Missing deposit

It had to happen sooner or later. You see, I used to do all my banking by mail and phone and now I do everything over the Internet or the drive-through ATM. So now, instead of mailing in what few checks I still get I prepare a deposit envelope for the ATM. My fear has been that that envelope will somehow get with the payment envelopes to be mailed and it will disappear into the mail system since it will have neither a stamp nor an address.

Well, this past week I prepared a deposit then promptly forgot about it. When I went to the ATM today to get some cash I remembered that deposit and wondered what I had done with it since I didn't remember ever depositing it in the ATM. I looked all over the computer room, my car, and any place I might have laid it. Not finding it, I walked down to pick up our mail. There was an envelope from the "Undeliverable Mail Unit" in West Sacramento. Inside was my deposit envelope along with an apology from the Post Office:

Dear Postal Customer,

The enclosed item was found loose in the mail and/or became damaged by our automated equipment. Please accept our apology for the damage your mail received while in our care.

We process over 11 million pieces of mail each day and consistently meet our goal of delivering mail to customers timely and without incident. On occasion, however, a letter or package may become damaged during normal mail processing or due to equipment failure or human error. We appreciate your patience when this occurs.

We look forward to providing you with better service in the future.

Instead of asking me for postage due on something that was improperly mailed, the Postal Service assumed it was their fault and apologized. What a great example!