Just the facts, Ma’am

Just the facts, Ma’am was Originally Posted on September 17, 2004 by

It is amazing how some people cannot get with technology.

Oh, I know some people go kicking and fighting into the future, but sometimes you have to wonder.

I get a call about Monday from my mortgage company that they need to have me sign a document. I ask how they are sending it. They reply by DHL Overnight. I ask if this is a time critical item and they say “not really”. Then I tell them that DHL probably cannot deliver to my house because it is 4-wheel drive down a 1400′ driveway. I tell them I can drive intop Kona if they want to fax it to me. They say no, they will overnight it.

Because I know this will be a problem, I suggest they put two extra things on the label. First, that they can deliver this to my mailbox at the street. Secondly, put my home and cell numbers of the label so I can be called if they cannot deliver it.

When the thing doesn’t show up the next day or the day after, I call the mortgage company and they check on the package. Then Friday at noon I get a call from somewhere on the mainland that my package could not be deliveded yesterday. Do I have a better address?

I sigh and am irritated.

They tell me the soonest I can get this package is MONDAY (a week after the overnight package was sent).

They now have an alternate address where I will have to drive 40 miles round trip to get the package. It will be delivered about 5 feet from that FAX machine I suggested almost a week ago.

Now I am NOT a big proponent of FAX either, but it would have been cheaper that the overnight package and how many people have to be involved in that delivery anyway? We are talking planes and trucks and gasoline and so on.

How would *I* have done it?

Well, as I say, I hate FAXes as they are arcane, but some people swear by them.

I would have EMAILED the document to me. I would then print out the form, sign it and drop it in the mail. Even with the Postal Service involved, the Mortgage company would have received this single seet of paper within 1 day!

Email is a FAX without the FAX machine.

Had I not needed to send them an original signature, I could have scanned the printed form and emailed it back to them, thus not costing either of us a cent in postage or delivery costs.

Years ago I worked in a large office and there were a few deaf people. They used TTY (teletype-like keyboards and a modem) to communicate with other people around the world. At that time, electronic email was quite new. Nowadays, if they have computers, deaf people can email and instant message people quickly, easily and cost-effectively. Computers are doing away with many (but not all) of the TTY units out there because some people are not yet on the internet.

(An update) 20 minutes after I started this, DHL called from Kona and said that if I want, I can come to the airport to get my package. The airport is about 10 files round trip past that FAX machine, but going there would save me a weekend of waiting.

Perhaps to save time, since I’ll be at the airport anyway, I can sign the form and hand-carry it back to Honolulu. At least it will free up the FAX machines of the world for more important documents…

I guess I could have wrapped this blog up in a nicer packaging, maybe put a bow on it, done some spell-checking, whatever; however, looks like I have to drive into town……