Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Did Poste Italiane Go On Strike Without Telling Anyone?

Yesterday morning I received a call from Telecom Italia (the phone company). I told the nice lady who was speaking very quickly that I was happy with Telecom Italia and didn't need any new services. Clearly I didn't understand her because she said a colleague who spoke English would call me later.

It turns out they were calling me because I had an overdue bill. I never received the bill (they come every two months). The Telecom representative told me a bunch of customers have said the same thing.

I wonder where that bill is I also wonder where is the package from my friend in Los Angeles that had Travelers Cheques (they have not been cashed, she checked) and Swedish Fish in them? My package of Moo Cards from London never showed up. What these things have in common is they should have arrived the week before or after Christmas.

I knew my good luck with Poste Italiane would run out. Oh well it lasted over eight months. Maybe the missing mail will show up this summer.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

There have been a series of problems and a couple distribution centers. There were major problems here in Milan just under a year ago that last months. Things seem to be back to normal up here though. Have you tried contacting anyone at the post office?

glamah16 said...
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glamah16 said...

That would frustrate me to no end.

Anonymous said...

It's just Poste Italiane's way of making your life more exciting. I mean, if you got your mail when you expected it, wouldn't that be just too boring and predictable. They want to mix it up;)
I've had problems off and on too. It's disconcerting when you go for a drive in the country and find abandoned Poste bags full of mail on the side of the road, which is what my husband found one day.

Jessica said...

Oh yeah, this is wayyyy too typical. We just received a notice that we have 3 overdue electricity bills. Of course we hadn't received them in the posta....and this is not the first time! Poste Italiane is on a semi-permanent strike unfortunately. Nothing raises my ire like making a trip there.

'A Tuscan view.....from Umbria' said...

Hey honey, join the club! At least you had some beginners luck.amanda

Di Mackey said...

Could luck. The post here in Belgium is appalling, really appalling.

I had two years in Istanbul, no real postal problems to speak of. Nothing ever got lost in New Zealand, there are only 4 million of us but Belgium ... I could curl straight hair with my stories from here.

Meanwhile, crazy expat quiet rant aside, I do hope everything turns up and that whoever has your phone bill is good enough to pay it for you.

I land in your city tomorrow. It will be so good to be back in beautiful Roma!

*Belgian said...
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*Belgian said...

Well, I'm probably having some of that beginner's luck. All my mail from/to Belgium has been delivered and fast! Like two/three days fast!
Maybe you package from LA got stuck at customs? Doesn't explain the other stuff though.
I'm just waiting now for that 8 month luck to run out. Just a couple more months. Better get all my mail out right now!

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

joanne - I haven't. I will call.

glamah16 - I'm very salty about the missing fish and cheques. The telephone bill not so much. ha

milanese - no! you are kidding me. Why were the bags dropped off like that? The postal carriers for our area are very nice. If I bump into one I'll ask them what the heck is going on with distribution.

Jessica - come to thing of it I haven't received an electric bill in a while. hmmm. I switched to a new post office branch and I'm much happier. The employees there are nice and fast. The other post office was huge and too crowded.

Amanda - sigh. I wonder what's next? :)

di mackey - have a great trip! Okay I'm surprised you had mail drama in Belgium. The country is not that big.

belgian - seriously when I first moved here I expected the worst since I had heard many tales about the Italian postal system (the crazy thing is it used to be worse!) everything went so well until the Christmas holidays. I hope your beginners luck continues. ha

Anonymous said...

What a bummer!!!! That stinks. Hope your packages/letters show up SOON.

dalia said...

my italian beau sent pics for me via poste italiane and i have yet to receive them. that was nine years ago! lol

Michelle | Bleeding Espresso said...

Ugh. I hope you get everything soon. I actually got something mailed from Messina THE NEXT DAY. Record!!!!!!

Di Mackey said...

I was surprised by the mail drama too. I had expected it in Istanbul but not in Belgium, and was looking sideways at the mailman for a long time however he seems a sweetie these days.

I was going to ask if you wanted to meet for coffee while I was here but figured you probably get asked by everyone so left you in peace but by crikey, Rome has been so stunningly beautiful since Thursday. I hope to capture some morning light tomorrow.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

kim b- we'll see. I'm not very optimistic

dalia - ha!!!

michelle - that is very impressive.

di mackey - you picked a good time the come. The weather has been bellissima. Yes these past few days have been pretty hectic between writing and my classes at the Autoscuola. I'm swamped but hope to hear some good news in a few weeks, then I can take a break.

Valerie said...

Ha! That's the Poste Italiane way of welcoming you to Italy ;) You've been initiated into the club, cara.

Di Mackey said...

I hope things go really well for you and the good news arrives. Home now, recovering from walking my feet off in Roma.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

valeria - ha. How lovely of them. We'll see what happens with this whole driving school experience. So far it's been a trip (no pun intended).

dimackey - thank you. hope you had a great trip.