[NA] LONG: About to go postal on the U.S. Postal Service [NA]

ARFlyer

ARFlyer

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Second foray into the my anger towards the USPS.

I have been expecting a package for a month now. When it finally shipped last week I didn't think any other problems would arise. WRONG. I sighed when I found out the company had sent this package via USPS.

Fast Forward to today:

The package was slated to be delivered on Saturday and was delivered to the local office well in time to be sent out. Jump to Monday that package was never seen over the weekend. Finally today it was out for delivery. Swung by the mailbox when I saw the postwoman drive by. Everything BUT the package was delivered. Even my aunts package was left!!! Got in the car and ran down to the post office to find a horrid line. Two people in front of me where angry over undelivered packages. Finally get up to the cashier and her first words out of her mouth were "Do you have a complaint or May I help you?". :mad: I told her my package was not delivered and I know the mail ran. She walks to back and comes back with the manager. The manager tells me this lovely BS:

"The lady has not returned to the office. Right now first class mail is our priority. If the mail is not finished before the end of the mail carriers route then the packages are NOT delivered. This even applies if you have first class mail and packages. The mail will be left and the packages kept. Attempts will only be made when all first class mail has been delivered. Right now you can expect you package to be delivered by MID NEXT WEEK. Have a good evening." :mad2:

What would you guys do?
 
I'd call the postmaster and complain. Good luck with that. And use Priority Mail next time instead of Parcel Post.
 
Use Fedex next time? ;)

Sorry man. I have to chuckle that something I ordered from Amazon Prime showed up USPS the next day. I was somewhat shocked.
 
Welcome to Health Care 2015!!! It's gonna be GRRRRRREAT!!
 
DaleB said:
I'd call the postmaster and complain. Good luck with that. And use Priority Mail next time instead of Parcel Post.
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The company did not have an option for shipping when I brought their product.

Sorry if I being very vague. The package is a Christmas gift for someone who is also on this forum. :D
 
ARFlyer said:
The company did not have an option for shipping when I brought their product.
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I'd let the vendor know that this is causing you trouble and encourage them to offer some other shipping method.

Over the past 5-6 years I have shipped over 5,000 packages all over the USA, Europe and the rest of the world via USPS. Most were small enough to go First Class; about 15% were shipped Priority Mail. I can count on one hand the number that were lost - UNTIL you get to South America, Europe and Africa. Much worse luck with Customs and local post offices in some parts of the world, but still less than 1% loss rate. Occasionally they'll get delayed in the US, but it's very rare that anything takes more than 3-4 days to arrive at its destination.

But - I don't ship Parcel post. I don't even offer it as an option. Delivery seems to be "whenever we get around to it, if we get around to it". It's well worth the extra buck or two to ship it Priority.
 
I will laugh if my amazon package THAT JUST shipped UPS gets here before this package.

Its delivery date is Wed but there is a good chance it will be here tomorrow.
 
And people wonder why the postal service is running a deficit. Great customer service.
 
frfly172 said:
And people wonder why the postal service is running a deficit. Great customer service.
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Especially when all of mail arrives burned and/or ripped. Very regularly our letters have complete holes burned through them. I wonder if that can be seen as tampering with mail ?
 
ARFlyer said:
Right now first class mail is our priority. If the mail is not finished before the end of the mail carriers route then the packages are NOT delivered. This even applies if you have first class mail and packages. The mail will be left and the packages kept. Attempts will only be made when all first class mail has been delivered. Right now you can expect you package to be delivered by MID NEXT WEEK. Have a good evening." :mad2:

What would you guys do?
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I'd be tempted to give the supervisor a smack up 'longside the head. What he said is a blatant lie. Junk mail always comes through on time, but they can lose first class stuff for four months. The USPS has so much 'dead wood' they should be disbanded and contractors hired for the job.
 
frfly172 said:
And people wonder why the postal service is running a deficit. Great customer service.
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It's true. Their delivery and tracking have seen ENORMOUS improvement over the past several years. But dealing with anyone at the PO for any reason is still an exercise in frustration and futility. So... your package will very likely get delivered quickly and correctly. If it doesn't though... tough.
 
**** the USPS. two years ago I ordered a fuel flow gauge for an Antonov AN-2. It took 4 weeks for it to arrive from the Ukraine. When it arrived I was not at the office. They left a note saying they would redeliver next day. They did not redeliver so I went to the post office. The ***** said they don't have the time or the room to hold my package so she returned to sender!!!!! I called the postmaster general and told him. He said sorry. Said they have had complaints about this lady but can do nothing about it. I was livid. My gauge went all the way back.
 
To add insult to injury. My dad just showed me a letter that came today from Japan. It was sent on Friday.
 
DaleB said:
It's true. Their delivery and tracking have seen ENORMOUS improvement over the past several years. But dealing with anyone at the PO for any reason is still an exercise in frustration and futility. So... your package will very likely get delivered quickly and correctly. If it doesn't though... tough.
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Yep, but I have hd the same crap with both UPS and FedEx, so going with either of them is no guaranty either. I walked out my door once for the Fed Ex guy who jut drove down the street, I was tracking my package and it said 'being delivered'. I as standing there at the road when the dude drives back by (dead end st) and just blows right by me. I go in and look t my computer and it says 'unable to deliver'. I had to wait till 22:00 and drive 30 miles to the FedEx place nice I needed to leave wit the package the next morning. The manager I ended up on the phone with said that he had no way of calling the truck.

They all suck, FedEx just charges 10xs what USPS charges to suck.
 
ARFlyer said:
What would you guys do?
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Definitely not use the US Postal Service.

Remember, they are a bankrupt organization and they behave that way.

I once had an 82 page medical record delivered not to FAA- in OKC, but to Tinker AFB. It was certified, return receipted so that is the only way I found out, after 3 month's "investigation". Yah, right.

Well so for tight certifications, FedEx every time.

It's your own darned fault. I though VietNam had taught everyone to be wary. But some missed the message, or got lulled into wistfulness.
 
It seems to vary with location. I've had great luck with the local post office and lines are rarely seen. On the other hand ups is barred from my place. They tend to leave signature required packages on the porch to be destroyed by rain or other weather. . . or perhaps stolen. I've actually caught fed ex drivers putting plastic bags on ups packages that were left. .... fed ex ground is as bad as ups and it is even worse because its 70 miles to nearest pickup office. Fed ex will hold for pickup at least and the post office holds everything either in my PO box or in the vault. No matter which you use you're bound to have some issues sometime.

Frank
 
bbchien said:
Definitely not use the US Postal Service.

Remember, they are a bankrupt organization and they behave that way.

I once had an 82 page medical record delivered not to FAA- in OKC, but to Tinker AFB. It was certified, return receipted so that is the only way I found out, after 3 month's "investigation". Yah, right.

Well so for tight certifications, FedEx every time.

It's your own darned fault. I though VietNam had taught everyone to be wary. But some missed the message, or got lulled into wistfulness.
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I would never send anything important via USPS. If I had an option I would have selected a different delivery service.
 
If you want to make sure something gets somewhere, you hire a private courier. Anything outside of that and you are taking your chances, the less you pay, the greater the chance.
 
I have a decent track record for packages sent by USPS First Class or Priority getting there on time or within a desired/reasonable time window. But Parcel Post, fuhgeddaboudit. Way off of the mark as we are discussing.

For items I'm shipping, the cost difference doesn't make up for poor service Parcel Post has.
 
I send a couple hundred packages a year for my business, for the past 5 years; 80-90% goes USPS Priority Mail, and not one has been lost or unduly delayed. UPS has screwed up so badly and so frequently I refuse to use them for anything, anytime. Everything else (larger packages, farther distances) goes FedEx ground, usually home delivery. With 10-20% of the load I've sent via USPS, FedEx has screwed up the delivery twice.

Parcel post is a joke if you're sending anything of any value.
 
Do what I did.

Physically stop the truck and get your package.
 
When it absolutely, positively has to get there overnight - Fedex
When 2-day delivery will do - UPS
When you need cheap, long-term storage - USPS
 
I received the majority of my watches and watch chains via USPS and my non-delivery rate is roughly 0.8%. Few took more than a few days to get to me no matter where their origination. For the price they charge USPS strikes me as an amazing value.
 
FredFenster said:
The last few times I ordered something and it was shipped fedex, fedex got it to my town and then gave it to the post office for the final delivery to my house..
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I've noticed that recently too.

I don't seem to have problems with USPS packages. Envelopes, on the other hand...
 
I've had FedEx lose P1 overnight packages for several days, and I've had the old "We couldn't deliver it" trick... they never came to MY house, but did tape a delivery note to the front door of the house across the street. Once I sent an overnight envelope with a check - it turned up on the other side of the country several days later, having been stuck to the bottom of another box.

UPS has delayed stuff from time to time, delivered it crushed, etc. Their favorite trick seems to be to deliver a package I need badly to a house randomly selected a block or two away, where hopefully a kind neighbor will let me know it's there.

None of them are immune to losing or destroying packages. It's just more frustrating when you've paid UPS or FedEx more to do it.
 
I have a family member who works as a USPS clerk, and the perspective on customers from the other side could make just as entertaining a read, especially during the holidays.

Her favorite is the people who are told upfront that there's no guarantee on delivery time for parcel post, that it goes whenever the next truck is full, and in some cases it could be sent priority for a few cents more. The customer refuses, accusing the clerks of just trying to pad the bill, then screams bloody murder when they miss Christmas. Read the guarantee before you choose.

USPS is a union shop. It's nearly impossible to get fired and, if you are, you'll be reinstated with back pay. As a result, many really sharp people leave and go elsewhere so they won't have to work with slackers or chronic no-shows. Managers get their positions based on seniority, not management ability. All their incentives are based on cutting costs, not improving productivity or growing revenue. Considering all this, I think it runs amazingly well.

FedEx and UPS now contract with USPS for something called "Last Mile Service," in which they pay the post office to finish the delivery. It can sometimes add one day to the delivery, so the overnight and next-day stuff still goes on UPS or FedEx trucks.

USPS is broke for some predictable reasons. It runs as an independent corporation without subsidy from the federal treasury, yet can't raise prices when needed without the approval of a political postal rate board. Congress has mandated massive pre-payment of employee benefits, far above what any private corporation must do, to create another slush fund they can spend just as Social Security has been. Moves that would make sense, such as ending Saturday deliveries to save 1/6 the cost of running the nation's largest vehicle fleet, get shot down by politicians and union interests.

So, those remarkable shipping rates which seem too good to be true, are.
 
PW_Plack said:
So, those remarkable shipping rates which seem too good to be true, are.
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That said, I've always thought of a functional postal system to be an integral part of sovereignty, and never thought it should make a profit. Were the postal system really profitable, a letter going from New York to California should be five times more expensive than one going to Connecticut. And any mail going from the CONUS to Alaska should cost one hundred times more.

Given what that one fellow said about the employees it is truly amazing it works as well as it does.
 
steingar said:
That said, I've always thought of a functional postal system to be an integral part of sovereignty, and never thought it should make a profit. Were the postal system really profitable, a letter going from New York to California should be five times more expensive than one going to Connecticut. And any mail going from the CONUS to Alaska should cost one hundred times more.

Given what that one fellow said about the employees it is truly amazing it works as well as it does.
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You're assuming that most of the expense is in the long haul part where it's likely not. I'd wager most of the expense is when it's being handled on either side plus the last mile delivery.
 
jesse said:
You're assuming that most of the expense is in the long haul part where it's likely not. I'd wager most of the expense is when it's being handled on either side plus the last mile delivery.
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Don't know, that would depend on the degree of automation. Still, rates aren't based on any real world anything, not a good idea for a company supposed to make a profit. A very good idea for a government that wants to grease the wheels.
 
My last mile delivery is a contract guy, not a PO employee.

I think less mail would get lost if there weren't so many junk flyers and coupons which take up most of the mailbox. I asked the mail guy if I could opt out. The answer was no.
 
Everskyward said:
My last mile delivery is a contract guy, not a PO employee.

I think less mail would get lost if there weren't so many junk flyers and coupons which take up most of the mailbox. I asked the mail guy if I could opt out. The answer was no.
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But it is also most of their revenue. The only thing I get in the mail that I can't get anywhere else is tax bills, and medical bills. Everything else that shows up is junk mail. But it does give me plenty of fire-starting material.
 
Everskyward said:
My last mile delivery is a contract guy, not a PO employee.

I think less mail would get lost if there weren't so many junk flyers and coupons which take up most of the mailbox. I asked the mail guy if I could opt out. The answer was no.
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Our old mail-woman was a contract person. She actually lived behind us and my grandmother had known her for years. Come rain, snow, ice she would still deliver the mail. During Christmas she would deliver all of the families mail to my grandmother whether or not it was address to her. So only the ones who had brought the gift would "see it". If she saw me walking up from the bus stop she would hand me everyone's mail.

The new mailman won't come near me much less talk to me.
 
EdFred said:
But it is also most of their revenue. The only thing I get in the mail that I can't get anywhere else is tax bills, and medical bills. Everything else that shows up is junk mail. But it does give me plenty of fire-starting material.
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You forgot their subsidy from AOPA mailings! :)
 
Everskyward said:
My last mile delivery is a contract guy, not a PO employee.
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In an increasing number of cases, even your US Mail is delivered by contract carriers.

And it's not that the post office should make a profit, but since it was cut loose from the general trasury for funding, it is supposed to break even. It could, if not for political meddling.

Junk mail is not a profit center for the post office. It is a money-loser. But direct-mail special interests are also campaign donors.
 
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