Dear Canada Post

Dear Canada Post,

No one can deny that you have been instrumental in the foundation of our nation, for this I thank you. During a time when the only way to communicate was with letters, people depended on you to convey vital information. A job I am certain you performed admirably. While I concede that we have now moved into an era where we rely on the internet and the telephone for communication, this does not mean that Canadians no longer depend on your services. I have on many a occasion, depended on you. I will even go as far as to speak for my compatriots and say that we, as a nation, still depend on you.

On your website it is clearly stated that local lettermail can be expected to arrive within 2 business days, within a province 3 days and if you send mail nationally it will take 4 business days. I find these numbers completely reasonable, my problem is your flagrant disregard for these guidelines (created by you I might add). Since early February I have been expecting a letter, it is now nearly one and half months later and the letter is nowhere in sight. I understand that you deal with a large volume of mail on a daily basis. If you aren't able to stick to your posted guidelines I understand. Canada covers a huge area and 4 days is not very much time to get a letter across the country into the right person's mail box. That being said, at no time should the discrepancy between your guidelines and the actual mail delivery time put your competence into doubt. Sadly, you have done just that.

I believe that everyone (even crown corporations) deserve a second chance. Mistakes are human, and to expect perfection would be unreasonable. What I find regrettable that you have already exhausted all of your second chances from me. Do you remember last October when I was waiting for my drivers license to arrive from Victoria to my Ottawa apartment? It took 4 weeks, I repeat 4 weeks to arrive. Unacceptable. While I was in first year you did not deliver any of my three Easter gifts, zero out of three. When you eventually returned these items to their original senders, it was months later. Returning a parcel 5 months later to it's sender, after failing to deliver it to the intended recipient is unprofessional. Where was that parcel during those 5 months? Canada is big, but it is not that big.

All of these instances are reasons I have slowly but surely lost faith in your ability to effectively deliver mail. Actually, forget effectively deliver mail, I have lost faith in your ability to reliably deliver mail. I am no longer certain that when I send something it will arrive to the person to whom I sent it, and vice versa.

I would be tempted to write off your entire company, and lobby for the privatization of Canada Post just so that your monopoly on mail delivery would end, if not for one baffling exception: your surprising prowess in the international mail delivery category. As I am currently in France, I have sent multiple postcards to friends and family at home. Likewise, I have received letters from people at home. I have never had anything take longer than 2 weeks. I mean that literally, 2 weeks. Not 14 business days, two weeks pure and simple. I would say this is what infuriates me the most. How is it that you are able to get your act together and send a letter around the world in a timely fashion, yet remain unable to consistently deliver mail within Canadian borders?

I realize that every day you successfully deliver mail to millions of Canadians on time. This critique of your doings might seem a little too strongly worded to other people, after all you do successfully complete your duties the majority of the time. However, unless my name is on some type of blacklist (in which case I implore you, please remove my name) I am certain that I am not the only one that this has happened to. I can only imagine how frustrated people must get who live in rural areas. If I, who has only ever lived in major cities can't get my mail on time, how do you treat people living in Northern and remote communities?

I don't expect you to change overnight, I don't even expect you to change that much. I would just like to see a system implemented where you are able to track important mail without having to pay the extra $8 for a registered letter. If that is to much to ask, would you at least be able to deliver people their mail? Pretty please.

I would like to clarify that is is not an attack against Canada Post employees, who I believe do an excellent job. It is not even intended as an attack again Canada Post itself. It is simply a letter containing my frustrations as a customer. I would have sent it to you in the mail, but we all know how that would have turned out.

Sincerely,

A disgruntled customer.