Back To The Past
They say some things never change. Sounds like a cliché, but it is true. In some cases it's good that things never change, while in other cases it is extremely bad.
Today, continuing my no procrastination project, I went to the post office, to send a package abroad. It's been planned, just had to wait for the holidays to be over as sending it on Christmas day or a day before Christmas it would have meant the package sitting in one of the storage rooms till the holidays are over. Yesterday was the day to go to the bank, so today was the perfect day to go to the post office.
It's 2023 now and we live in a digital era, so things are not the same as they were in 1960 anymore. You can fill out a form online and activate it once you get to the post office. You can check shipping costs online, calculate the costs of a package shipped in most of the countries, with or without extras or insurance. There are quite a few options available.
Photo by Ibrahim Rifath on Unsplash
However, once you step into the closest post office, your enthusiasm vanishes instantly and you have the feeling of being Marty McFly from "Back To The Future", when he is accidentally sent back to 1955, when his parents met.
Photo by Elizabeth Kay on Unsplash
The building itself dates back to the end of the 19th century and started functioning as Hungarian Royal Post as back then Transylvania was part of Hungary. The profile of the building has never changed as it still functions as a post office, just in a different way. Obviously over the years the post office must have gone through a lot of changes. After the treaty of Trianon, it became Romanian Post and it still is today. Romanian Post is a state owned company by the way, in case you were wondering.
Over the years there must have been a lot of renovation works going on, till one point, when everything stopped, the time stopped as well. The scene you see today looks like in the movies of the 60's or so. The furniture must be older than me as well and by the way, I wasn't born in 1960 (in case you're wondering).
Up until a few years ago they were working with Epson LQ 300 printers, which are not only making a lot of noise, but are highly inefficient as well. Miraculously, someone must have approved some investment in technology as today they have laser printers, but that is pretty much everything that has changed over the years. The ergonomic chairs must be the first edition, bought at the second hand market. Tables are covered with oilcloth.
Photo by Paulina Milde-Jachowska on Unsplash
Some may say it doesn't matter what the furniture looks like or if they have the latest technology, what matters is the services they are offering. This may be true to some extent, but one is connected to the other and I think it reflects how much those who are running the company are interested in offering the best services to clients. Their services are slow, employees are taking out their frustration on clients, so ... should I continue?
Respecting employees by creating them a friendly and comfortable environment is the minimum you can do as an employer. If you want performance, you need to give them the proper environment. Implementing performant technology is also a must, if you want to keep up with the world. Yet here, renovating, renewing and upgrading means painting the walls. That's all.
Romanian Post is not the only company offering postal services. There are other companies too and when you want your parcel shipped asap, it's better to pay some extra and know your package will be there in 24 hours. Courier companies know how to fill the gap and they are gaining more and more territory each day, till they are going to take over. It's going to happen sooner or later.
I've been watching what's happening with this company and have been hoping one day someone is going to step up, make some changes and bring the company to 21st century standards, but I don't think that's going to happen ever. I haven't checked the balance sheets to see where the money is going (although I have a clue), but it's clearly visible investment is not a priority and never will be.
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I have thought about this before, I wonder why the postal services don't seem to upgrade to the level the world is, but then it is surprising how people still prefer their services. I guess they haven't seen any better reason to change anything. I think what matters to them is that they carry out the task at hand.
Because teleportation has not been invented yet and private companies charge double.
That's right
Most postal offices do not see the need to upgrade their technology and renovate their structures because they think that with where the world has evolved to, their services are not really required as there are easier ways to deliver a package.
How?
For example In Ghana here, the Ghanaian post office is not often patronised as compared to the new companies in town which offer fast and reliable services.
With time people stop patronising old companies and move to the new ones because these old companies fail to meet the requirements and standards of the people.
That works when you want to send something in the country, but abroad is a different matter as it's more expensive.
Yeah that’s true.
I know that we are all moving away from these old systems, but I have to admit that I still love popping an old fashioned post card into the box shipping it off to a friend far afield...this will never go out of fashion for me even when we're completely digital with everything else. I know that they could improve the service a lot in many parts of the world but I still love some of these old fashioned buildings, they're like relics from our past...museums of an almost erased era.
Sending a card is still a thing as it has your handwriting (I know, most people can't even write these days) and it is something far more personal than sending an email or an ecard. I feel the same way and also include handwritten cards in packages. The building is ok as I love old buildings and this is a protected one as it's part of history, however, the inside is a different story.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes cards :)
I think there is a mystery behind these post office boxes.
Nothing never really changes about them. I grew up to meet them same till date.
This has made me lose that connection to either posting something which makes me see the box number as just a number
Maybe there is something we are yet to discover 😊
These PO boxes are good for a reason and many are renting them still. When you don't want your address to be known, you rent a box and solve the problem. Go to the post office, open it with the key they give you and take what is yours.
I recently visited my local post office to send a package abroad and was immediately struck by how outdated the facility seemed. As I filled out my forms online and calculated shipping costs, I couldn't help but feel like I had been transported back in time to the 1960s. The building, which dates back to the 19th century, has not been updated in decades and still feels like a throwback to another era. The furniture is old and worn, the technology is outdated, and the employees seem to be taking out their frustration on customers. It's clear that investing in technology and creating a more comfortable and modern workplace environment is not a priority for the management of this state-owned post office. As a result, I've found myself turning to other courier companies that offer faster and more reliable shipping options, even if it means paying a little extra. It's a shame that the post office, which has a rich history, has not kept up with the times and is falling behind its competitors.
This is a very weird comment that pretty much simply paraphrases what @erikah wrote in the post above. You should try replying to people with your own thoughts rather than simply paraphrasing their posts.
Dear @adeife2. What you did is the worst thing to do on Hive. If you want to comment and have something to say, then comment, but don't rewrite my post and give it back to me as your comment. I had a look at your comments and looks like this is pretty much what you do.
You made it to my shitlist, which means I'm going to keep an eye on you and downvote your abusive behavior, starting with this comment.
@erikah I'm really so sorry about this, I take full fault, because it's a carelessness on my part. My phone got into the wrong hands while I wasn't feeling too well and somehow all this happened. I'm just getting to see this, I apologize.
@erikah I noticed you downvoted 2 of my post
Oh! So sorry about this. This is so unlike her, her phone has been with one of her trainee she's not feeling too well and the guy has been doing all sort with it, invading into her privacy. He even hacked her WhatsApp account. I'm sure she'll attend to this when she sees it. @erikah @galenkp
It's a bit odd that you're answering and explaining, don't you think?
I got an offensive chat on whatsapp from her as well, so I tried calling her but I couldn't reach her then I had to call her husband and he explained to me
I feel your frustration. It can be very disappointing when companies or organizations don't care about the type of services they render to their customers. And sadly it is a common occurrence. And they usually have the funds needed for a renovation, they just choose to allocate it somewhere else. Probably into their own pockets.
I like the sound of your "No Procrastination" project. Care to shed some light?
Nice read
Profits most likely end up in some deep pockets.
My "No Procrastination" project is simple. Stop procrastination and do things as soon as possible.
Very rare people use the postal service not only because it is notorious for misrouting parcels and letters somehow they are costly if you avail of the VIP service.
Not sure if that is the thing with the postal offices as in our country the National post building is quite old too! Sure they renovate but they opted already with the usual mail route. Stamps are for collectors only and don't serve the purpose that much anymore.
Well, there are official papers that need to be sent and you must use postal services. Stamps are still a thing, not everything is digital, but the for of the stamp matters less. What matters more is the date as in case of official deadlines, you need evidence.
I completely forgot about that paperwork, especially the government files that need signatories.
Agree that not all can still be transacted digitally. I wish it was but it isn't the case yet.
I don't know what it's like there, but our posts offices here are more like gift shops these days and with long lines of people trying to pay utility bills or pick up items from online shopping. I try to avoid them where possible. The service isn't good either, and I think it's got to partly to do with their own lack of interest and the employer making them feel disgruntled or uninspired. There's no need to take it out on the customer though, right?
Becca 🌻
Thank God here you can only buy postcards, greeting cards, ball point pens and syrups 😂 Yeah, I was shocked too to see syrups as they should not sell those but most likely it was someone's business.
Online shopping is delivered mostly by couriers or dropped to easy box units, only a small portion are using the post office for that. Bills are also paid mostly online and the older generation is using grocery shops to pay bills.
I'm sorry to hear it's not better over there either and I agree, taking out on customers won't make their situation better. Let's hope something is going to change soon (yeah right! 😂)
Thanks for dropping by Becca, here's a flower for you 🌷
Wow! I got allergies just by reading your descriptions of the place, haha.
At least I think you can be sure that your package will arrive complete. Here (in this country) our post offices are famous for stealing some of the things we send. 🙃😂
Greetings ✨
We had that in the past, but not anymore. No more open packages with the label of deteriorated during transport. It was very frustrating.
If there’s one thing about government it’s that it’s unbelievable how inefficient they are and it’s all because of pathetic amounts of bureaucracy that are layered in intentionally. I don’t think they will change anytime soon at that post office but they also won’t go out of business because they are related to the government. Lovely how our money gets thrown right down the toilet.
Reading this, makes me think about the Magyar Posta in Budapest. I remember first having to go there for a signed letter that needed to be shipped to Holland. Entering the building was like going back decades. When in front of the little window where the lady sat who was supposed to help me, an unfriendly face welcomed me. This was actually how it usually went, not just foreigners but everyone. These people sure hated their jobs and looking around, I could not really blame them.
This was just a small post office near the home, but after we moved, we lived closer to the bigger one and this had the same look and feel, just bigger. A lot of annoyed employees, slow as can be and usually unfriendly to all costumers as you mentioned, taking out their frustrations on them.
Sad, but reality. Thanks for making me go back in time as well haha...
I'm sorry you don't have a better experience either. As far as the buildings are concerned, I understand the exterior as those are part of the heritage and protected, but the interior should be upgraded to some extent.
If employees are not paid and respected, that's what you get from them, unfortunately.