Sorry for my absence last week, but work is getting a little crazy. Anyway, I’m back on track so here is goes. October is my absolute favorite month of the year and that’s not just because it’s the month of my birth. I love the cool crisp weather, the turning of the leaves and the colors of the season. I love wearing wool sweaters, cashmere scarves, light leather jackets and who can resists the cute boots that come with this time of the year. I miss seeing the leaves change in the northeastern part of the U.S, where the vibrant colors peak during the month of October. I love the comfort foods of the month and I could hurt somebody for a Pumpkin Spice Latte right about now. I SO miss Starbucks. J This is the first time in this journey where I’m feeling a little home sick.
It doesn’t help that the Kenyan government is holding my
medication hostage in customs. I can’t
even blame customs because they are behaving exactly like I expect them to
behave. I’m getting use to it and am
starting to take pride in my ability to maneuver through the system. Now Federal Express, on the other hand, is on
my s#*! list. They charged my mother
$157 to ship the package in four days two weeks ago! In hindsight, I must have been crazy to ship
medication into Kenya, but I didn’t have a choice. My insurance company won’t ship into
Africa. Really?
Well, anyway, Fedex told me that customs needed me to get my
doctor, who is in the U.S., to send a copy of the prescription. Are you kidding me? Well, thanks to the support of my family, who
already think I’m living in hell, LOL, my doctor sent the proper documentation
without delay. Now wouldn’t you think
that if your company is in the business of ensuring the safe, timely delivery
of packages, that you would follow-up on the package after your client has
provided the required documentation?
Maybe that’s just me being crazy by believing in customer service!
Mind you, Fedex believes that you can just let things sit in
customs without checking and it will magically get released. Hello, this is Africa!! I was trying very hard to be calm as I spoke
to the young mindless drown on the other end of the phone, because the pills I’m
waiting for are for my hypertension.
High blood pressure, stress and lack of medication is not a good
combination. SMH. My poor mother has been worried to death
every since the package left Philly.
Needless to say, I took matters into my own hands and contacted customs
on my own.
Surprisingly, I got a response in minutes. The only contact information I had was an
email address. The woman on the other
end of the email, Jacqueline, quickly informed me that the drug inspector didn’t
work on weekends and he would review the package today. Now, why couldn’t Federal Express make that
one gesture to put their client’s mind at ease?
SMH. There I go again thinking with
a customer service mindset. I think
Federal Express needs to rethink their decision to do business in Africa. They don’t do it well. So, if you have a package to ship to Africa,
send it through DHL!
Now, this was not at all what I intended to write about, but
it is holding my brain hostage right now.
Hopefully the package will be released tomorrow…or else. As far as October goes, there are no traces
of it here. The weather is pretty much
the same as it was when I arrived, although the Africans think its
freezing. I admit it gets a little
chilly at night, but they are wearing wool sweaters! There’s no turning of leaves here and no
Starbucks so there’s definitely no Pumpkin Spice Latte. Next year I may have to make my trip home in
October. I didn’t realize I would miss
it so much. L
I’ll see you back here next week folks. Stay tuned.
Asante sana,
Della Rochelle
Copyright © 2011 by Della Rochelle Williams
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