Two weeks ago today, I sent a letter to my mom at the condo she and her friend are renting. She hasn't received it. I haven't gotten it back. It's pretty important; it's the handicapped parking permit that belongs to her friend.

I've sent other items in the interim. One got through, others haven't. Her friend's son has also mailed things - notably the new pair of glasses he needs and those haven't been delivered either. Nothing has been returned to either of us. There's no way to trace a first class envelope. I have to allow another week for it to be returned. That's 3 weeks!!!

Today I called the post office. I called the main one in downtown Ft. Myers, figuring they would handle it or give me another number to call. They told me I had to call the office in their zip code and gave me a number. I called it. No one answered. I was referred by 3 more stations before I finally got someone who looked it up and called the correct place to make sure she was giving me the right one.

I called that number and no one answered. Then it was disconnected. I waited and called again. It rang for another 70 seconds or so before it was finally answered. I finally got all the information I needed to help them get their mail!

What a huge waste of time and effort - I spent 40 minutes calling 5 different post offices? No wonder they keep losing money - they are terribly inefficient.

Are the employees trained to talk over the caller? Is the background muzak and other noise deliberately amplified to block out the voice on the other end of the phone? The conversations were frustrating, to say the least.

I think I have solved the problem of them not getting their mail. I am about to test it with a package. It will have a tracking number.