Tag: usps

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ONLINE RETURNS A PAIN IN THE NECK

Most of us have done more online shopping during the covid-19 pandemic than ever before.  We’ve  ordered all kinds of products that we could buy at a store.  That’s been helpful. But it’s different with clothing and shoes.   Even though a few retailers are still open, their dressing rooms are closed.  So, it’s no different than online shopping.  I’ve ordered more dresses, shoes, and sports outfits online than ever before.  And half the time, they have to be returned.  Online returns are a pain in the neck. 

Many retailers offer free shipping for certain items. .  Somehow, this lulls you into forgetting that they may have to be returned, and this could cost you .  As an example:  I ordered a dress, not realizing it came from Hong Kong. This meant a three week wait.  When the item came, two things were wrong:  1. Although I’d ordered a size larger than normal, it was still too small . 2. The material in the dress was see-though.  Yes, you could see the color of my underwear. Don’t they know women don’t wear slips anymore?   It’s hard to believe anyone would keep a dress like this.  Where would you feel comfortable wearing it?  And so, I printed out an Amazon return label, and was  told that I would be charged for return shipping.  Only about 4.00, so not too bad.

Ordering shoes online is especially problematic is you have anything wrong with your feet.  Only certain shoe styles  accommodate annoying problems like bunions and hammertoes.  But remember, shoes are heavier.  You not only have to pay for shipping, you also have to pay shipping  on  returns.  So, buying and returning a pair of ill fitting shoes can result in at least  $10 bucks in shipping costs.

Online returns a pain in the neck. Shipping costs and waiting in line at the post office is the downside of online shopping.
Purchases are often disappointing. Online returns are a pain in the neck.

But it’s not just the cost that’s bothersome.  It’s the time and effort it takes to repackage the item, tape it up, and find a place to return it.  In our city, UPS is located miles away in a busy part of town.  Sometimes they’ll let you return the item to Kohl’s—in the same part of town. First, you have to find a parking place.  Then , put on our mask, walk through the store, and stand in line for service.  Those lines have grown much longer during this pandemic.  Other retailers let you use the Post office, which results in the same inconvenience.

I really miss shopping in the mall.   The luxury of trying on three or four dresses or pair of shoes before making a decision.  Knowing that what you see is what you get—not some distorted picture in an online catalog.  Will department stores ever make a comeback?  I wish they would, because online returns are a pain In the neck.

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A POLAR VORTEX ISN’T FOR WIMPS

If some old geezer tells you he walked to school in below freezing weather, he’s telling the truth.    We’ve been enduring the coldest weather that some younger people can ever remember, but according to records,  we’ve endured many colder days in the past couple of centuries.  But, here in Indiana, they’re not only closing schools, but banks, and city services, and of all things, the United States Post Office.  A Polar Vortex isn’t for wimps.

Should all city services be closed during a polar vortex?
MOST OCTOGENARIANS RECALL WALKING TO SCHOOL IN BELOW FREEZING WEATHER

During my school years,  our nation was half rural and half urban.  We were still coming out of the depression and World War II.  Times were tough, and if you had a job, you treasured it greatly.  The thought of staying home from work on below freezing days would not have been considered.

That tough philosophy extended to the children of those hard working parents.  In the winter, below freezing temperatures were often a fact of life.  Before getting dressed, we children would first put on long underwear,   and long wool socks.  We had “snow pants,”  which were loosely fitting woolen  pants lined with cotton flannel.  Along with those,  you wore a matching jacket, similarly lined.  I suppose those layers provided some extra protection.  Wool stocking caps, mittens, scarves over our faces, and boots completed our outer wear before we left for school.   Many families didn’t own a car, and so children walked to school.

My parents were Catholic, and we never missed a Sunday mass in the winter.  My husband was raised Protestant in rural  Nebraska, and his family always made it to Church on Sunday, no matter how cold it was.  He also  remembers getting up on many a below-freezing morning to milk cows before going to school.  In an unheated barn, no less.  He doesn’t remember ever suffering from frostbite.

This week in our Indiana city, all schools were closed for two days, at least.  I think that’s a good idea. But the post office?  Banks?  And trash collection?  Come on, these people are grownups with warm vehicles to get them where they are going. They have cell phones.  They don’t have to navigate icy interstates, and most main streets have been cleared by road crews.  It’s bad enough we just had to endure a government shutdown, and now this?  Come on,  Hoosiers, toughen up!   This isn’t Minnesota or Alaska.  Don’t let the polar vortex make a wimp out of you.