Post It And Lose It

In the process of structuring economic ties and attracting foreign influence state shipping and handling and postal services are making a leap to stamp out the unfavorable reputation of state "delayed delivery" post.

Recent reforms of the Moldova central Mail Delivery Office and the whole system of dispatch and delivery at this point hardly become solid ground for nurturing hopes of a near improvement. Thus this profitable governmental institution is far from being the best means of correspondence and tangible communication neither within the country nor beyond its borders.

Practically any Moldovan can relate cases of appalling incompetence on the part of Posta Moldovei when letters do not reach addressees, are delivered to the wrong address or opened. In fact the situation was in need of improvement so bad that a Christmas card sent from the central Post Office on Stefan cel Mare to an address in the vicinity took three weeks to reach its destination, while a letter from Moscow was returned to sender because the address on it was not spelled out in English!

When sending mail by post few people rely on the proficiency of state services. That is why when dealing with serious correspondence and justly demanding security some turn to private companies. Their services may cost more but eliminating stressful situations is probably worth the extra expense especially with the guarantee of complete payment restitution and moral obligations in respect to the client lest any encumbrance to successful delivery should prevent the company from completing their part of the deal.

There are plenty of inexplicable and even hilarious situations that could no doubt be made into amusing anecdotes about the work of state shipping and handling services. A Christmas package sent off to England just before the reform took two months to reach its destination although all precautions were taken to insure it got there in time for the holiday. A filed complaint did not have any effect because there was no way to prove that the package had not left the country when it was supposed to in order to be delivered on time. Further inquiry proved that the inopportune package came into England exactly two months after it was registered and paid for in the Moldovan Post Office.

A different United States destination package was sent off about the same time as the British one. It was late as well but it reached its addressee two weeks earlier which sets one thinking whether there may be more than two geographical maps of the world on which England and US are variously distanced away from Moldova.

American Tom Hanks delivery poignantly emphasizes the one big downside of "Cast Away" Moldova services. The reform judging by what continues to take place either did not receive the necessary boost to come into substantial effect or was mistook for a marketing campaign of services that de facto do not exist. Somehow it is very hard to believe that from at least a month package delivery time period could be shortened to as little as seven days just because the services received a new name and are advertised in an appropriate manner.

Tariff zones include some of the following countries:

Tariff Zone	Country	Price for one kg in lei
I	Russia, Romania	240
II	Ukraine, Spain, Turkey	280
III	Albania, Bulgaria, Israel, India, USA, Japan	340
IV	China, Argentina, Canada, France	390
V	Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand	460

Despite all the negative aspects progress is inevitable. It may finally be concluded that instead of building marble steps to the door of the Post Office it may be a better idea to hire employees who possess at least some basic knowledge of English and are not completely at a loss when dealing with foreign clients. The reform will take place only when customers will only have to fill out one form instead of five to get something mailed and when they will leave the Mail Delivery Office Building with a safe heart that their business partners, employers, clients, friends or relatives will be happy to get their Christmas cards on Christmas Eve, not some time around Easter.

By Jeremy Fultz