The Shape of Things to (not) Come

What is it with lousy service these days?

I have a subscription to Shape (don't laugh) but haven't seen an issue since January. Clearly shows you how much I care about the mag since I am just now getting around to dealing with this, but a quick glance at my account online reveals I'm paid up through December 2008. It also shows my account status as "undeliverable."

After digging through several pages on the website, I found an 800 number and gave a ring. The woman was nice enough and told me "undeliverable" meant the mags were being returned by the post office. I haven't moved. The addy hasn't changed. Shape Woman's best guess was that I've got a new mail delivery person who doesn't know his/her route.

There are 2 problems here.

1. After 4 months of returned magazines, doesn't Shape have an obligation to get in touch rather than just continue to take my money in exchange for nothing?

and

2. Doesn't the post office have to make sure its employees know their neighborhoods?

Yes, I do have too much free time. And yes, my expectations are generally too high. Welcome to my blog.

I'M NOT ALONE: Via Reason, an article about the DC rat situation (we've got one) details other examples of local government inaction:

It’s not like the non-baseball services Washington provides are famous for their effectiveness. The potholes in the roads would embarrass a Romanian. The neighborhood papers are filled with complaints that violent crimes like carjacking and assault don’t rise to the level of police interest. (In 2000, when I reported being mugged during my first visit to the city, the police told me there was nothing they could do except check the Lost and Found once in a while for my wallet.) Our local library admitted that the online book-reservation system is not tethered to physical reality, and that in fact they have no real idea at any given time whether or not they have a book. It has taken us four visits to the Department of Motor Vehicles to come even close to registering our car locally.