Dear Editor,
I am writing to caution your readers if they are considering using the Guyana Post Office ‘Express Mail Service’ (EMS). When I used it I was not aware of the extent of the service except that I expected it would have been faster than the regular first class air mail to the United States, since the cost was $3,500.

On August 5 I sent an envelope by EMS to Massachusetts, US. After a week, when the addressee did not receive the envelope, I checked with the Express Section of GPO to find out the status of the envelope. I was told the envelope had not been delivered and the section did not know the reason why. I checked a few more times and was told the envelope had not been delivered; no reason was given. On Tuesday, the 18th a person who was nearby told me to check with the Customer Relations Office. The Customer Relations Officer told me express mail is treated like first class mail until it arrives at the local post office in the US. From there it is delivered to the addressee by a special postman instead of the regular post delivery. The officer told me she was sending a query to the US Post Office to find out the status of the letter. On August 24 she told me the letter had not been delivered and she had not heard from the US Post Office. I also learnt from another GPO employee that first class mail from Guyana is sent to Barbados from where the mail is sent to the US in a “small plane.” The small plane sometimes makes the trip once or twice a week. If I had known this I would have sent the envelope by first class mail and saved around $3,250.
Yours faithfully,
Daniel Kumar
Editor’s note
We are sending a copy of this letter to Ms Mayglen Adams, Postmaster General of the Guyana Post Office for any comments she might wish to make.