mark james
IAP Collection, Curator
As USPS is not a vendor, I'll post it here.
I have mailed out over 100 different boxes for the IAP Estate Blank Fundraiser over the past few years. One of my greatest worries is that a box of blanks will go missing. I'm not worried about refunding the cost, just that most of the blanks are not replaceable and it would look unfavorable on the project.
Well... Last week my fear came into play.
I mailed a MFRB with 40-50 blanks of varying species, dimensions, and cost. These spanned several of the sales, so the recipient was being very patient. I mailed the box from Ohio to Oregon. Due to a miscommunication, an incorrect zip code was on the package - a neighboring postal code - only several miles to the west. But as these packages are scanned, the address simply came up as "Incomplete address, undeliverable."
The recipient PM'd me after about 10 days and asked if I had the tracking code as it had not arrived. I did (whew)! So,
1. Called the main USPS Customer Service Number... "You need to call this number in Oregon."
2. Called Portland... "You need to call a different zipcode hub."
3. Called the different hub... "OK, we may need to look in some bins, we usually wait a week or so before sending them back, I'll get back to you."
FIVE minutes later I got a call: "Sheesh, this box is heavy, what ya got in it bricks?"
They also simply corrected the zip code, sent it out later that day, and it was delivered and received the next day.
Just thought I'd share a successful postal miscue that was entirely a "user error," and was easily corrected.
I have mailed out over 100 different boxes for the IAP Estate Blank Fundraiser over the past few years. One of my greatest worries is that a box of blanks will go missing. I'm not worried about refunding the cost, just that most of the blanks are not replaceable and it would look unfavorable on the project.
Well... Last week my fear came into play.
I mailed a MFRB with 40-50 blanks of varying species, dimensions, and cost. These spanned several of the sales, so the recipient was being very patient. I mailed the box from Ohio to Oregon. Due to a miscommunication, an incorrect zip code was on the package - a neighboring postal code - only several miles to the west. But as these packages are scanned, the address simply came up as "Incomplete address, undeliverable."
The recipient PM'd me after about 10 days and asked if I had the tracking code as it had not arrived. I did (whew)! So,
1. Called the main USPS Customer Service Number... "You need to call this number in Oregon."
2. Called Portland... "You need to call a different zipcode hub."
3. Called the different hub... "OK, we may need to look in some bins, we usually wait a week or so before sending them back, I'll get back to you."
FIVE minutes later I got a call: "Sheesh, this box is heavy, what ya got in it bricks?"
They also simply corrected the zip code, sent it out later that day, and it was delivered and received the next day.
Just thought I'd share a successful postal miscue that was entirely a "user error," and was easily corrected.
