A few days ago I went to my mailbox only to find one of those little forms the Post Office is wont to leave. This particular form advised me that something mailed to me had insufficient postage - it was a whopping 33 cents short.
So on Saturday morning I drove to the Post Office - about a 15 minute drive. At the Post Office I encountered a bustling parking lot and over 20 people waiting in line. Luckily, a couple of those people were old friends I hadn't seen for awhile. We had plenty of time to catch up. After about a half hour I was summoned to the counter. I dutifully paid my 33 cents and was back about my day.
Now, here's what I don't understand: Wouldn't it have been better for the Post Office to deliver the mail and leave an envelope for me to pay the 33 cents? Instead they made me invest an hour of my time, they stored the mail, they paid a clerk (which they clearly don't have enough of) to take my 33 cents, go find the mail and bring it to me. I have to think, THAT cost more than 33 cents.
Two things I'm thinking here: First, I'm generally amazed at how well the Post Office serves the public - I know that's not fashionable to say, but in my experience it's true. Second, I wonder what kind of dumb things we're doing in our business without questioning them?
