Anyway, the entire concept of the inter-office envelope is fairly simple. It's covered with lines, where you write down the name and department of the recipient, insert your document, then tie it shut with a little string fastener. The next person is expected to cross off their name, and then re-use the envelope in the same manner as the first. If you get an envelope where your name is filling the last spot, throw it out (or recycle it, if that's an accepted material).
Simple, right? Apparently not.
Today alone, I saw the following:
- Envelopes that were stapled shut instead of tied, making them difficult to open, often to the point of rendering them nearly un-reusable.
- Envelopes that were severly torn, probably by someone trying to open it through staples. Yet, somehow not torn enough for the last recipient to discard.
- Envelopes that were completely filled, and therefore useless.
- The worst is probably the person who took up the entire envelope writing out one oversized address.
Honestly, I don't think I saw a single envelope that was used the way it was intended.
I wonder, is there anything that gets less respect than the lowly inter-office envelope?