Just When I was Beginning to Trust and Admire USPS…
So, two weeks ago, I mailed an envelope with two farmers market applications to an office address in the Valley, maybe 10-20 miles away. Three days ago, I got a call from a woman in Georgia who had ordered a book from half.com, and when she opened her package, she found my envelope in the book. She googled my company name on the outside of the envelope, and found my phone number on my website. She was EXTREMELY kind enough to further go to the post office, and ask whether it could be mailed back to California because the postage had not been stamped. It could be, so hopefully, they’ll get it soon and contact me…
The envelope was a half-sheet-sized brown, heavy-duty kind, and it contained about 10 pages of paper. It’s not like it easily blended into a book… until someone managed it somehow.
And then I remembered why I don’t usually go to the post office that I sent it out from even though it’s the closest one to me… I have a vague memory of sending out a priority mail package (usually 2-3 days) from this one last year that took over a week to get to the East Coast… geez… Otherwise, I’ve had really good luck with Priority Mail going out from a different post office– it usually gets to destinations in 2 days, and it’s a fraction of the price of UPS. The catch, apparently: nothing is guaranteed. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers.
June 5th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
That’s what I don’t get about my orders from TCHO in SF. Four days to get from SF to Los Angeles. But when I get stuff from Oakland (a scant five miles away) it’s usually next day, sometimes two day.
Very nice of the recipient to track you down and send the packet on its way. Odd how it go into her package though.
June 5th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Weird — 4 days!! I think mine have usually been 2 going to SF.
And I know there’s something about Chicago area… UPS and USPS take a while for some reason.
And I really wonder about how it got into the package… it’s like a postal worker was packing a book they were selling at work… and pulled my envelope into the package. Or the book package was falling apart while it was being shipped and someone there re-taped it with my envelope inside… but I’m not sure how often they help people out like that.
June 5th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I’ve had other people’s mail somehow get stuck to mine (whenever this has happened it’s usually mail that’s addressed to the opposite side of the country, why is that?), but having someone else’s mail show up inside a package? That is really odd. Hopefully your envelope actually arrives at the correct destination this time.
But don’t think UPS, FedEx, DHL, et al. are necessarily any better. I’ve had packages shipped by them that did not arrive when (e.g., shipped 2-day air but took 5 days by ground), or even where they were supposed to (at least the packages were eventually found, but their inability to deliver to the correct address doesn’t inspire confidence). I once even had a FedEx letter sent to me that required a signature for delivery. Instead, it was dropped on the doorstep of another house. I only got the letter later that evening when the recipient called me and said they had come home to find my letter on their front porch. At least the UPS and USPS packages I’ve received that require signatures have been left on *my* front porch, even if the driver didn’t bother to get a signature.
June 5th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Yeah, a new meaning to lost in the mail.
I agree about the others, too… In the end, there’s such high volume and you can never know what is going to happen to your package. I think I heard that FedEx outsources their delivery people, so there’s so little accountability. And one customer told me that UPS had thrown her package into the bushes in front of her house… Good thing she found it! I think I just automatically dock points for USPS b/c I always have to wait in line and the atmosphere reminds me too much of the DMV. At UPS, I almost never wait in line.
June 16th, 2008 at 8:20 am
yes, i had usps not come through for me in a crunch and they are now my last resort for packages. Unless time is not an issue.
June 16th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Yeah, I’m so angry about it because it set me back weeks getting into farmers markets! It just needed to go across town…..!
June 28th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
I haven’t read here in ages but I have to ask: does this mean you’ll be doing some farmers’ markets in the Valley??????
I have to try the caramels and have some more of the luscious orange bars — hell! the luscious everything — but the postage kills me when I know we’re just a shout across the hills. ;>
PS LOVED the marshmallows you sent some time ago. I don’t know if I’ve ever had passion fruit before but the taste was completely surprising and fun! Unfortunately, it’s a dim-ish memory because after I’d had one or two my daughter made off with the rest for a long drive to NoCal. …she loved them too!
June 30th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
I’m so glad that you and your daughter loved the marshmallows!
THere are a couple farmers markets in the Valley that I’d really like to sell at based on their demographic, but the heat is really a concern… It’s just so scary with chocolate, and since my caramels are naturally soft, even they are at risk. So, honestly, I’ll probably only sell there if I really can’t get into other markets soon…. which is a real possibility!
July 1st, 2008 at 8:02 pm
The Calabasas market is not one of the bigger ones but it’s in a nice shaded area and is over by 1 so you’d miss most of the heat of the day. The clientele is upscale with people from the affluent areas of the West Valley like Hidden Hills, Calabasas and Woodland Hills.
It’s also much more a “strolling affair” than Encino and Studio City, I think.
I will keep my fingers crossed that it will be a possibility. …however temporary.
Do you think a car battery hooked up to a small fridge would make farmers markets do-able for you? Or slabs of soapstone stored in a freezer overnight before the markets? You probably wouldn’t want to put the chocolate or caramels *on* it, but on plates above it I bet they’d stay cool.
I’ll be very excited to hear whether you’ll be appearing out in the Valley.
July 2nd, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I have given this thought overnight. Soapstone is the way to go! Keeps cold or hot for long periods of time.
Get pieces cut to 9×12ish — it’s heavy; you’ll want more, smaller pieces. Freeze them before your markets. Take a variety of them in a cooler chest. Make sure it’s got wheels — this will be heavy. Alternatively, put dry ice in your freezer chest and re-freeze soapstone pieces as the ones on display begin to warm.
Take out one or two as needed to display your candy. Replace ones that warm up too much — it will take 40 min - an hour for each depending on the heat as it rises through the day. You could further insulate the soapstone by surrounding it with a field of beans or rice or something cheap. White beans or rice around a black piece of soapstone would be very attractive, I think. And a glass or plexiglass shield would keep the cool air contained and the candies shielded.
It will make a nice background and look stylish. It will not look overworked or make the candies appear fragile (tho I’m sure you want to tell people they should probably enjoy their selections as they shop and place larger orders for pickup on the Westside or for overnight mail.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Hi Rainey - Thanks so much for the soapstone tip! I saw one chocolate vendor in Torrance put ice cubes in a container under a covered tray and sold the chocolates on top of it. I don’t think that I’d trust the moisture issues that could happen with that, but for the display chocolates, it should be fine. She used a plastic tray, but your right, soapstone would look beautiful, and unique for the market. I could probably put my gel packs underneath so that it’ s neater and they probably don’t need to be visible. I’ll look for it at hardware stores, and let you know if it works.