Yesterday the note below appeared in the mailbox from the couple contracted by NZ Post to deliver the mail in the rural valley I live in:
Happy Easter to you all.
We wish to advise that there will be no mail delivery during the Easter period. The next delivery will be Tuesday 29th March. Have a safe and enjoyable break.
"Your Posties" (XXXX and XXXX XXXXXXXX)
This was printed on a small strip of paper cut so they could make 10-15 'notices' from 1 A4 piece of paper. This arrived Monday. There was no delivery today. I have three major problems with this.
- Why are we going without mail for one full week when as far as I know there are only two statutory holidays during the Easter "period", namely Good Friday and Easter Monday? Sure, take a well earned break from your contract, but can you say "relief driver"?
- We will be one full week without mail and we only find out the day before? A weeks warning would have been nice (if not a common courtesy). Just a simple "By the way, if your wanting anything urgent/important delivered don't expect it by mail Easter week" would have gone a long way. What if I'm waiting on parts for my computer, or contract to sign sealing an important deal, or even worse, a cheque? I might have opted for a private courier company if I'd known!
- Where is my mail going in the meantime? Can I come and pick it up or are you just going to hold it prisoner for seven days?
Luckily I am not expecting on anything earth-shatteringly important in the mail for the next week, but that is not the point. The point is I could be, and so could anyone else on their delivery run, and now we have no opportunity to make alternative delivery arrangements. The note didn't even have a "sorry for any inconvenience", like it is quite alright to leave a rural community without a mail service for a full week with barely 24 hours notice.
Would anyone reading this find this acceptable in their area?
I will be penning a brief but strongly worded letter to NZ Post and forwarding the contractor a copy. I hope their contract does not get renewed. Hang on... forget the letter, I wonder if I can email NZ Post? Or would that be like giving in to the competition for them?
5:13:52 PM 
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