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Online forum, environ of plaints! Is it normal that my man
arriveth not as he hath made promise?
O consumer of goods fast and cheep, thy grievances shalt not end
Till the produce reach your doorstep, honoured consumer
eagerly awaiting deliverance, tracking number ready at hand
... or something to that effect.
On the other hand, poor delivery workers! Whatever their working conditions, they surely don't often stop for a chat.
I do have some contempt to spare for those impatient consumers who think waiting more than 24 hours for whatever they spontaneously bought online is unbearable. Buying should be a slow process, there should be ample time for regret before the product arrives, even before you decide to pay for it. That it isn't so is of course intended, because it's such a brilliant way of increasing commerce. Doesn't matter that you don't need the product. Easily bought, and once you have it you will pay again to rid yourself of it.
Well, I must admit that I recently bought a few books again, but this was premeditated. They didn't travel fast, so I scheduled some other reading while waiting. Then came a little notice in the post box that the packet had arrived all the way from the continent at the local delivery hub, which is no longer a true post office because of deregulation. Immediately I went down to pick up the package, and for sure, there it was, slim brown carton with labels slapped onto it. But they wouldn't hand it over to me. They said, there's some fault in our system. They turned the computer screen over so I could see for myself; I don't know except that the interface looked antiquated. The system error had been unsolved for two weeks already, I was told.
Then Easter holidays began.
No worries, I have enough reading at home, just not those books. After holidays I went back, now even a bit disgruntled when it turned out I still wasn't allowed to have my package. What does it say of our society that some computer bug dictates that the post clerk cannot hand out a package to its recipient? He could have written a note by hand saying that it was delivered to such and such, and entered the details into the system later when it was up and running again.
Anyway, a few days later they had fixed it and now I have some more reading again. I don't easily get particularly upset about absurdities like this. Having been exposed to some collapsologist thinking, such malfunctions don't entirely surprise me. Relying too much on computer programs and internet connections is the very opposite of resilience.
I hope to return to the more important point of the content of those books when I have read them. Meanwhile, I'll link you to another piece about the aestheticised commercial sphere.
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