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2K views 47 replies 27 participants last post by  Al the Infidel 
#1 ·
People like to bash the Postal Service but I've had few problems with them over the past six decades. My son may disagree but I'll tell that story in a bit.

I sent my son a package for Christmas. USPS picked it up in Pittsburgh on Thursday and according to the tracking info, it arrived in California today. No special handling, just First Class Parcel. I do miss Parcel Post because it was so much cheaper than first class.

Now for my son's story. He escaped to California with a friend about ten years ago. His friend had a job offer out there and my son was tired of being asked to do things like take out the trash and mow the lawn. So off to Cali. However, he was scheduled for oral surgery to correct a jaw problem so after about six month in California, he flew home. Yeah, it would have made far more sense to wait until after the surgery to move but he was young.

So he returned home for about three months because of recovery time. He asked his friend in California to mail him his "Magic" cards. Magic is some sort of game that I don't understand. So his friend mails the Magic cards.

The friend is one of those bright young people who don't have any common sense. The card were in a sturdy cardbord box with nice sharp and sturdy corners and stuffed it into a Manila envelope that barely fit the box. Apparently, the sharp corners blew out the envelope and all that arrived was a tattered envelope. My son filed a report with the postal service but nothing ever came of it. I suspect that his cards were scattered all over the hold of some airplane, at least one truck, and a mail handling center.

Anyway, according to my son, the postal service STOLE his cards. I pointed out that his friend was an idiot for shipping the cards that way and without insurance. "What was he supposed to do?" Um, put the box into a shipping box.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
When the letter or package are important, I use FedEx or UPS or Golden State Overnight.

I have not found USPS reliable or having a good tracking system, and the emploees at least at my local branch system are surly and not focused on customers.

It was good to hear your luck was better.

And BTW, FedEx won't take a box or envelop that they can't reliably ship. IMHO, USPS took on the responsibility for your son's package when USPS took custody of the package and accepted payment.
 
#3 · (Edited)
IMHO, USPS took on the responsibility for your son's package when USPS took custody of the package and accepted payment.
That may be true but the son's friend was still an idiot for packing it that way and not insuring a package worth hundreds.

Speaking of surly postal people, most that I've dealt with are just regular people with one exception. I used to run to the local post office at 4:55 every afternoon to drop off my outgoing mail. I'd always go to the counter and usually the clerk was this woman who always looked pissed off. One day when I gave her my mail she said, "You know, if you planned your day better you could be here earlier." Excuse me? She repeated her comment. I responded that her job was to take my letters and was not to offer me advice on how to run my life. The next week she was gone.
 
#4 · (Edited)
People like to bash the Postal Service but I've had few problems with them over the past six decades. My son may disagree but I'll tell that story in a bit.

I sent my son a package for Christmas. USPS picked it up in Pittsburgh on Thursday and according to the tracking info, it arrived in California today. No special handling, just First Class Parcel. I do miss Parcel Post because it was so much cheaper than first class.

Now for my son's story. He escaped to California with a friend about ten years ago. His friend had a job offer out there and my son was tired of being asked to do things like take out the trash and mow the lawn. So off to Cali. However, he was scheduled for oral surgery to correct a jaw problem so after about six month in California, he flew home. Yeah, it would have made far more sense to wait until after the surgery to move but he was young.

So he returned home for about three months because of recovery time. He asked his friend in California to mail him his "Magic" cards. Magic is some sort of game that I don't understand. So his friend mails the Magic cards.

The friend is one of those bright young people who don't have any common sense. The card were in a sturdy cardbord box with nice sharp and sturdy corners and stuffed it into a Manila envelope that barely fit the box. Apparently, the sharp corners blew out the envelope and all that arrived was a tattered envelope. My son filed a report with the postal service but nothing ever came of it. I suspect that his cards were scattered all over the hold of some airplane, at least one truck, and a mail handling center.

Anyway, according to my son, the postal service STOLE his cards. I pointed out that his friend was an idiot for shipping the cards that way and without insurance. "What was he supposed to do?" Um, put the box into a shipping box.
whats the saying...

you cant fix stupid.

fwiw, you will find/hear SOB stores for any postal agency in the world and even private carriers...

For the most part, i have mailed stuff from most every country i have visited inclding the UK/Italy and most of the countries in S.Ameica i have visited. And EVERY Package has made it to my door step. Some were not in a rectangular shape when the left the country of origin, but they made it.

I did have 1 large envelope get lost for 1 month, but it did arrive at the final destiination.

As far ar the private carriers, i had stuff stolen in UPS and they knew it since the company i made the purchase had tracking on the item and notified me of the theft and a replacement was on the way.

And i will put this out there. on my travels i have a DYMO label printer and use that to print my Address labels. Imo, i think that bad writing has alot to do with mis-directed packages. im not sure of the % or number, but i can guess its why they ask you now to VERIFY the address is CORRECT!

And when it comes to the USPS tracking. I noticed recently its not updated as it was years ago. So, im not sure sure whats going on, but i noticed before, i could see some progress in the movement, but now nothing. To, me the daily progress isnt a big issue/deal since all i care about is that if the recipient receives it. And for the most part i dont procrastinate on things like mailing. If its something important i will send priority.

and YMMV
 
#5 ·
I do not see this as the Post Offices fault. Either package well or pay the consequences. That goes for any shipper. If you are to incompetent to securely package something, hire professionals,LOL

Post Office has been nothing but good for me. My local unit is full of the nicest people you could have. But I ship alot of stuff so they know me well. They even deliver my packages on Sundays and Holidays. The manager of my local PO once drove to Omaha about 90 miles away to pick up a package that was delayed there..

Would like to see UPS or Fedx do that:D
 
#6 ·
USPS: United States Package Smashers
UPS: Universal Package Smashers
Fed-Ex: FOD-EXploders.

I've had occasional problems with them all. USPS's tracking sucks compared to the others, and 1/3rd of the time, they skip scanning steps so packages that were actually shipped look like they weren't. I had a package take 5 weeks to go from DC to central Florida, it somehow ended up in Memphis...

UPS "lost" (I think *stole*) a FAS-1 gun safe, and it took months to get it replaced because of the CCP virus hysteria.

Fed-Ex I tend to avoid when I can. Their CS just isn't as good as UPS, I've had them sit on packages, and they managed to break a double boxed and very well packaged VCR that they only had to move 30 miles.
 
#7 ·
fwiw,

i got a new job working at some of the local hospitals. Our truck is usually setup in the S&R area.

Every day i see UPS/FEDEX trucks pull up and open the roll up door in the back or use the passenger side door and packages come flying out onto the ground. From what my boss said, and he was a FedEx employee, they are not suppose to throw packages out, but i guess some employees didnt get that memo.

Before i got this new job, i had a interview at FedEx. well, while i was given the nickel tour, an employee had a large screen TV teetering on one of the conveyors and was trying to move it to the other side. So instead of manually moving it from one side to another and gently setting it down, he just pushed it over the conveyor and let it fall to the ground. And i guess he was another employee that didnt get some memo. But i was not impressed and thought about how many times that happens in any shipper. Im sure its not an isolated incident and im sure it happens more offend than not in all of those shippers.
 
#8 ·
USPS tracking and insurance. I sent a package to Leupold last week. Printed my own shipping label through Pirate Ship. Added several hundred dollars of insurance through whatever 3rd party service they use. While reading the fine print I noticed that it says the insurance only covers loss if the Item is tracked into "accepted" the USPS system. So now if I insure something I will have to make sure to go to the counter and have the item scanned into the system. As noted above many packages are not getting tracked on time so I don't want to leave insured packages in some drop box.
 
#11 ·
I'm waiting on a package from Pennsylvania. I ordered the thing on December 12, and have been getting the same "Delayed" message since the 15th....

There doesn't appear to be any way to get in touch and what the heck is happening to it.

< sigh >
 

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#12 ·
I usually have really good luck with usps. Lately I’ve had some problems with shipping taking much longer than expected, and over a 4-5 month period I’ve had 3-5 packages get lost. It’s a crazy world right now though and I can understand being short handed things will happen.

I always try to do a very secure packing job and ALWAYS buy insurance and take pictures of everything.

The only really problem I have is my rual delivery lady. I love 300 yards from the mailbox and usps is supposed to drive up to 1/2 mile from the road to get a signature if required. She always just puts the sorry we seed you slip in the mailbox and I get to drive 38 miles round trip to get my package. I’ve complained enough and it hasn’t changed so I gave that up.

Iron
 
#13 ·
The only issue I have with the USPS is wrong mail. My subdivision has a bank of mail boxes a mile and a half from my house at the main road. Probably 60 boxes. Often I get someone else's mail or they get mine. I "blame" that on the delivery person because we have had three different ones in 20 years. The first would leave mail for different people about once every two months. The second never mixed up mail and the current maybe once a year. The other reason I blame the delivery person was my brother was postmaster for Reading PA at one time. He had complaints about a rural route and decided to ride with the delivery person. He watched them put mail in the wrong mail box and these weren't a bank but a single box. When they got back to the post office, my brother fired him.
 
#14 ·
My wife found out that her first husband was having an affair with the woman across the street because the mailman misdelivered mail.

A fat envelope came to the house from some resort and my wife thought "Oh, vacation plans" so she opened it. Then she noticed that the names on the reservation were for her husband and the home wrecker across the street and that it was addressed to the house across the street. The mailman delivered it by name and not address. If he noticed it he probably thought "Typo."

The ex denied having an affair right up to the day that he married the other woman. They got married around 1986 and are still married.
 
#15 ·
We have had daily USPS mail delivery and pickup at our business for 51 years. In that time we have had some outstanding mail carriers, many of whom I remember by name.

We got a new fellow 2 or 3 years ago and he's just abysmal. Lost mail, misdirected mail, inconsistent pick up times any hour of the day and a surly attitude. After multiple vendor complaints over several months of not receiving mailed checks we started taking our outbound mail directly to the post office bypassing this miscreant.

Not one lost check since. Every Christmas we usually give the mailman, UPS driver, and FedEx driver a card with a $20 bill inside. Guess who has never gotten a Christmas tip from us. :bthumb:

Frank
 
#21 ·
USPS is having serious issues with packages, not sure about regular mail.

Recently had a gift sent from NH to D2 in Michigan. Tracking originally showed it left one NH distribution center only to return to the same distribution center 4 days later. Sat there another 4 days. I figured it was lost so called the vendor. Vendor said they were having big problems with packages sent USPS and are no longer using them at this time. Unfortunately my packaged shipped before the problems became known. USPS told them Covid problems causing employee absenteeism with some distribution centers out of service or at reduced capacity. USPS told them in some cases packages are being sent en mass to other distribution centers still operating, sometimes hundred miles away, before any sorting is done. USPS also told them that tracking wasn't reliable and up to date, as there were problems with it also. Eventually, after 13 days my daughter got the package delivered after 6:00 p.m. in the evening. When it was delivered, tracking updated, saying it was delivered and 7 intermediate tracking steps were shown that weren't previously included.

Another gift is being sent to D1 from Pontiac, MI to near Ann Arbor MI. Package sat in Pontiac four days pending acceptance before being accepted at Walled Lake, MI and returned to Pontiac. Sat at Pontiac for a couple more days before heading to Detroit. Sat at Detroit for two days, and as of 4:47 a.m. on the 21st says it's currently in transit to the destination. Should be delivered by the 28th. Distance from the shipper to my daughters location is less than 60 miles. Package has probably already traveled 2-3 times that distance so far.

Recently had two packages, one shipped UPS, and the other FedEx. Both were to have final delivery by USPS. Both UPS and FedEx skipped final USPS delivery and delivered directly.
 
#23 ·
Touchy subject at my post office in town here. Had to run in and buy eleven stamped envelopes yesterday afternoon. First I asked how much each? Sixty nine cents! Not a bad deal considering the price of a stamp so yes I’ll take eleven.
Then I made the mistake of commenting if they will be delivered anytime in the next week or so.
Oh boy! Raised hackles and sprouted a Rhino horn instantly, she went full postal on my receipt with her pen drawing circles around the delayed mail due to Covid warning on it!
All I said is that it’s pretty bad when vendors are emailing me and offering to give my money back for items that were handed over and never even had the accepted notice on tracking. It’s like the packages were direct deposited into a dumpster!
That really enraged her when I told her that two vendors had offered full refund in past week and did just that. They have given up to the fact that they are out product and in flowing cash. All loss, no profit with orders never getting any further than their local PO. Tippy toed right out the door with her still yelling!
 
#24 ·
W8 - I feel ya on that one! Sore nerves all over down there.

On the bright side, I did get a notification (after a week of "It's in Transit but we don't know where") that my package has arrived at our local Black Hole for Post Office stuff, Springfield, MA.

Time will tell. :)
 
#31 ·
This must be a regional issue. I've been shipping and receiving a lot of stuff over the last few weeks. The midwest is hopeless, the west coast as far inland as Montana and south as far as Texas seem to be fine. Anything easy coast or midwest is a no go, delays coming up on weeks to months.

Local p.o. is the same as always, 2 tellers are great and one is a horrible person. Thats been the case for years.
 
#32 ·
Walmart says shipped 12/18, USPS says haven't seen it. Printing a label doesn't mean WM actually handed it off. WM sent a email saying I'd get it by 12/24, USPS said 12/26. Some of the delays may not be the post office.
 
#36 ·
Heres one of my recent USPS deliveries -

Im in Ohio

Package ordered from seller in Toledo Ohio on the 11th.
Last update on my package is my package is now in Pontiac Michigan on Dec 12 listed as 'Processed through USPS Facility'

And they trust them with mail in ballots ?

I could have drove to Toledo to pick it up myself by now.
 
#39 ·
Still no movement on items I originally posted about. I do have a question/observation to make. Why is it that AMAZON orders continue to arrive on schedule when nothing else seems to move?
Does AMAZON have some kind of contract with USPS? My wife orders a lot of stuff from AMAZON so we have a good feel for how timely their product arrives.
 
#45 ·
I had a package with post mark December 3, which finally made it yesterday. From Gnu Yawk to south Texas - nearly two months !! :eek::mad:. Package had no damage or evidence of neglect. Just put down and left somewhere. Tracking said it should have been delivered December 8. Incredible.

The seller had sent me a refund three weeks ago. I just sent him the payment back last night. Aggravating to say the least.
 
#42 ·
The dopey UPS driver delivered my Garrett popcorn to my next door neighbor 2 days in a row. My correct address was clearly marked on the label as well as our house numbers on the house. I saw the guy do it from my living room window. Pretty sure I saw a bong on the dashboard too.
 
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