages DHL to the local post office for regular delivery (there was no choice to purchase insurance). When I received notification from DHL that my package had made it to my local post office (it had been signed for), I waited two days and then called the post office to find out where my package was. They told me to “be patient” and that it would be delivered.
After a week and still no package, I called back, and they told me that they didn’t have a record of my package. When I informed them of the name of the person who had signed for my package, meaning that they must have been the last place the package was located, they told me, “Sorry, but if you didn’t get insurance, we can’t help you.”
How was I going to get insurance for a package I ordered online? I am convinced that someone kept my package.
Michele Killebrew, 30, Lakeview
