Post by opalpyrexia on Dec 3, 2022 14:59:55 GMT -5
Yesterday I mailed an opal necklace and opal ring to an Etsy customer. I had told her that I would mail it the next day, but then I packed it for shipping right away and realized that I still had time just enough to drop it off at the post office.
As I pulled up to the drop-off box, I saw a very nice-looking, young woman (well, younger than me) with vibrant blue hair. She was standing in the snow, looking cold, between the mail and the voting drop boxes. She said, "I was just waiting for you as you turned." I took that to mean that I had just caught her as she prepared to return to the postal building. I could see what looked like a canvas mail cart mostly hidden behind the voting box.
"Are you a postal employee?", I asked.
She replied with a smile, "I've been fondling your mail for 30 years."
"Fondling?", I said.
No reply from her, just her smile.
For the tiniest sliver of a split second, I wondered if I should just drop my package in the postal box. But the snow, her smile, the cart ...
I handed it to her with a "Thank you" and drove away.
Back home, I wondered if I did the right thing. I told my wife that I thought I might have been scammed, falling for a smile. And that blue hair! Certainly that was intended to distract me so that I couldn't give the police an accurate description! But I'm probably overreacting. So I decided to wait and check tracking later.
After two hours there is no tracking info. OK. It's early. I'll just have to wait until morning.
By now the Repair Cafe has been cancelled due to the snow and icy roads. So I check tracking one more time. "Hey, now it says it's already in San Bernardino! Just like that: no intermediate updates, no acknowledgement that the USPS even accepted the package. But clearly they accepted and shipped it.
Crap! Of course, I contact Etsy, and after they confirm that I am, in fact, me, I am kindly told that there is nothing they can do because I already cancelled and refunded the order. So now I can only appeal to my customer. I will ask her nicely to send me a check and hope for the best.
Beware pretty, smiling, bright blue-haired mail fondlers ... and pause and think, too.
As I pulled up to the drop-off box, I saw a very nice-looking, young woman (well, younger than me) with vibrant blue hair. She was standing in the snow, looking cold, between the mail and the voting drop boxes. She said, "I was just waiting for you as you turned." I took that to mean that I had just caught her as she prepared to return to the postal building. I could see what looked like a canvas mail cart mostly hidden behind the voting box.
"Are you a postal employee?", I asked.
She replied with a smile, "I've been fondling your mail for 30 years."
"Fondling?", I said.
No reply from her, just her smile.
For the tiniest sliver of a split second, I wondered if I should just drop my package in the postal box. But the snow, her smile, the cart ...
I handed it to her with a "Thank you" and drove away.
Back home, I wondered if I did the right thing. I told my wife that I thought I might have been scammed, falling for a smile. And that blue hair! Certainly that was intended to distract me so that I couldn't give the police an accurate description! But I'm probably overreacting. So I decided to wait and check tracking later.
After two hours there is no tracking info. OK. It's early. I'll just have to wait until morning.
This morning we are rushing to get ready for our Repair Cafe, but I log on and check tracking. Nothing! No updates beyond the purchase of the label! They never scanned the package!! I wait another 30 minutes or so. I check again and still no tracking information. "I've been scammed!!" Reluctantly, I decide to cancel the order and refund my customer and include an explanation.
So I do that.
By now the Repair Cafe has been cancelled due to the snow and icy roads. So I check tracking one more time. "Hey, now it says it's already in San Bernardino! Just like that: no intermediate updates, no acknowledgement that the USPS even accepted the package. But clearly they accepted and shipped it.
Crap! Of course, I contact Etsy, and after they confirm that I am, in fact, me, I am kindly told that there is nothing they can do because I already cancelled and refunded the order. So now I can only appeal to my customer. I will ask her nicely to send me a check and hope for the best.
Beware pretty, smiling, bright blue-haired mail fondlers ... and pause and think, too.