Today, April 25th, 2018, something so unbelievably stupid happened at the Post Office.
A friend had been expecting a package from overseas. Following the tracking number online revealed that the package was in town and delivery had been attempted several times. She called the Post Office to confirm this and was told to just wait and it would eventually be delivered. The delivery did not happen. So she decided to go to the Post Office to pick it up. Having no photo ID she got the idea to use her marriage certificate to prove her identity.
Since I have been a frequent customer at the Post Office she invited me to come with her and help navigate the process. When we arrived at 10 am all the windows were open except the one we needed. The clerk was nowhere to be found and we were told he was probably on break somewhere. After waiting five more minutes we left to run a few errands and returned an hour later.
This time he was in his office. My friend told the clerk her name and showed him the packages tracking number. He pulled out his ledger, found her name, found the package, and said she must pay a fee at another window before she could be given the package.
The fee is only P112 and I have paid it for almost every package I have ever had sent. I have no idea what the fee is for. I have never asked but everyone pays it. It's not a customs fee. The clerk at the payment desk asked my friend for an ID and she admitted she had none but did bring her marriage certificate. He said that was ok and he processed the payment without even looking at the certificate. Receipt in hand she went to retrieve her package.
But now there was a problem. This first clerk said she could not be given the package without showing an ID. I protested that she had already paid but he was insistent. No ID, no package. She explained that she had no picture ID but had a marriage certificate and hoped that this would suffice for an ID. He looked the certificate over and said she would need to bring back a photocopy of the marriage certificate and then the package could be released.
I scoffed at this and said no way. There was no way she would be bringing back a photocopy of such a sensitive and personal document. My friend just wanted her package and no hassle so we walked out. But instead of going to a copy shop I led her to the supervisor's office. I told her to explain everything that just happened to the supervisor. She did. The supervisor took a look at the marriage certificate, made a few phone calls, and then all three of us walked back to the office where the package was waiting.
My friend then attempted to prove that this package was hers by showing text messages between herself and the sender which included a photograph of the package as well as the tracking number and a picture of the contents. She was willing for them to open it to verify the reality with the picture. The supervisor and the clerk poured over the package tracking number and the marriage certificate once more and came to a conclusion. Bring back a photocopy of the marriage certificate and the package would be released. We also had the option to wait for the deliveryman to come back from his route and he could verify her identity. Also we could just leave and wait for delivery later that day or the next.
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| Comparing the package with the text message |
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| Pouring over the marriage certificate |
None of those options were worth considering. Who in their right mind would give strangers a photocopy of their marriage certificate? A document with very personal and sensitive information. If it fell into the wrong hands, and anyone who is not a party to the marriage is the wrong hands, who knows what mischief might follow. Why were they asking for it anyway? How will having a photocopy authenticate my friend's identity more than the original? Waiting for the package to be delivered was nonsensical because we were already there, had paid the fee, and my friend had shown abundant proof that the package was hers.
No one was budging. The package was placed back on the shelf and my friend said let's go home. I said not without a refund. So I took the receipt back to the clerk who took the payment and said I needed a refund because they would not release the package. This clerk took the receipt and walked back to the office where the package was. He said, "I know these guys" and like magic the whole situation changed.
The clerk who would not give us the package said, "Well why didn't you say so in the first place? It would have been so much easier for them."
The clerk who said he knew us, and being a regular customer he does know me by sight, signed the ledger as a guarantor right next to where my friend signed for the package. Package in hand we walked out the door. And we did not have to hand over a photocopy of her marriage certificate. Why they would ask for that I have no idea! They certainly would not ask for a photocopy of her ID if she had shown one.
