Written confirmation email after every phone call. Cheapest insurance there is. Side effects was my main issue with An Post too.

This is the correct amount of effort for a thread like this. How long have you been on a backup routine?

Sorry for the basic question, but how do you actually start one of these diaries?

Bring a list. Embarrassment makes everyone forget things, including you.

It gets smaller. Not easy, smaller. That distinction kept me going.

This is the correct amount of effort for a thread like this.

An inconclusive account is useful if it stops the next person mistaking a story for a controlled comparison.