Tea!

After spending all that time recently complaining about my missing tea, I thought I should probably tell you it finally arrived.
On Thursday, actually. :-)
I order from an online store called British Express. I've been ordering for a few years, but like I said tea lasts me a while, so I've probably place around four orders. They carried the Jacksons of Piccadilly teas I liked before they were discontinued, now they still carry the JoP white teas.
Some things I like

• once you set up an account they send you e-mail announcing sales and coupons (I got 10% off for buying loose tea)
• they often add a free sample to your order
• they have little $2 sample pouches of most of the teas, which make several cups for me, so you can test drive before you buy a whole 1/4 pound or more.

They handled my missing tea well. As soon as I let them know FedEx said the original package was gone for good they shipped me out a new one through the US mail. (of course I didn't get a free sample, but I was expecting that.)

Storage
The tea comes packaged in foil lined bags with a resealable zipper closure. Well, it would be resealable if I wasn't suddenly incompetent when it comes to opening packages and managed to cut the paper below the zipper. sigh.
It didn't matter, really. Since I'm a bit of a pack-rat, I've kept a collection of tea tins and transferred the new tea into some of the empty tins. Now I just have to tape the labels on.

Dealing With Lost Packages
Now I'm sure FedEx delivers thousands of packages properly and on time every day. However, in my corner of the world, the only package that matters is mine.
But the situation got me to thinking about how it's the holiday season and more packages are going to be getting shipped.
I'd like to offer some suggestions for dealing with it.

1. Don't be mean to the person who can help you. Remember the person answering the customer service number probably never set eyes on your package. Although they are representing the company, it is not their personal fault your package is missing. It is their job to help you, but they might help you better if you are nice and polite. (I think I managed this one, I didn't yell or raise my voice. It is possible I was a little over aggressive toward the end there when I asked the woman what the heck happened.)
2. Get the shipper involved. Although the package was coming to me, and the customer service reps were talking to me, I got the impression the shipper would have more influence over the situation. Why this would be I don't know. Maybe it is a security thing, if someone had intercepted my tracking number they could have called and redirected the package, so maybe only the shipper can make changes.
3. Get insurance, or pay in a way that offers protection. I ended up OK in the end, but it's probably a good idea to have something to fall back on to help cover replacement costs.

Well, I think that's it for today. After finishing the poncho I turned around and finished the stealth sock, so I should be able to write that pattern up now. Then I started a doily. Maybe more on that tomorrow.
My mom e-mailed me this morning and asked why "the blog sounds like a rant." She didn't specify which post. Well, I knew I was pretty cranky and pathetic last week, I guess it showed. But I'm feeling better now and will hopefully be perkier!