2020 probably was a terrible year for Christmas Card sales. At least my experience would indicate that is was. I received only 1 Christmas letter this year via the U.S. Postal Service. Ordinarily, I would receive a half dozen letters from family and friends. I received only two Christmas cards, and one was hand-delivered to my mailbox by a neighbor. The other arrived in my mailbox today, Dec. 31, but it was originally postmarked on Dec. 20!
The frequent news reporting about the U.S. Postal Service being so far behind in deliveries no doubt was partly to blame. Who wanted to send out Christmas cards and have them arrive after Christmas?
Also, there probably was some reluctance on the part of some to go out and shop for Christmas cards.
In the matter of postal deliveries, I can report that I was nervous about receiving my auto license renewal sticker. In recent years, I have renewed my Ohio vanity plate via email and that system worked very well.. This year I was required to take my 2015 Honda Odyssey to pass an eCheck for emissions. If you are interested you can go here to learn about Ohio’s eChack program: https://www.epa.ohio.gov/dapc/mobile
My vehicle passed the eCheck and I received the certificate. Now I could have gone to the local license bureau registrar to renew my vehicle registration and receive the license plate sticker. Normally, that would mean going into the registrar’s office and wait for my “number” to be called. With the pandemic protocol in place this year, I would have to stand in line outdoors, which wouldn’t be fun in November or December.
So, I mailed in the renewal form along with the eCheck certificate and my check for the renewal on Nov. 11 to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles in Columbus, Ohio. The BMV cashed the check on Dec. 04. The envelope with the sticker didn’t arrive until Dec 23. I’m sure that some of the slow delivery was caused by short staffing at the Ohio BMV due to Covid 19. But the USPS also must share the blame.
Just another concern during the pandemic.
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