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Foreigners
living in Costa Rica getting mail from the rest
of the world is an experience at best and for
most of us Aerocasillas is one of the few
services available to us.
Over
the past several years, the local postal service
CorreosCostaRica has improved, but still I
lack the confidence to be able to receive
important documents by them. Sending mail is ok
and inexpensive.
Those of you reading this story and having not
experienced the mail system in CorreosCostaRica
will
shake your head and wonder why? You take for
granted the mail system, as I did, living in the
cold north of Canada, with a cup of warm coffee
in hand, in my house robe checking the morning
mail.
In Costa Rica the situation is different. First
off there is no door-to-door postal service.
Actually there is in some selected areas, but
only the Correos
Costa Rica knows this and
cannot or won't tell where and when it is
available. For the years I have lived in Costa
Rica, only my current place has door-to-door
mail service. I know this, because I see mail
left at the corner post marked with a CorreosCostaRica postmark.
Besides the above reason of non-confidence, I
don't think anyone who is wanting to send me
mail will take my address seriously; Sabana Sur,
west of the Pops, 100 meter south, 50 West, the
white house next to the green guard post, but
before the second light post - not the one with
the broken cable! I am exaggerating a bit, but
you get the point. In Costa Rica we have no
street names and very few houses have numbers,
why I don't know.
In defense of this system, I think it's great if
you don't want the in-laws or any other unwanted
guest over, unless you tell exactly where you
are. So, if one wants to get mail and everything
that is inside of the envelope, you are left
with only a few choices. Aerocasillas is one of
them.
I started using the services of Aerocasillas a
few years back when they were the only game in
town. And though a few others have sprouted
since, it is difficult to now change that as I
envision a nightmare of telling all of my
friends and those I don't yet know of my new
address.
Aerocasillas simplifies the address problem by
providing customers a simple Miami based address
that the whole world can understand. The mail is
then forwarded to Costa Rica where I can go to
one of several offices they now have, to pick it
up.
Everything works great, until, the mail gets
here and the customer unfriendly (to be fair
there are a few employees that do not fall into
this category) of Aerocasillas can make picking
up your mail more painful that going to the
dentist for a root canal. Ouch!
I have learned to avoid the frustration and go
only once a week. I don't really get much mail,
but it is an excuse to get out of the house,
enjoy the sun and get some exercise in the
process, as I usually walk the Kilometer or more
from my house to get the mail.
Why is the service so bad? There is no simple
answer. What I've come to believe is that the
staff of Aerocasillas are not clued in that this
is a paid service, and we the
customers pay for that service. And they, the
staff, are there to attend to us.
We, as customers, expect a pleasant and
friendly attitude, to be told exactly what is
going on when our mail is not available or
whatnot. We are paying for this, why shouldn’t
we expect it? Anything less and
I am better off dealing with Correos
Costa Rica, which to my surprise have greatly
improved their service as evidenced on my last
couple of visits. So much so, I was inspired to
get a mailbox at Correos
Costa Rica
and use them
more in the hopes of building my aforesaid
confidence. But, I digress.
So, what is my big beef with Aerocasillas? Get
your act together: provide the customer service
we are paying for and expect. Make my trip to
get my mail a pleasant one, one filled with
excitement and joy to open my mail, my contact
with the 'real' world.
I took the opportunity to send this article to
Aerocasillas prior to publication in the hope of
getting a response from them. And, surprisingly
I did.
I got a call from Manuel Gambo Ch., manager of
customer service. He firstly apologized for my
current problem with getting my package (which
is still in the system) and that the management
of Aerocasillas is aware of some of their
shortfalls, especially when it comes to their
staff dealing with the public.
He explained in detail their plans to overcome
those problems and restore customer confidence,
by reviewing their personnel and be more honest
with their customers, telling customers what is
'really' going with their mail, coming and
going.
Mr. Gamboa has agreed to personally handle any
and all customer complaints and if you have
something to say about their services - good nad
bad - you can contact him directly at: mgamboa@aerocasillas.com
or at 506-296-9590 ext, 239. Mr. Gamboa speaks
fluent English.
In the meantime, I will make a special effort of
making my mail run a pleasant experience. I am
somewhat skeptical that management will be able
to see positive results.
PS. after publishing this article I got a letter
of apology from the management of Aerocasillas,
my package was finally delivered and my email
rings of "you've got mail". As well, I
received a pledge to improve the service to all
members and changes coming in the near future
that will make sending mail faster and receiving
mail a pleasant experience.
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