[ChrisCzy]

I'm just new to carving, and have been reading this board for some weeks. Thought this was a great site until I started going through old threads and came upon one regarding damage caused by the postal service. As I have worked for the USPS for more than 20 years and have tried to do my job well I was offended by the hostility in the responses, in particular from one of the moderators who ends his threads with " Great minds talk about ideas, small minds talk about people." I guess civil servants are not people. No doubt all of your comments came from frustration but, have any of you checked the USPS web sight regarding packaging? Did any of you think of asking if there were any postal workers on this board who could give tips? Most letter mail AND PACKAGES are handled by machine, not people. When the machine malfunctions (as all machines do eventually) mail gets damaged. For the record, the USPS damages less than 1% of the mail it handles(40 billion peices a year). Considering how much mail you receive each year, how much shows up damaged? In future send your carvings by registered mail. IT's exspensive, but it is bagged seperately, not machine handled, and travels under lock and key until it reaches your carriers hands. Open all packages in the presence of your carrier or in the post office so they can see on the spot if it was damaged. Sorry for the rant, but I wonder if any of you would like to claim that you or the companies you work for never make mistakes. Does it bother any of you when someone comments about your job or company when they really don't know what they're talking about? Have any of you been to a large processing facility to see how the mail is handled? Sorry again. One final comment. The USPS does NOT use any tax dollars for it's operation. We have been off the budget since 1972 and postal rates have remained BELOW the inflation rate.

[Nancy_G]

Good Morning Chris, We're glad to see you with us and happy to have another carver.
We are sorry you settled that old post that had very little to do with actual wood carving. And I'm particlarly sorry you misunderstood and took offence by the line " Great minds talk about ideas, small minds talk about people." That's a signature or tag line and appears in all of that moderators posts. It certainly wasn't directed at civil servants or the USPS.
A very large percentage of the "regulars" on this board are or have been civil servants. My husband is retired from 26 years in the military. We have lots of of police and military here -- we understand and respect civil service in all its aspects.
I'm an active eBayer - lol - I've received almost 500 packages in the last 3 years without damage. I ship all my carvings to a gallery - without damage BUT I do understand that damage will happen . That's life.
Please get over this ONE thread that offended you, like we get over one damaged package. Join us and have some fun. I promise you will, OK?

[Mitchell]

Chris, I think the particular poster was more upset at the lack of response (or negative response) to his being reimbursed for the damage than the damage itself. If I remember correctly, he paid for insurance, but did not get payment due to the damage.

Now, since you are here - and knowledgeable, I am sure many here would appreciate some tips so that we all could avoid this type of experience.

[Colin_Partridge]

Chris,
First let me apologize for my remarks I certainly didnt do it to offend anyone. I was a civil servant for 38 years and there were times when my department made mistakes and I wore the brunt of it. No big thing it comes with the territory. If I had directed those remarks to you personally I would agree that it would have been in bad taste. I never ever say anything bad about anyone because I am not the one to judge. The remarks I made in that post were meant as a joke more than a critisim. If you were to check further on in that post you would see that I made a comment that I had not had any problems with Canada and as far as US postal I know nothing about them, except that Lance Armstrong is sponsered by them. Again I am sorry you were offended but this country and yours was founded on free speach, and nothing was meant against anyone personally. I am sure that if you had a beautiful carving that was damaged by someone you might be a tad upset yourself.
Colin

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

No comment, this was a year old post and dead issue.....why bring it up again?

[BobD]

Hey everyone,

I'm going to close this thread...It's not really related to carving, and it took a kinda negative tone...If you want to start a new thread about how best to send carving, great, but...
It is a free country, and trust me, as a former newspaper reporter/editor, Freedom of Speech is very important to me. But I feel that both sides of the issue have been aired, and it's time to get back to making chips!

Bob Duncan
Associate Editor
Wood Carving Illustrated.