By Mohammad Abu Shaban
‘’If it weren’t for electricity and water bills, I would never step into a post office!’’ Surely, everyone in Jordan must have heard this statement, if not actually said it, sometime. And needless to say: It’s Internet time, people!
But, apparently, our most valued Jordan Post company appreciates the mailbox more than we all do. Starting this month, one has to pay JD11.6 to renew their yearly mailbox subscription – double what you had to pay last year. The simple question that pops up is: Why on earth?
The answer they give is: “Costs have increased over the years without the fees being adjusted since 1979.” Are you serious? I wasn’t mature enough in the early 1980s but people who were there at the time say that the mailbox subscription fee was no more than a couple of dinars per year. Do you, Jordan Post, have records of what you do? Please tell me you do!
Privatization is the word.
Another question: what about the stamps? You cannot say those are sold for 1979 prices, because I used to collect stamps myself in the early 1990s and they cost less than half of what they are sold for now.
And can anyone please explain to me this ‘costs’ dilemma? What costs are associated with a green, rusty mailbox sitting inside a cold room within a building rented decades ago?
As an ordinary citizen with a cellphone, a home Internet connection and a bank account I see no need at all for paying JD1 a month for a mailbox. If I have, once in a while, to send a letter I will find myself a fax machine or a scanner; and the same goes for packages: there’s always someone to help you out with a smile on their faces. Again: with a smile on their faces! There are plenty of companies out there and they all are ready to help.
There’s a statement I often hear in such situations: “it’s not about the money; but this time they went too far”. Well, it is about the money. In fact it is quite offensive to be treated this way. I mean they could’ve at least come up with a better explanation. They could’ve, for instance, claimed the money would go for buying new mailboxes, or at least to clean the existing ones!
Dear post office manager, please accept the resignation of my physical mailbox because I decided to go online, and explore a world where e-mail is still free. And dear Mailbox, perhaps I’ll send you an e-card to tell you how much I miss you… already.
