More tales from Dominican bureaucracy

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
17,850
982
113
or, Chiri Through the Looking Glass

In the news today, front page in Diario Libre http://www.diariolibre.com/app/article.aspx?id=21129 there is a story about the DR postal service 'falling to pieces'.

We all know that 'the Dominican postal service' is roughly equivalent to such illustrious institutions such as 'the Paraguayan Navy' or 'the Belgian mountaineering club' in that if it does exist, it does not carry out the functions its name implies.

We also know that the Postal Service experienced a short-lived but glorious resurrection during the first Leonel administration, but fell into its old ways during his successor's stint. The Postal Service continued to exist, but its purpose in life was not to relay correspondence to, from and within the DR, but to provide employment for the party faithful.

I'll have to say I was surprised to read today's report about the Postal service. Granted, when Pib and I ventured into the main building in La Feria the other day we found it to be generously populated with employees and in a good state of repair, but completely devoid of something you see in any post office in most other places in the world - the public.

Neither Kafka nor Dante came to mind during our brief visit - which elicited a mild ripple of excitement among the workers whose paths we crossed - as if to say: "Look! Real live customers!" The post office counters were all staffed, but the clerks looked out at an empty expanse of hall, because no-one seemed to be buying stamps. There was some activity in and around an office with 'Recursos Humanos' on the door, though.

It was a little like a cheesy science fiction short story where everyone has died out except for the bureacrats, who keep on going through the motions and are then cunningly revealed to be robots, or one of those 1960s French surrealistic films set in an airport. In fact, the interior, which was built during one of the Balaguer administrations, is very much like an airport. The exterior looks fairly shabby, when you enter it is quite impressive. High ceilings, spacious halls, sweeping staircases all look as if they have received a recent lick of paint, and the floors are squeaky clean.

We remarked on the absence of real work going on, but I wondered whether things were being set in motion for a second coming of the dormant postal service under Leonel. Even before today's reports I had the intention of posting about it and recommending that people visit and see for themselves.

Now I wonder what will become of it all. They've had their electricity cut off, they haven't paid the workers for weeks, and none of the vehicles work, according to the article.
 

MaineGirl

The Way Life Should Be...
Jun 23, 2002
1,879
89
0
amity.beane.org
We all know that 'the Dominican postal service' is roughly equivalent to such illustrious institutions such as 'the Paraguayan Navy' or 'the Belgian mountaineering club' in that if it does exist, it does not carry out the functions its name implies.


Very evocative and funny post!

When I first moved to Maine as a child my parents were assigned PO Box #1, replacing the people who sold us their farm, who were the original renters of the box.

I recently to my hometown, and I was assigned #16.

This should tell a little something about the rate of growth around here, since there has been 18 years between the first box and the second.

We have no proper postmistress; just the lady who owns the general store. She gets paid a small stipend to serve as a dropping-off point, and maintains the post office boxes, remarkably located right next to hot coffee and donuts.
I suspect she knows everything about everybody, but the nice thing is she never tells.

Keep writing, Chiri! I hope you write a whole book about your life in the DR.
 

Pib

Goddess
Jan 1, 2002
3,668
20
38
www.dominicancooking.com
Chirimoya said:
or, Chiri Through the Looking Glass
We all know that 'the Dominican postal service' is roughly equivalent to such illustrious institutions such as 'the Paraguayan Navy' or 'the Belgian mountaineering club' in that if it does exist, it does not carry out the functions its name implies.
But... Jamaica... bobsled team...

;)

If anyone is wondering why we ventured into such wondrous adventure... I got a yellow note under my door saying that I had some mail that had been retained at the post office and I should pick it up personally. It wasn't the first time, larger pieces of mail had been left in the office on Sarasota where I had picked it without incidents. This time I had to go the main office.

Chiri nicely agreed to accompany me -maybe out of morbid curiosity. The piece of mail I had received was a check in US$. It's not the first time I've received 'semi-valuables' through the mail, and I have to admit that I've yet to lose a piece of mail (that I know of). However, as Chiri said I wonder why there were dozens of employees in a place where as far as we could see we were the only customers.
 

Lambada

Gold
Mar 4, 2004
9,478
410
0
80
www.ginniebedggood.com
Highly amusing, Chiri! There is at least one vehicle working, however, a little red inposdom jeepeta. It makes the journey weekly to Puerto Plata, in good weeks it manages twice weekly. This brings the mail to PP where the sacks are disgorged to await 3 days of 'blessing' by PP postal workers (the usual...........close examination of fingernails while sacks are on floor at their feet) before finally being sorted. Although of course, that isn't the end of the story because status 'sorted' is not the same as status 'actually put in owners' apartado', & this can take a little longer.............
 

gringosabroso

New member
Oct 16, 2004
494
8
0
72
Well done!! Amusing & intensely Dominican!!

I enjoyed this piece on the DR P O. Ih hope that you write more. You have a gift for placing 3rd world daily absuridities in a nice cultural context. I hope that you never lose your sense of humor. Smile. Survie Persevere.
 

Tordok

Bronze
Oct 6, 2003
530
2
0
Bravo Chirimoya!

Thank you for sharing your observational skills and tragic-comic sensibility. The catastrophic profile in inefficiency and complacentism of the Imposdom, could produce hundreds of pages on a new genre of tropical-gothic-absurdism. Fiction would be less difficult to believe than the insanity of a broken system that pretends to real.

- Tordok
:ermm: :cross-eye ;) :cool:
 

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
17,850
982
113
Many thanks for all the comments.

In subsequent editions, the Diario Libre has reported that the head of INPOSDOM has backtracked somewhat, claiming that the headline at least was an exaggeration on the part of the reporter.

The postal service is an example that given the right attitude, things can work*, but when the usual practices are employed, it descends into farce. There are many things that need to be fixed before INPOSDOM, but it provides a useful case study that might be applied to other institutions.

*pretty much like the Jamaican bobsled team, in fact ;)
 

trina

Silver
Jan 3, 2002
2,550
11
0
MaineGirl said:
Very evocative and funny post!

When I first moved to Maine as a child my parents were assigned PO Box #1, replacing the people who sold us their farm, who were the original renters of the box.

I recently to my hometown, and I was assigned #16.

This should tell a little something about the rate of growth around here, since there has been 18 years between the first box and the second.

We have no proper postmistress; just the lady who owns the general store. She gets paid a small stipend to serve as a dropping-off point, and maintains the post office boxes, remarkably located right next to hot coffee and donuts.
I suspect she knows everything about everybody, but the nice thing is she never tells.

Keep writing, Chiri! I hope you write a whole book about your life in the DR.


I'm with MG, Chiri! Very funny, you definitely have the flair for writing. I'd love to see you write a book.

MG, you brought me back to the little hamlet Postal Office closest to my farm. The hamlet was 4 miles away, and the hamlet boasted 27 people. Then, the Flecks made the big move into "town" (Lampman, population about 700), and the population dove to 12! The post office in Steelman had 20 boxes, though I imagine most were empty. It was located in the front of Johnny's house, and Johnny's wife was the Postmaster (I'm quite sure she knew everyone's business, as well). I think Johnny was also the mayor, the Grain Elevator Operator, and the resident mechanic. Nostalgia...
 

Toronto2inDR

New member
Jun 10, 2004
208
0
0
www.legendhomesnorthcoast.com
Just over a month ago a very important document was sent to me via mail from my sister in Argentina. When I found out that she sent it by mail I have to admit that I was quite upset with her for not following my instructions to us UPS or FedEx but she told me that I should not worry as it?s registered. OK I said but I had my doubts.

The timeline goes like this, Oct. 2nd envelope sent from Buenos Aires so I gave it a week before I started stopping at the post office every few days here in POP to check for it?s arrival. Every time I stopped in I saw the same group of ladies all sitting around and chatting. They would pull out this notebook where all incoming registered mail is logged, flip threw it quickly, tell me that it hasn?t arrived yet and then send me on my way.

Nov. 4th one month later I became quite concerned and asked to speak with whomever was the supervisor there and they all had a chuckle and one of them got up dragged that notebook over to the window and started flipping threw it once again?I grabbed it from her hands and started to search myself and within 5 sec I found my name, address and phone number logged in on Oct 12th so by that time my mail had been sitting in their office for over 3 weeks.

I pointed it out to the lady, she slithered on over to the cabinet where they hold people?s mail hostage pulled out my letter, stamped it (Nov. 4th 2004) and handed it to me. Sure enough there was another stamp dated Oct 12th as the date they received it but other then giving them all a dirty look what could I do.
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
18,948
514
113
I gave up my #814 mail box because

I could get mail much better through a missionary service. And now I just use Business Mail.

However, a week and a half ago (Friday 5 November, in the evening, way after working hours) I got a phone call from a person who identified herself as one of the employees at the post office. She said that since theydidn't have p[hone service -non-payment by the former administration- she was calling me to say that I had a package, and could I pick it up.
"Fine", I told her, be there or will send someone with my c?dula. "Good", she answered, "no problem."

Of course, the next working day was Monday and I forgot to send someone over there. On Tuesday I remembered and asked our messenger to go and pick up the package--I knew what it was-.

When I got back to the office I asked if Eddy had picked up the package and our wonder Office Manager told me that "No, they delivered it here."

This was an International Express Package from the USPS! Worked like a charm. I was impressed by the courtesy of informing me that it was there and then the surprise of having it delivered!!!

FWIW.

HB :D:D
 

Pib

Goddess
Jan 1, 2002
3,668
20
38
www.dominicancooking.com
We had two watches delivered to our home all the way from Denmark, courtesy of my husband's employer (one for him, one for his spouse). My husband's company has been notified countless times that they should send all mail to our P.O. Box in Miami, but try to get into a Dane's skull that a postal service, somewhere, does not exactly deliver mail in a reliable manner (the Danish postal service is as good as it could get). Anyways, the two watches arrived safely and on time to my utmost surprise. They were worth a few hundred dollars.

I have gotten gifts, books and magazines through the mail, and last week I got a cheque. I have yet to complain about their service.