possible unpopular opinion… (long read, sorry)

canada post has certainly pissed me off a couple of times in the past, but i would still take them any day over these ‘cheaper’ contract alternatives. in the decade + that i’ve been an adult (and therefore requiring canada post’s services) i’ve had maybe a grand total of 3 issues regarding them, and only 1 time was the issue unresolved.

in the past 3 weeks alone i’ve had two separate deliveries from ‘contract’ type services where i was quite appalled with the service. then there was a third order placed by my mother (i also had some items in this order) with the same type of service. all within the past three weeks.

i work from home, so thankfully 9/10 times i am there when my packages arrive as i was when the first one came from ‘well.ca.’ i didn’t realize the package was out for delivery and i just happened to be on my couch at the time (which is near my front door) and heard this loud ‘bang’ from outside, to the point it startled both of my cats. i look out my window and see a delivery guy walking back to his dodge grand caravan and my package is on the edge of my top step on my porch, right in the center. zero attempt to hide it behind my recycling bin or put it in between the doors (which it absolutely would have fit) and he clearly just threw it onto the step, indicated by the loud bang that i heard. again, thankfully i was home at the time, otherwise i’m pretty sure my package would have gotten snatched.

my second experience happened less than an hour ago. a package coming from ‘urban outfitters’ said it was being delivered by purolator. when i’m aware a package is coming that day, i’ll work from my couch so that i can be sure to hear it get delivered. i heard a vehicle door and looked out the window and sure enough there’s another dodge caravan with a guy coming to my porch, and one in the passenger seat. for a little context, i hav a tri-plex, and i do have two tenants that share one front entrance and then my front entrance is right next to theirs, so i technically have two front doors on my porch. again, this new person threw my package on the step with zero attempt to put it between the doors (very small package) i don’t care if it’s in between my doors or my tenants doors, yenno? i just want my packages to not be visible to everyone. but that wasn’t actually my issue with this particular delivery. my issue was that i watched the passenger of this van open their door and toss some trash onto the street in front of my house. i wasn’t wearing my glasses at the moment so i couldn’t tell what it was, but i decided i didn’t care and i went outside barefoot as they were pulling away. thankfully the passenger still had the window open so i called out ‘hold on’ and ran to where the garbage was. he tossed out an empty package of raw cones (used for rolling joints, as in weed for any who don’t consume) i picked it up and walked to the window and asked ‘is this yours?’ to which he responded ‘no.’ which i understand why, you’re obviously not supposed to be smoking while working, which i honestly don’t give two flying fucks about lol. you’re an adult, you do you, i partake as well. i do, however, have an issue with people who litter. he said no and for a moment i second-guessed myself, but then i remembered i literally watched him do it, and by then i could smell it. so i simply said ‘i watched you do it.’ handed it to him and said ‘please don’t leave it.’ and he sheepishly said ‘okay, sorry.’ and they drove off.

the third instance was an order from ‘sephora’ that my mom placed to be delivered to her work. she wasn’t paying attention to the tracking until she noticed an email that said it was ‘delivered.’ this email stated that the package had been delivered last saturday in a ‘safe drop’ manner. except her work isn’t open on saturdays, and there is no such ‘safe drop location.’ so she contacted sephora, and the woman handling her call i guess was able to see photos of the delivery and even she went ‘oh my god’ when she saw the picture. this ‘safe drop’ was literally a picture of the package teetering on a tiny ledge right next to the door of the business that is not open on saturdays (which is in my city’s downtown area, and would be known as ‘the hood’ if you get the picture i’m painting) so if the driver themselves didn’t steal the package, the moment they turned their back it would have been taken.

i loved my canada post worker(s) before this happened, and i love them even more now. in my personal experience, that type of stuff doesn’t happen with canada post. they’re so much better than that. i don’t want this to be one of those ‘we didn’t know what we had until it was gone’ situations, because i damn well know what we have with canada post and it’s far better than these no-name brand delivery people who, i’m sure, don’t get vetted whatsoever beforehand. i just wish i trusted my gut in the beginning of november when i thought to myself ‘you should get your mail lady her starbucks gift card and give it to her the next time you see her.’ i had no idea there was an impending strike, i just told myself it was too early and it would be weird seeing as it was still almost 2 months till christmas. and now i don’t know if i’ll see her before christmas to be able to pay my gratitude, i just hope she’s doing well right now.

also, 85,000+ passports currently delayed for delivery…. do we really want these people who don’t give a fuck about our things, or would even be tempted to steal due to no regulations, in charge of delivering personal identification such as a passport? or a credit card? people always think the grass is greener on the other side, but it’s greener where you fucking water it. CP workers are just asking for some water. they deliver our mail in +30 and -30, the things they’re asking for are not an unreasonable trade for trustable, regulated service. not to say that there are no ‘rotten apples’ in the CP workforce, but i believe they’re very few and far between, unlike with these cheap, independent and unregulated services.

if you made it this far, thank you. sorry it was such a long rant to basically say that i stand with CP workers even more now than i did before. if you’re a CP worker, just know that i really appreciate you and all you do for us and i truly hope your needs can be met fast with this whole thing. i firmly believe the money that they feel they’d lose if they meet your requirements would come back to them quickly if they just treat their people properly. they’re losing more money by having y’all be on strike. i’m sorry for you guys that it’s had to come to this. stay safe and strong out there 💕