--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It must be a source of great chagrin to…" description: "\"It must be a source of great chagrin to those in charge to think of so many people being able to stick a stamp on a letter and drop it in a mail box wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/robert-benchley-2562_able_it-must-be-a-source-of-great-chagrin-to_3167704.jpg" --- # It must be a source of great chagrin to those in charge to… ![“It must be a source of great chagrin to those in charge to think of so many people being able to stick a stamp on a letter and drop it in a mail box without any trouble or suffering at all. They are probably working on a system this very minute, trying to devise some way in which the public can be…” quote by Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/robert-benchley-2562_able_it-must-be-a-source-of-great-chagrin-to_3167704.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/robert-benchley-2562_able_it-must-be-a-source-of-great-chagrin-to_3167704.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/robert-benchley-2562_able_it-must-be-a-source-of-great-chagrin-to_3167704.jpg) > “It must be a source of great chagrin to those in charge to think of so many people being able to stick a stamp on a letter and drop it in a mail box without any trouble or suffering at all. They are probably working on a system this very minute, trying to devise some way in which the public can be made to fill out a blank, stand in line, consult some underling who will refer him to a superior, and then be made to black up with burned cork before they can mail a letter.” [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critiques bureaucratic over‑complication that replaces simple tasks with needless hurdles and delays. **In simple terms:** Bureaucracy makes simple things hard. Key Takeaway Simplify processes, cut red tape. Themes bureaucracy efficiency government citizen experience administration Mood frustrated ironic critical Type satirical observational When to use this quote - mailing a letter - filing taxes - getting a permit - customer service - online forms Key Concepts process design public policy organizational behavior Questions to Reflect On - How can we identify and eliminate unnecessary steps? - What incentives cause officials to add layers? A Different Perspective Complex systems can create new problems and increase frustration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank/) [Boxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boxes/) [Burned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burned/) [Chagrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chagrin/) [Cork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cork/) [Letters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letters/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Mail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mail/) [Mail Box](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mail-box-4705326/) [Mail Letter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mail-letter-4920349/) [Minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minutes/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Modern life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Source](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/source/) [Stamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stamp/) [Stamp Letter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stamp-letter-1993102/) [Stamps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stamps/) [Stick Stamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stick-stamp-5753139/) [Sticks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sticks/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Superiors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superiors/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trouble/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [“Someone has been trying to send me a message for weeks—my car keys missing, pyramids of coins stacked neatly in corners, lamps turned on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-borg/someone-has-been-trying-to-send-me-a-message-for-weeks-my-car-keys/) [Nicole Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-borg/) > [A mad man was seen with his head in a mail box man: excuse me sir..are you all right? 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Perhaps you are thinking of Bucharest, and there is no such place as Bucharest, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/there-is-no-such-place-as-budapest-perhaps-you-are-thinking-of/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [I am both a public and a private school boy myself, having always changed schools just as the class in English in the new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/i-am-both-a-public-and-a-private-school-boy-myself-having-always/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn't the work he is supposed be doing at that moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/anyone-can-do-any-amount-of-work-provided-it-isn-t-the-work-he-is/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [After an author has been dead for some time, it becomes increasingly difficult for his publishers to get out a new book by him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/after-an-author-has-been-dead-for-some-time-it-becomes-increasingly/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [One of the chief duties of the fan is to engage in arguments with the man behind him. 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