No Day's Mail

With the tagline, “Today’s Mail," the US Postal Service decided to launch its first major branding campaign in several years.

I don't know about you, but I'm still waiting for yesterday's mail. And the day before's. And the day before that's (or is it the day's before that?)

Living in Park Slope has its tribulations, I know. Density. Brownstones with stoops, which therefore have steps. The occasional rambunctious dog. Babies screaming. Street Trees. It's enough to make a postal carrier cry.

Cry enough to make him unable to read the addresses on the mail he is supposed to deliver (I've never seen a female postal carrier in the Slope, though I suppose they exist, so pardon me if I use the generic male pronoun.)

I live on ___ Carroll Street (thought I'd never get to use the device from old British novels where they think it's cute to not name people, streets, cities and events that no-one really gives a damn about.) So why do I get mail for ___ President Street as often as I do? And how much of my mail goes there? And I get mail for 322 Main Street, Podunk, Iowa also. Could this be an encrypted address that really reads as ___ Carroll Street? Am I allowed to triage someone else's mail and throw away the junk and bulk part? Nothing on the USPS's website gives me guidance on this issue.

Today's Mail makes some promises:

“It was really important to us that we didn’t over-promise,” said DeVar of the campaign’s messaging. He said that all of the capabilities are available today and many of them have been in development for over three years.

These capabilities will be explained in a "pink" postcard that you will receive...don't hold your breath... "soon." I have not got mine yet, and it's been a week. Maybe because I automatically assume anything pink is junk mail and have thrown it away.

And we might begin to believe we're in deeper doo-doo when you note that Mark Bellissimo, head of the  advertising campaign for the USPS, says that ''we asked people in the New York area how they use the Postal Service,'' I mean, gee, so the USPS doesn't know how people use its services? Maybe it's because they don't provide much?

So I don't want Today's Mail as the USPS is touting in their campaign. I want my mail, and I want it Yesterday.

Comments

[anxiety girl]

maybe your pink card is at __ president street? it's worth checking. while you're there, maybe you can see if that's also where the 3 packages i've never received in the last 2 years are hiding. maybe they're in iowa.

what i really hate is that i get those orange package notices ONLY when it's a last minute final notice, and never before. what gives?