Well Done!

I am as guilty as the next person for bemoaning the fact that the U. S. Government can’t ever seem to get a job done efficiently. So it is not often that we have a real reason to congratulate government employees for a job well done.

But I have experienced the exception that proves the rule – I know it‘s a cliché – but I really have had an exceptional experience at the hands of unknown government employees.

I mailed my passport renewal application by standard U. S. Postal Mail on Thursday, December 29, 2011. Allowing for the New Year’s Day holiday the application could not have been received in Philadelphia any sooner than Tuesday, January 3, 2012. I did not use priority mail, I did not request expedited service; I simply put the paperwork and the check in the envelope on the mail box on my front porch for pickup by my local postal person. I didn’t even take the envelope to the local post office.

My renewal passport was issued on Monday, January 9, 2012, seven days from the earliest possible application receipt date, and it was delivered into my possession today, Thursday, January 12, 2012. Exactly two weeks from the date I mailed my application.

Had I needed my passport for an upcoming trip it would have taken the five to seven weeks processing time reflected on the Department of State website. But I have no imminent plans to travel. I just sent my renewal in because my previous passport expired in March and I didn’t want to be without the ability to travel on short notice should the opportunity arise.

I am certain there is some lesson to be learned from this experience, but I can’t tell you what it is. I can only say thank you to the unsung heroes of the postal service who managed to get my application from West Coast to East Coast in a timely manner and to the passport service employee or employees who processed my application so quickly.

If you personally know any postal employees or passport service employees please pass my thanks on to them as I am certain they will never see this blog.

If you read this blog, please leave a comment. I never know if there is anyone out there.

Live long and prosper!