I hope EMS Kenya <http://www.emskenya.co.ke/> is not part of the Postal Services Corporation for which Bobby Yawe is pushing to be appointed as Director General (or is it Postmaster General) because if it is, then surely, Maj. General (Rtd) should really be deployed elsewhere and let Bobby take over the running of that corporation. Sample this: I have this gift I'd like to send to my friend in Oz (Australia). It weighs only 900g (0.9kg). I have made several inquiries and found that EMS Kenya have very competitive rates, so I decided I'd like to use them to deliver this package. Never mind that my informers tell me the parcels take at least a month to arrive! Now, my process started by wanting to know why EMS Kenya, on their Bumba Box Rates<http://www.emskenya.co.ke/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=55>service, does not have options for 500g and 1000g like other courier services do. For starters, it was not easy to find the phone contacts for their Nairobi "office" on their website. It's not listed. So I called one of the listed offices (KSM) and was given the contact number for Nairobi branch. I called and sought to know why they don't have the 0.5kg and 1kg boxes and I was referred to the office of the Head of Marketing. She told me that it's just that the Bumba Box Rates were designed like that! She did not appear to take seriously my suggestion that having those two added to the package might lead to more uptake of the service. He suggestion was that I can use their "normal security envelope". If you have looked at the Bumba Box Rates<http://www.emskenya.co.ke/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=55>, you'll see that my package falls within the 2kg category. This costs KES 4,900+VAT to send to Oz. On the other hand, their "normal security envelop" charges KES 4,015+VAT for 1kg to the same destination. I therefore find it cost effective to find more money to buy additional gifts, so that my package weight can come upto 2kg or thereabouts, and send it using the Bumba Box. However, as it stands now (and as it has been for some time now, based on what the Head of Marketing told me) they DO NOT have the Bumba Boxes at the moment!!!! Reason? The supplier has been promising to deliver the boxes for quite sometime now, but hasn't. When I suggested to her to just tell this supplier to F*** off (sorry for the vulgar language) and get a different one, she informed me that it's only their Procurement Department who can do that. I then remembered the bureaucracy and the accompanying lethargy in the once KPT&C. Kumbe haiishi!!! She (very honestly) knows that they have not had these Bumba Boxes for some time now, and could not give me any time frames (even a week) within which these boxes could arrive. Now, I just wonder, what is she "Head of Marketing" for if she has no power to "push" the Procurement Depart to "deliver". Does she not take the Procurement Department as contributing to her failure?? How could it be acceptable to hire and maintain staff to run a service that has no legs?? EMS Kenya not having the Bumba Boxes is a lame service to me, even though they have the audacity to tell me that I can use their "normal security envelops". At this point in time, I was given the contacts of some staff at the EMS Centre whom I could talk to in order to get "help". Yes, I will still pay the KES 4,900+VAT, but I have to impress upon this fellow to see if he can retrieve some 2Kg Bumba Box that could be lying somewhere within their network (maybe in Kisumu, Mt. Kenya, Coast, Eastern), for I am sure there must be one still remaining somewhere. If the fellow does me this "favor", I am sure to ultimately send my 2Kgs to Oz. I have my fingers crossed for now, hoping he will manage to "mop up" (as he calls it) one such box and then give me a call so that I can head to their EMS Centre and dispatch my package. I promise to send an update on this. Their logo has this caption: "*Going beyond the extra mile*":) I am sure all of us have seen so many meaningless (since the organizations don't even have a semblance of the same) *Mission statements* and *Vision statements*. They're simply fashionable to have, hanging conspicuously at the reception/lobby area. One more vote for Robert Yawe to take over the running of this sleeping giant. I hope Dr. Ndemo is reading this, and listening too... -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Damn!!