As a follow-up to my return to sender post, I recently discovered something that really intrigued me.  I’m talking about something even more intriguing than discovering Bob Barker is a robot and will live forever.  What is it?  Permanent Stamps.

Late in 2006, Ian blogged about Canada Post’s new initiative and Canada Post gets into excrutiating detail here, so I’ll try and ‘ColesNotes’ it for you:

• A stamp that retains its value, regardless of current postal rates (and will avoid situations like the one Megan went through)
• Canada has now joined Britain, Finland, Israel, Belgium, France, Norway, Monaco and Sweden as countries who sell stamps that are always worth the going rate (reducing the need for 1 ¢ stamps…which have been in existence since 1859 - almost as long as Bob Barker)
• Since 2000, Canada Post has pumped out more than 430-million 1¢ stamps! 
• How much is that?  Well, placed end to end, these stamps would cover a distance of almost 11,000 kilometres.  Or, for you specific types, imagine driving on the Trans-Canada from Victoria, British Columbia to St. John’s, Newfoundland…and then turning around and going half-way back!

I’m not going to kid with you, I don’t buy a lot of stamps.  So what?  So I won’t be impacted all that much.  But what I know for sure, though, is that the stamps I do buy will not become outdated with changing rates and will save me from making extra trips to the post office/drug store/corner store/7-11 to get more.

Anything that: 1) saves the customer time; 2) saves the customer money; 3) makes efficient use of resources; and 4) is generally just a smart thing to do all around is representative of GREAT customer service as far as I’m concered.  Signed, sealed, and delivered!

T&D Rating: 5 post office boxes (out of 5)