Remember back in the old days when if you ordered anything from a company, delivery was “6 to 8 weeks”?
That’s because they had no idea how long things would actually take to arrive. There was no concept of a tracking number. Pre-container shipping was random and unpredictable.
The “6 to 8 weeks for delivery” that was ubiquitously stated in magazine ads or on the bottom of a TV commercial basically meant, “We have no fucking idea how long this will take to get to you… but geeze Louise if it doesn’t arrive after 2 months, you know it got lost. We’ll just list that and you’ll be pleasantly surprised when it arrives sooner.”
Now you get txt messages with minute-by-minute updates. Sometimes Amazon lets you know the delivery person is on your street. Apple’s in-house contact-less delivery predicted the exact minute they’d be at my door. The exact minute!
So…
Ever notice that when you order something from China you get status updates initially then silence silence silence for many days then suddenly a status update from USPS that its in their hands and BOOM you get the package the next day? I wonder what’s happening during those days of silence.
For example: I ordered something on Aug 21. I got 2 updates on Aug 22. I’ve got nothing but silence for 14 days (today is Sept 5) and due to the holiday I expect no more messages for a few more days.
I shouldn’t complain. This is all better than “6 to 8 weeks” but… where the heck is that package, damn it!!!
I know. I know. “First-world problems.”
