My latest 'adventures'....

I've just returned from our GPO after trying to get a phone number of MEDIVET PRODUCTS LTD via the available box number that one of their products, Calamine Lotion displays on the label. Unfortunately, they have not included the postal code of their Nairobi address - 47951.

I thought, after making various enquiries to a couple of pharmacies here as well as consulting the directories including the yellow pages and getting nowhere, that following another clue, the box number, on the label would bear fruit. Hence, my trip to the post office this afternoon.

In fact, knowing that our GPO is totally disabled unfriendly, I first tried ringing the Regional Manager's (RM), office whose secretary sounded all at sea about what I wanted and then left me holding on without explaining why.

But, I still am desperately trying to get this information and decided to brave the awful stairs (their public elevators are hardly ever working and today was one such day), to the Head Postmaster's office which is on the Mezzanine floor. This Head Postmaster, Mr. Taib, is anything but helpful and said he couldn't help. So, then I used the staff elevator from this floor to get to the 8th floor where Posta's administration offices are.

There, my first stop was the RM's office and I was immediately shown in by his secretary. But, once I explained the purpose of my visit, he tried to get this information from the GPO in Nairobi but got nowhere. He also told me that as the address did not have a postal code it was something next to impossible to locate it and even if this was done it would be unethical to let me have their phone number! Doesn't matter that this is a business address, etc.

Now, to digress a bit. Doesn't our Posta have a data base? And the little that I know of computers and what they are capable of doing, this is a company address and hence, should be having a phone number. How does it do business, otherwise? And it's not a new company either. It's a few years old, at least, if not longer. They are probably using old labelling and that's why it does not have the postal code displayed. Also, why doesn't Posta have a current directory for it's customers?

Now, to get back to my misadventures... Getting no information from this office, I tried going to a couple of others - at one, the person had left for the day and at another, she couldn't help me either, but, at least she took my number down and promised that she would pass it on to the person at whose office I'd bounced earlier.

I then had to use the same elevator to get to the Mezzanine floor walk all the way down the length of the corridor and down the staircase! On the way out I decided to check my mailbox and I found a lone notification informing me of a parcel awaiting me at the parcels office.

Now, this parcels office is terrible! Despite having complained about the inaccessibility of it by the old and/or disabled, our Posta, over the years has done absolutely nothing to make it better. The steps are too high and there are no grab bars either for people using crutches or stick to use. Forget about wheelchair users. It seems that our Posta doesn't have nor would encourage such clients to use it's 'services'!

In fact, I was told as such by Mr. Taib, when I got fed up of waiting for somebody to help me get my parcel. He told me that he too, was equally fed up of me! In the end when one of the staff (I have no idea who she was or her name), who had taken off with my notification, didn't show up for over 15 minutes, I'd had enough and left. Now, I have no idea how to get my parcel without this notification, etc.

And all this happened, because our GPO is totally handicapped unfriendly and does not care for having such clients either, it seems.