I give up on shipping anything USPS

[Grumpy old man]

I sent a box to my grand kids on the 16th, Delivery date was the 20th . Well here we are 10 days later and it's still not there , It traveled west for 2 days in the wrong direction and then sat in Greensboro Nc for days 150 miles past the delivery address . The box has traveled over a 1000 miles and the distance from my house to theirs is 80 miles ! It's no wonder why they are operating at a deficit .

[57taskforce]

I had two large flat rates shipped by the same person at the same time on 12/11. One of the boxes arrived on 12/17. The other had no updates from 12/15 until 12/24 when it was delivered finally. How does it take one package a full 7 days longer to go the same distance as the other? Because of the lack of tracking updates I was planning to start the process of filing an insurance claim today or Monday. I talked to our local postmaster on Thursday and he said this year has been an absolute nightmare for stuff like this. Nationwide.

[1976gmc20]

We attempted to deliver your package at 12:32 pm on December 26, 2020 in BROOKLYN, NY 11219 but could not access the delivery location. We will redeliver on the next business day.

Well, duh...! What exactly did they expect ???

"Priority mail" 12-16-2020


A few months ago, Fedex threw my overnight closing papers in the tall grass at the gate 1/8 mile from my house.

So what are you going to do? UPS seems the most reliable in our area.

[72bowtiestepper]

This is true even for regular surface mail in envelopes...Mailed 2 checks to different insurance companies on Dec. 8.....Got emails today that they have not rec. payment !
USPS was never this bad in the past !

[CG]

I finally got all the boxes in that I ordered from USPS so I can start getting rid of more parts. This thread bums me out haha. I just dont deal with headaches well, and shipping has become such a headache.

[special-K]

I imagine parcel delivery this Christmas was much heavier volume with so many families not gathering.

[truckdude239]

Originally Posted by 72bowtiestepper

This is true even for regular surface mail in envelopes...Mailed 2 checks to different insurance companies on Dec. 8.....Got emails today that they have not rec. payment !
USPS was never this bad in the past !

this we mailed our bussness dumpster payment took 3 weeks to go across town, mailed the nc sales tax payment on the 14th has be post dated by 20th or they penalize us it didnt clear till last night so here to hoping that it was at least post dated so we dont get late penatiys.

also our mail man said the post office is completely in shammbles...

[GOPAPA]

I find Amazon as being real reliable on getting pkgs to me.. why not turn them into the mail bussiness ..at least folks like myself would only pay for what we had shipped or delivered and not have to pay for all the others that wants to use it ..

USPS has lost $69 billion over the past 11 fiscal years—including $3.9 billion in fiscal year 2018. USPS's total unfunded liabilities and debt ($143 billion at the end of fiscal year 2018) have grown to double its annual revenue

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by CG

I finally got all the boxes in that I ordered from USPS so I can start getting rid of more parts. This thread bums me out haha. I just dont deal with headaches well, and shipping has become such a headache.

I'm with you there. I have a garage full of stuff that I would love to sell but the shipping hassle stops me dead every time.

I had a problem with USPS. I ordered some things and they were sent back as undeliverable. Excuse me? What is the problem? My mailbox is next to 5 others and my gate is wide open with no dogs in the yard.

So I complained. I had to pay shipping twice because USPS sent my stuff back and I wasn't happy about that. It was another $24 to get it shipped back again.
I got ahold of the Postmaster, explained my situation and she assured me that there would be no more problems... Great.

Well I must have gotten someone in trouble because now my packages show up all smashed up. One of them even had a footprint on it. Another had what looked to be a tire track on it. Somebody doesn't like me at my post office.

I don't know. Maybe one of my ex wives got a job there.

[special-K]

I have no complaints about USPS and I guess I understand how logistics can get screwed up with all the items they handle. I never had USPS toss important documents shipped overnight (expensive) into the weeds far from my house. I have sent a huge amount parts with USPS with no issues. Their price is usually better. I got rid of a ton of parts, put a good bit of money in my pocket, while my buddy sits on his parts because shipping is such a hassle. I guess I see it all as a great convenience. I plan on using USPS as long as they exist. I don't expect to see UPS, FedEx, or Amazon open branches in every little town in America

[Boog]

I've voiced my displeasure with the postal service numerous times. It's bad when I can get parts shipped by Fedex in 2 days out of KC Mo. and a letter from our state capitol 45 miles away takes 4 days by usps. I had to pay for 2 day delivery out of Florida for a small package. It was lost here in town for 4 days. I made a few visits to the main post office and they wouldn't even try to find it and told ME to check with the other local postal facilities. It is their job to deliver it to the address. I got no apology and no refund for the 6 day delivery instead of 2 that I paid for.
You complain to some post masters and they just look away like they just DON'T care. Some postal workers agree they've got problems but apparently it can't be fixed. Too much money is put into it for it to be in shambles. The mess didn't start with the pandemic or the holiday seasons.
There once was a time when a postal job was well up on the list of good jobs to seek. I worked with a guy once who was MIT level intelligent and his most wanted job was a mail carrier and the benefits that came with it. He finally got on but we lost contact.
We may have postal workers on board here and I don't mean to put them all in the same box but people make the business and people break the business.
I told the local post master they are putting themselves out of business and I don't feel bad for them one bit.

[Just call me Sean]

Neither rain nor sleet nor snow...
Don't park a car in front of the mailbox though.

[Redneck Rydes]

I had a set of hub caps mailed to me ,got to my post office,then they said it wouldn't fit in my mail box and they sent it back to to the shipper,he said never got them back,and I beilive him,then my neighbor gets most of my mail anyway,and he brings it to me,Iam tired of USPS.I tried getting my mail sent to me from SC to Ontario, like I have done in the past,said I can' t do it online,I have to do it in person, said I am in Ontario and can't get to the US cause of Covid,they said can't help me,so I don't know where my mail is going?

[FleetsidePaul]

I think part of my problem with USPS is where I live. I live in a very small remote town. The post office here doesn't even have one of those mail truck/van things. It's just random people driving their own cars. They don't have uniforms and it's someone different all the time.
When I lived in Southern California I had the same mail carrier every day. (She was really cute) And nothing ever got messed up. But up here it's a whole different ball game.

I've worked for a large corporation so I get it. Even if you want to do a good job you get handcuffed. Strangled in red tape. And you end up with a big mess and management blames you. Even though it was their decision.

I'm sure there are a lot of good people hard working at USPS and I don't want to lump them in with the bad apples because you're always going to get some of them. I always did.

FedEx seems to have it together. UPS too. And now Amazon is building up a fleet of delivery trucks. Which makes sense. They already have the product. Why not cut out the middleman and ship it yourself. Bottom line. The entrepreneurs are smarter than the bureaucrat's running USPS.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

I think part of my problem with USPS is where I live. I live in a very small remote town. The post office here doesn't even have one of those mail truck/van things. It's just random people driving their own cars. They don't have uniforms and it's someone different all the time.
...

Our local PO and contract rural carriers are great. It's the huge system out there that is FLICKED up.

How come it takes three business days to get from Metro NYC to Brooklynn ???

[lousyflyer]

I live in a Cul de sac. This is the community mailbox owned and operated by the USPS.

Notice anything odd about the box numbers? The box is government property and we are not allowed to alter it by law. If you lose your key the post office will charge $35.00 to change a lock.

To fix this, the USPS would have to reassign all the boxes and change all the locks and labels. They say this is an uneccessary expense.

Between 2001 and 2004 the USPS sponsored Lance Armstrong and the US bicycle team to the tune of 31.9 million dollars.

[special-K]

There is a news story today on my local (Baltimore) station website with the headline: "FedEx Responds As Customers Grow Increasingly Frustrated With Delivery Issues". I don't deny these big operations don't have their issues. There are reasons for the USPS issues we can't discuss here due to our no politics policy. Personally, I feel a big part of the problem is people growing to expect too much, basically spoiled. I was mail ordering car parts and other things going all the way back to when I first started working while in HS (class of 73). I remember most people saying they wouldn't use mail-order because they would only pay for a thing if they could put their hand on it. My how things have changed. Back then and still now, I am happy to get any item I purchased from afar within two weeks. I learned patience is a virtue when growing up and I will always believe that to be true. It seems this modern world, with all it's convenience at the fingertip, is doing it's best to help people get around developing their skills in patience. It's "I want it all and I want it now". That exact catch phrase has even been used in TV advertising. Just a little food for thought. I have no intention to turn on my USPS. I just don't have the complaints that some have. Still works for me and I hope it stays forever

[kev2809]

yup they seem to be off...ordered a guage on ebay and seller said they are backed up due to the virus and holidays

[72c20customcamper]

UPS is no picknick either . Seller said item was picked up December 21st . UPS says they have no record of it. I've bought from this seller before so I believe him .

Hes started a claim . Screenshot 5 minutes ago

[mrtoni]

Look at this crap! I paid December 13th. It’s an envelope with stickers inside

Originally Posted by 72c20customcamper

UPS is no picknick either . Seller said item was picked up December 21st . UPS says they have no record of it. I've bought from this seller before so I believe him .

Hes started a claim . Screenshot 5 minutes ago

Posted via Mobile Device

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by special-K

There is a news story today on my local (Baltimore) station website with the headline: "FedEx Responds As Customers Grow Increasingly Frustrated With Delivery Issues". I don't deny these big operations don't have their issues. There are reasons for the USPS issues we can't discuss here due to our no politics policy. Personally, I feel a big part of the problem is people growing to expect too much, basically spoiled. I was mail ordering car parts and other things going all the way back to when I first started working while in HS (class of 73). I remember most people saying they wouldn't use mail-order because they would only pay for a thing if they could put their hand on it. My how things have changed. Back then and still now, I am happy to get any item I purchased from afar within two weeks. I learned patience is a virtue when growing up and I will always believe that to be true. It seems this modern world, with all it's convenience at the fingertip, is doing it's best to help people get around developing their skills in patience. It's "I want it all and I want it now". That exact catch phrase has even been used in TV advertising. Just a little food for thought. I have no intention to turn on my USPS. I just don't have the complaints that some have. Still works for me and I hope it stays forever

When you pay extra for overnight or priority delivery for very important and time sensitive documents, you sorta expect them to deliver on their promise

[lousyflyer]

My worst delay was 6 weeks for a priority mail envelope. With a paycheck in it. The envelope had forklift tracks all over it.

A friend and I were discussing what would happen if Jeff Bezos would buy out the postal service and make it part of Amazon who has much better delivery service. We concluded that rather than improving the postal service it would probably kill off Amazon.

[1976gmc20]

Well, Fed-X can deliver overnight when they want to ...

They just delivered our package to our next door neighbor, so we went up and stole it off of their porch

[LONGHAIR]

They all have their issues from time to time, but that's expected with the sheer volume of pieces they move.
I'm sure the problems have been increased by the covid volume jump. Higher volume and new trainees are a bad combination. They will get it figured out, probably about the time that the volume slows some. Then the layoffs come...

The USPS is a different story. They have unlimited funds. The biggest problem with them is that they are run by the government. Not political at all, they have all been guilty of this for decades.

The famous quote "To err is human....to really screw things up requires government intervention." applies here. The government cannot do anything in a profitable fashion. The main reason is that they don't have too. If their jobs depended on it, by regulation/law, things would be different.
I think people would be happy with just breaking even, but it's not going to happen w/o some reform.
Way back in the day, there was little to no competition. The package carriers have cut into it since and Amazon doing their own thing has changed it too, but the simple envelopes/ bills are still on them. I understand the need to keep their options open, but maybe if the concentrated more on smaller letter sized things? and efficiency?

[ChevyRacefan]

We live in the walmart world.
USPS is no different.
Autoparts stores, anything really, died as people shopped price and not service.
USPS could have great service, but YOU would not pay for it. I mean the outrage when they up the stamp cost a penny.
A 14.99 if it fits it ships package, if it went ups or fed ex is 25-35 bucks.

I think the reason packages are going way out of the way on their journey is the postal hubs don't have the dock/warehouse space to separate the volume they are moving, so whole pallets get stuffed on a truck to get it out of the way for now. so your package takes the long way home.
The fix is costly, as more and more shop from home. they need bigger postal hubs.
No one wants to pay for the cost of upgrade the service that was set up for small mail letters and a small % of packages,, to what we have today, less small mail and mostly packages.
Just my 2 cents.