USPS = Horrible Service

[dmccarty]

The real problem with the USPS is the individuals. I remember when postmen and women took pride in what they did, smiled, waved, and were respected. They did little favors for people on their route, and the people helped them out in various ways. Now it seems like those good employees are few and far between. ...

Yep. It is obvious from the frequent discussions on TBN about deliveries that the individual has much to do with the quality of service.

Last week I placed an order and it was supposed to be delivered yesterday. However, last week we got hit by a snow/ice storm that left the kids out of school for two days and with a three hour delay yesterday. Even though it barely touched 32 yesterday morning, and we were in the 50's for a couple of days our road and driveway were in bad shape. I had to use 4x4 to get up the driveway yesterday.:shocked: Now I knew nobody would drive up our private road much less the driveway, and I danged well would not want them to try, so I knew the package would be delayed.

I was wrong....

Early in the day I got an email saying UPS had dropped the package off to the USPS for delivery and I think this was because of the snow and ice. Delivery was set for today.

But later in the day, I got another email saying the package had been delivered. :confused3: Did they really leave at the mailbox?

When I returned home from getting the kids to school, the mail was in the mail box which was not a surprise. The USPS had delivered on Monday but thankfully not Saturday and Friday since that would have been too risky. We left the house in the evening to get groceries and sure enough the package I had ordered along with a package my mom had sent were in the mail box. :thumbsup: The email said the delivery was around 4:00pm and it must have been.

Getting and receiving mail from my parents is very hit and miss and has been for decades. A letter should take 2-3 days but it can take a week. Many overnight or second day packages are shipped via USPS and the arrive days after they should have been at the house. We know it is not our post office but the one at my parents.

Later,
Dan

 

[s219]

I probably told this story before, but when we first moved to our house in the country, mail service was very sporadic. And then all of a sudden, they stopped delivering packages and just left notes in the mailbox, so we had to go into town to get our packages.

I asked about that one day at the mail counter, explaining that we were home the whole time and there was never a delivery attempt. Next morning, the postmaster came out (real nice lady) and said the mail carrier (a contractor) told her they could not get in and out of our driveway with their Jeep, so they simply decided to stop delivering the packages. Not only did she have no problem getting in and out with her SUV, she could see our other vehicles parked nearby, and it was obvious we weren't hermits. I told her I would make sure any visitors didn't park in the turnaround spot during mail delivery time, in case that was the issue, and since then it's been fine. But it kind of burned me that the mail carrier just took it upon himself to stop delivering because he didn't want to go down a 700' driveway and turn around. Heck, UPS -- with a much larger truck -- has no problem at all, and clearly takes special care with his packages.

 

[hawkeye08]

UPS is the best for us (except when an alternate driver is running our route, then it is hit or miss)... USPS is disappointing, virtually no tracking until after package is delivered and it can take several days after they have it locally. I just joined Amazon prime and so far, the USPS shipments have made the timeline.

 

[rekees4300]

Makes you wonder about what happened to the "rain, sleet, snow, or dark of night nothing stops the mail"

I wouldn't go so far as to say that USPS service is horrible. It can't be judged based on private sector standards. Just keep in mind the the USPS is part of the Federal government where incompetence is the norm. Try to call ANY Fed. agency and see how far you get.

 

[jlgurr]

Falsifying delivery attempts by USPS has happened to me also. My biggest beef is when they marked it as delivered but it was NEVER delivered. The shipper from eBay transaction and PayPal were all told it was delivered. Filed a claim with USPS and they opened investigation. There lousy investigation was all of a two minute phone call with the driver. She said, He said so I lose and gave up.

My wife is home everyday and she received packages at our house door the same day but not this particular item. No wonder USPS having problems... :sigh:

Sent from my iPhone 2.0 using TractorByNet

 

[drajj5]

I guess I should confess..... I work for the United States Post Office.

Seems that there are threads popping up regarding mail delivery; most of which are cynical. I will give ya'll perspective from my experience within- this giant organization. Little info about me, I have worked as a Mechanic ( Mail processing equipment ), delivered mail ( City Carrier ), retail ( window register ), and now as Custodian/Supervisor ( odd I know ).

I do not deliver the mail currently but can see a rift, not in mail delivery - but in work ethic! What is this, 'ethic' I speak about? It is fundamentally, "Putting in a good days work". In my office I can see peoples work ethic spread out like a deck of cards, some do a great job while others do the bare minimum. I can tell by call volume alone - who lacks ( place your word here)

Tracking, something that used to not exist now is commonplace. Packages now can be tracked even when sent across competing couriers'. USPS has just recently added delivery exceptions, or explanations as to the why a package was not delivered. For instance

Notice left
receptacle blocked
forwarded
etc.

They should be annotating the correct situation to inform the customer why his or her package was not delivered. Some carriers out there fall short and select the 'attempted and leave' because they lack what I described above. There are other variables to consider as well, perhaps your delivery person was, "Brand new" - first day on a 'new to them' route can be a nightmare. Still- bad eggs can ruin the bunch!

So in closing, if you have had trouble and the last issue you had was 10 years ago ( I feel confident that all have had some sort of issue in that time ) - please don't bust them up if you found an issue yesterday. Mistakes will be made and these folks are human just like you! However... if you have had multiple issue's within a short time, make lots of noise to your Postmaster. They will take action, and address the issue to the underachieving carrier. Persistence will yield results.

The Post Office is big, and with it; serves the whole of America. Every mailbox, everyday a Postal worker across the nation serves mail. I do have passion for my job... err, Career! So if you have an issue with the Post Office don't hesitate to call
1 800 ASK USPS - muddle through the teleprompter and you will get a human (eventually).

Note: Even I have had a crappy mailman, and I work for the post office. It happens!!

 

[ch1ch2]

I guess I should confess..... I work for the United States Post Office.

Seems that there are threads popping up regarding mail delivery; most of which are cynical. I will give ya'll perspective from my experience within- this giant organization. Little info about me, I have worked as a Mechanic ( Mail processing equipment ), delivered mail ( City Carrier ), retail ( window register ), and now as Custodian/Supervisor ( odd I know ).

I do not deliver the mail currently but can see a rift, not in mail delivery - but in work ethic! What is this, 'ethic' I speak about? It is fundamentally, "Putting in a good days work". In my office I can see peoples work ethic spread out like a deck of cards, some do a great job while others do the bare minimum. I can tell by call volume alone - who lacks ( place your word here)

Tracking, something that used to not exist now is commonplace. Packages now can be tracked even when sent across competing couriers'. USPS has just recently added delivery exceptions, or explanations as to the why a package was not delivered. For instance

Notice left
receptacle blocked
forwarded
etc.

They should be annotating the correct situation to inform the customer why his or her package was not delivered. Some carriers out there fall short and select the 'attempted and leave' because they lack what I described above. There are other variables to consider as well, perhaps your delivery person was, "Brand new" - first day on a 'new to them' route can be a nightmare. Still- bad eggs can ruin the bunch!

So in closing, if you have had trouble and the last issue you had was 10 years ago ( I feel confident that all have had some sort of issue in that time ) - please don't bust them up if you found an issue yesterday. Mistakes will be made and these folks are human just like you! However... if you have had multiple issue's within a short time, make lots of noise to your Postmaster. They will take action, and address the issue to the underachieving carrier. Persistence will yield results.

The Post Office is big, and with it; serves the whole of America. Every mailbox, everyday a Postal worker across the nation serves mail. I do have passion for my job... err, Career! So if you have an issue with the Post Office don't hesitate to call
1 800 ASK USPS - muddle through the teleprompter and you will get a human (eventually).

Note: Even I have had a crappy mailman, and I work for the post office. It happens!!

I too worked for the PO for 32 years.
The work ethic sucks.
No one is held accountable.
Lying is rewarded and sometimes encouraged.
Just some of the reasons I choose to retire.

 

[jrclark]

Honestly as a former mailman, I can tell you that they WERE NOT in the back room playing cards. They were at the VFW hall getting pissed.

Ha!

One of the local news outlets caught a mail guy working his shift in a bar. Had a stack of barcodes and a scanner with him. Every so often, he would scan a barcode and continue to drink. Dude had enough to put himself well over the limit, then tried to get in his mail car to go home. They convinced him to take an alternate form of transportation while confronting him with a camera.

 

[doctinker]

We have found that anything we have sent from or that we send to Florida gets delayed in Florida. Even when sending it priority. Must be all old slow pokes working at USPS there.

 

[ch1ch2]

I think the USPS is on it's way to becoming the next VA type scandal. The way the executives give themselves bonuses.
I remember one year the Postal Inspectors found several trailers of mail in the facilities parking lot that was 9 months old. The big shots gave the managers responsible bonuses, saying it would encourage them to do better next year.