There has to be a story behind this!
I imagine, the shop owner does not like/use computers and someone at the shop prints relevant email messages; then the owner types a reply on their typewriter, etc.
It would add a nice amount of time to ponder the answers…
I would throw in an assistant in that hypothetical workflow. The assistant probably does the typing, the owner dictating to the assistant.
Perhaps as an improvement to this workflow, they could FAX it back to your wife instead of emailing it. 
Sounds like a courier is out of a job.