Yes, I know it’s an odd comparison to make, but that’s where we are at these days.

With all the wonders of modern technology, where we can basically run (and ruin) our lives with a few taps on the phone screen, the South African Post Office (SAPO) provides a service that is slower than horsedrawn carriages from two millennia ago.

There’s even some methodology to this one, conducted by MyBroadband in a recent study of how long it takes SAPO to deliver a letter.

Saddle up:

A recent MyBroadband test showed that it took the South African Post Office (SAPO) 81 days to deliver a letter between two locations 48km apart.

The letter was sent on 27 July 2018 from the Jeppestown Post Office in Johannesburg to the Lyttelton Post Office in Centurion – and was received on 16 October 2018.

The delivery time of 81 days is well outside the SA Post Office’s estimated delivery time of “three days between two cities in the same province”…

In fact, the SA Post Office failed to deliver any of the letters – over 20 were sent in this test – within 5 days.

81 days to send a letter 48 kilometres – that is not, and should never be considered, OK.

There are companies that can get a product shipped from overseas, through customs, and to your door in three to five working days. Yet here we are, twiddling our thumbs whilst the Romans put us to shame.

Right, let’s get to this bit about the Romans:

The SA Post Office, in comparison, is slower than the Cursus Publicus, the state-run courier and transportation service of the Roman Empire 2,000 years ago.

The Roman Empire’s delivery service used light carriages and fast horses to transport messages and tax revenues from one province to another.

The average speed of a messenger over the Roman road system was estimated to be around 50-80km per day.

Even if they took a day off either side, just to enjoy being Roman and all, they would traverse that 48-kilometre distance in a single day, making for a three-day delivery time.

SAPO – they came, they took your mail and money, they did not conquer.

Just to really stick the knife in, somebody at MyBroadband created this handy graphic:

That’s a massive middle finger raised, in graphic design language.

One more body blow to the SA Post Office, via the comments section:

A snail, moving at its average speed for 12 hours a day, would rival SAPO.

Maybe you’re not the type to send mail through the post, but chances are you’ve wanted to order something from overseas before.

That brings with it the customs headache – as in, will the goods that I have paid for actually clear customs, which is suffering from a monster backlog, and will I suffer a heart attack before this point?

I don’t have the answer to those questions, but I do have a solution. Two words – Postbox Courier.

They offer a superb service that gives you a shipping address in the US, UK, Australia and Hong Kong. So, if you’re buying products that don’t ship to SA, then just give your new US / UK / AUS / HK address, which Postbox Courier give you.

As soon as it is delivered there, which is usually the same day, then Postbox Courier will grab it and deliver it to your door in SA.

They handle your parcel every step of the way – meaning it doesn’t get “stuck” at Customs here in SA, and they also make sure you don’t get stung with some absurd customs duty payment that you can’t query.

Setting up an account with Postbox Courier is free, and there are no subscription fees because it’s a simple Pay As You Go service.

Just like that, buying goodies from overseas is taken care of.

This will not change the fact that our Post Office is a joke, but it does make it easier to point and laugh.

[source:mybb]