I ordered merchandise from the Microsoft Company Store on the 19th. The merchandise left the building on the afternoon of the 19th ... the service of the store closely resembles the efficiency of the new TFS 2008 installer. All I can say is WOW.
The package arrive in South-Africa on the 21st, which is roughly 2 days later. Assuming the crow took a straight flight plan, the distance totaled 16,504.9km, which means an average speed of roughly 343.84167/h (assuming 48 hours of journey time).
U... office called me on the 21st, notifying me that I am now an importer, as an expensive shipment had just arrived. Anyone importing more than R20,000 is apparently deemed an importer and needs to complete various forms, or face prosecution by the customs department?!? Well, the completed and signed documents reached U... within the hour of getting their call, for a package totaling R1,013.20.
Hmmmmmmm R1,013.20 < than R20,000 ... if yes, why am I suddenly an importer? Let's not go there ... relax.
Today is the 30th and according to the friendly gentleman at the help desk, the package was delivered to someone else ... which I believe are not the rules of engagement. Next we have the weekend, which means I should eventually get the package on the 3rd December ... if I am lucky that is. That's 12 days later! Estimating a rough delivery distance of 25km we get a staggering average speed of roughly 0.078125km/hour.
May I add that a common garden snail travels at a speed of 0.0468km/hour (The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1999. New Jersey: Primedia, 1998: 572.), which means that the term "courier service" defines a service that is slightly faster than the common garden snail crawling up your wall.
I actually do now know whether I should laugh, cry or simply hope that I will eventually receive an intact delivery some day.