In Toronto I love Canada Post. They have locations throughout Toronto inside retail partners and generally great customer service.

When we bought our cottage last month I was expecting a similar experience in rural communities. There is a series of Canada Post Community Mailboxes in Donald a few minutes from our cottage with several large boxes for packages. I thought it would be easy to get deliveries so I ordered some supplies to be sent direct to the Cottage.

To get ready to receive my packages I went on the Canada Post website and requested a Community Mailbox and key. The online form seemed easy enough and promised a response within 5 days. 10 days later no response, sent a 2nd ticket online and still no response 7 days later. I call the call centre and they promise a response within 2 days but again no response 4 days later. It’s now been almost a month since the initial request to get a Mailbox.

Finally I got a call from the Haliburton Post office and discover that Canada Post restricts access to the Community Mailboxes to full time residences ( which I’m not right now at the cottage ). Instead of using the local Community Mailbox my packages ( and mail ) are being sent to Haliburton for pickup with no notice to me at all. I don’t have shipment tracking or know how many business days the shipments are suppose to take. The Haliburton Post Office was actually calling me to ask about the 2 packages that I had ordered weeks ago.

The Haliburton Canada Post office is 16 km away and with the cottage road about a 20 min drive. After my call I got ready to go pickup my packages, its 5pm, so I check the hours and address. Unfortunately it’s closes at 4:30pm every week day and doesn’t open weekends. It also doesn’t open on Holidays I’m assuming.

I should also mention that all while I’ve been trying to setup Canada Post, my packages sent from Amazon via Purolator and Purolator International ( I guess Amazon knows to avoid Canada Post ) have been arriving right to the cottage without issue. And by arriving, I mean not in Donald but literally right to our door at at the cottage. I’m not sure if Fedex ship, Fedex Express or Fedex International deliver in the area but I do see Fedex trucks regularly in the area.

This situation is screaming for improvement and Canada Post is surely loosing money on all the package deliveries that avoid Canada Post in Rural areas. Canada Post has Community Mail boxes and it seems odd they don’t want to use them fully.