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Living in the Mythical Land of APO
By Pamela J. Anderson
Dealing with mail order companies and creditors over the years using our APO or pouch addresses has been extremely frustrating. The average person stateside does not understand how the system works no matter how many times it has been explained to him. APO or pouch zip codes also do not fit within the computer scheme of many business firms. Here are a few examples of our (mis)communication with these companies:
From Reader's Digest: Congratulations! You (fill in the blank) Mr. Anderson have just been chosen among the select few within your (fill in the blank) Alaskan zip code to be a finalist in the third and final phase of our $5,000,000 giveaway. You may already have won the home of your dreams in your city, (fill in the blank) APO.
From a customer billing representative with AT & T: "I'm sorry, but we don't mail billings to overseas addresses." AT & T arbitrarily changed our zip code to an incorrect one, which resulted in our not receiving any bills for six months. They assumed we were skip artists and revoked our AT & T card.
From a billing clerk at the University of Oregon Health Sciences University: "I'm sorry, but APO AE doesn't fit into our city and state computer configuration for addresses. Couldn't your mother forward the bill to you? Couldn't you rent a post office box to receive the bill?"
From the Postmaster in Olympia, Washington: "I'm sorry, but we can't insure mail going to Egypt." Whenever I'm in the Pacific Northwest, I now drive the extra 15 miles to little, podunk Tenino, Washington where the on-the-ball postmaster knows how to handle APO mail.
The following is a dialogue we had with JC Penney over a seven-month period regarding the incorrect change of address, which JC Penney arbitrarily instituted:
JC Penney, January 17: "We note you have moved and want to welcome you to your new home. The credit terms in your new state of residence are different from those that applied to your account where you previously resided..."
The Andersons, January 27: "For some reason JC Penney sends its catalogs to our correct address and monthly billings to a recently contrived, unknown address. The address listed above is our proper address, both for catalogs and billings."
The Andersons, April 2: "Our previous letter of January 27 advised JC Penney that our billings have been going astray. Do you contract out your billing services to someone outside of JC Penney? If so, please ensure that the address is corrected as follows..."
JC Penney, April 9: "We note you have moved and want to welcome you..."
JC Penney, April 16: "We note you have moved and want to welcome you..."
The Andersons, April 17: "This is the third correspondence I have had with JC Penney regarding an error in our mailing address. Please note that I have not moved in the past two and one-half years. I did not authorize JC Penney to change my address. The correct address should read..."
JC Penney, May 6: "Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconveniences you have experienced as a result of an incorrect zip code...We do have your correct zip code on record now and we will monitor your billings for several months...As a small token of our appreciation, we are enclosing a $10 gift certificate..."
JC Penney, May 21: "We note you have moved and want to welcome you..."
The Andersons, June 10: "Dear Ms. Furr: Thank you for your letter of May 6 and for addressing our address/billing problem. I also appreciate receiving the gift certificate, but would appreciate even more having the zip code problem resolved...Because I live in a third-world country known for its 5,000 year-old bureaucratic system, I expect delays and frustrations. I don't expect the same in dealing with U.S. companies. I remain optimistic that this problem will be resolved..."
JC Penney, July 13: Welcome to your new home! Enclosed is the Credit Account Agreement for the state in which you now live..."
JC Penney, July 18: "Ms. Anderson, please accept our sincere apologies for this unfortunate situation. We are making every effort to make a permanent change in our system to keep your address as you informed us... Recently there was a new implementation in the "standardization" program used to verify addresses. Hopefully this will improve our ability to keep records accurate and improve customer service..."
To JC Penney's credit, seven months later, they now have our correct zip code. I will tell you if and when we win the home of our dreams in our city, (fill in the blank) APO.
Pamela J. Anderson currently lives in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with her AID-employed husband. She teaches business English writing skills and ESL when she is not drafting correspondence to major retailers. She previously lived in Islamabad, Cairo, and Washington, DC, while raising two sons.