Here's a story from the good side of the ILPTO: I recently filed an application and received a filing receipt containing a typographical error. It was clear the error originated on the ILPTO's side, as presently the data is hand-entered from a form provided by the applicant, and in this case the data in the form was correct. So I called up the ILPTO employee responsible for issuing filing receipts, emailed her a marked-up version showing the error and the necessary correction, called her back to make sure she received it, and within five minutes had a corrected filing receipt. No mess, no fuss, no fees.
Try to get the USPTO to make a correction like that so quickly and painlessly!