Nampost ‘Loses The Prize’

I WROTE a letter that was published in The Namibian nearly two months ago complaining about the derelict services provided by NamPost.

The acting CEO of NamPost, Mr Patrick Gardiner, not only responded with a letter of his own, he also asked The Namibian to forward me his phone number and e-mail address so that I could contact him to have my issues resolved. I wish Mr Gardiner had actually read the letter his staff prepared for him before affixing his name to the bottom, because I distinctly remember some blithe comment about customer service being NamPost’s ‘passion.’ I sent an e-mail the very day I was given his e-mail address and have yet to receive a response.I suppose I could’ve phoned the gentleman, but why should I waste phone credit to entertain a litany of excuses? At least with e-mail I can bcc myself to the message and have record of its delivery.I also gather I could’ve used the normal post, but let’s be reasonable here.But c’est-la vie, as wise people say.A pilfered parcel or fourteen and unresponsive management are things I can live with, or at least that’s the perspective I’ve adopted since meeting a young scholar from Tsumeb this past week.This student is brilliant, and he happens to express his intelligence through poetry.An opportunity arose for him to enter a poetry contest, and he abstracted, composed, refined and edited a marvellous poem that he posted to Windhoek well in advance of the deadline.How do I know the poem was excellent, enough so that he could’ve won the competition? Aside from any assumptions born of a personal disposition toward him – he is, after all, quite affable – the sponsoring organisation actually took the trouble of personally contacting him to say great job, you should’ve won, but we happened to receive your entry late and already informed someone else (s)he had won.His poem will be still be published in their anthology, which kind of passes for consolation if you don’t really mind that the prize for winning was an all-expenses-paid trip to Sweden.What about both, which could have happened had NamPost not needed well over a week to drive an envelope from Tsumeb to Windhoek.I think it ridiculous enough that NamPost can’t provide the services it claims to do so efficiently, but it’s an outright disgrace that it facilitates lost opportunities for the nation’s most promising youth.I’d insist on some sort of disciplinary actions to be taken against the management that oversees this train wreck of a postal service, but management is probably staffed with gerrymandering ‘comrades,’ and comrades seem to enjoy immunity for their persistent negligence.We refer to this as a circle jerk back home.It’s a shame people, especially the youth, have to suffer while a cadre of incompetents are busy patting each other on the back and pretending they actually work.Still Unhappy Via e-mailI wish Mr Gardiner had actually read the letter his staff prepared for him before affixing his name to the bottom, because I distinctly remember some blithe comment about customer service being NamPost’s ‘passion.’ I sent an e-mail the very day I was given his e-mail address and have yet to receive a response.I suppose I could’ve phoned the gentleman, but why should I waste phone credit to entertain a litany of excuses? At least with e-mail I can bcc myself to the message and have record of its delivery.I also gather I could’ve used the normal post, but let’s be reasonable here.But c’est-la vie, as wise people say.A pilfered parcel or fourteen and unresponsive management are things I can live with, or at least that’s the perspective I’ve adopted since meeting a young scholar from Tsumeb this past week.This student is brilliant, and he happens to express his intelligence through poetry.An opportunity arose for him to enter a poetry contest, and he abstracted, composed, refined and edited a marvellous poem that he posted to Windhoek well in advance of the deadline.How do I know the poem was excellent, enough so that he could’ve won the competition? Aside from any assumptions born of a personal disposition toward him – he is, after all, quite affable – the sponsoring organisation actually took the trouble of personally contacting him to say great job, you should’ve won, but we happened to receive your entry late and already informed someone else (s)he had won.His poem will be still be published in their anthology, which kind of passes for consolation if you don’t really mind that the prize for winning was an all-expenses-paid trip to Sweden.What about both, which could have happened had NamPost not needed well over a week to drive an envelope from Tsumeb to Windhoek.I think it ridiculous enough that NamPost can’t provide the services it claims to do so efficiently, but it’s an outright disgrace that it facilitates lost opportunities for the nation’s most promising youth.I’d insist on some sort of disciplinary actions to be taken against the management that oversees this train wreck of a postal service, but management is probably staffed with gerrymandering ‘comrades,’ and comrades seem to enjoy immunity for their persistent negligence.We refer to this as a circle jerk back home.It’s a shame people, especially the youth, have to suffer while a cadre of incompetents are busy patting each other on the back and pretending they actually work. Still Unhappy Via e-mail