I had a lady the other day come out and ask me why I just dropped a large envelope by her gate. I asked her if she was sure it was me, because...her mailbox is right there, and I even put her parcels from Germany in her box and they -just- fit.

She came out the next day and apologized, showed me the item, it was Fedex.

^ Easy to get confused since FedEx delivers packages with USPS labels on them and USPS vice versa. I can understand the reasoning behind some but there have been packages delivered by FedEx that make me wonder just why it wasn't delivered through USPS.

Joined Amazon Prime in 2007 and for years, virtually all packages were delivered by UPS. In the last year or so, virtually all packages have either been shipped USPS or handed over to USPS for delivery ... unless there are USPS size constraints or maybe content constraints. And USPS even delivers those packages on SUNDAY when Sunday falls in the Amazon Prime delivery promise.

The few delivery issues I've had, have mostly been since USPS started delivering most of the Amazon packages. Maybe there's just more on the mail carrier's "plate" these days than past, what with all the extra packages and all the scanning and who knows what else behind the scenes. Thankfully, no issues whatsoever with regular mail.

Had the exact same problem down to “USPS wasn't able to enter your building to deliver your package." So did a couple of neighbors. Plus it was two day delivery. Got the message a couple of more times. Tried to local post office. Then made a complaint. Last email said my complaint was going to a post office 16 miles away. “Please wait for the, to contact you.”
That was in January.
The “USPS wasn't able to enter your building to deliver your package." is simply a BS excuse for “Hey, it’s a long day and I don’t want to walk to your door. He’ll, nobody will say anything.”

quote:

Maybe there's just more on the mail carrier's "plate" these days than past

In a few weeks, I'll hit my 15th year as a "Letter Carrier". It's a very different job from what it was when I started, the amount of Mickey Mouse bullshit you have to do is unreal. The rules and regulations, and more importantly, the way they time routes, hasn't changed. So back in 1953 they had a rule that made sense about the weight of your satchel, but has nothing to do with reality in 2019, but they'll enforce that rule on a route inspection just to fuck you. "That makes no logical sense" - "Do it anyway"
I poop you not.

quote:

Originally posted by SevenPlusOne:

quote:

Maybe there's just more on the mail carrier's "plate" these days than past

In a few weeks, I'll hit my 15th year as a "Letter Carrier". It's a very different job from what it was when I started, the amount of Mickey Mouse bullshit you have to do is unreal. The rules and regulations, and more importantly, the way they time routes, hasn't changed. So back in 1953 they had a rule that made sense about the weight of your satchel, but has nothing to do with reality in 2019, but they'll enforce that rule on a route inspection just to fuck you. "That makes no logical sense" - "Do it anyway"
I poop you not.

Seven, they did a route inspection, and a following round robin about 10 years ago. I decided to get off my T6, since I was tired of having to relearn the case every few weeks after the carriers made changes after all the inspection screw ups.

On my "new" route, my first park point had 3 loops. Each were about 1/2 hour long, about 1 mile long, with 80-90 houses per swing. On a light day, I could barely fit the mail in my bag, and I'd have to drive off every package. On marriage mail days, it was impossible to carry it the way it was set up. So I just left it as is, and broke it down in the truck, every day. Got inspected one time, and I made the inspector carry the extra mail I couldn't fit in my bag, since I had to do it in "route order". My supervisor confided in me that the inspector said he'd walk with anyone, "except that Smith guy, he's a loose canon". LOL.

Congrats on the 15yrs, it's a good feeling. You are over the hump.

Semper Fi,
Smith

I'm always polite to the mail person and everything. After all, they could royally REALLY mess my packages and mail up. Anyway, I'm retired, home every day and prolly have become a pain the bum to the mail person because of packages LOL.

So a couple of days ago, I heard the mail person driving down the street and expecting a package, walked out front. After exchanging smiles, small pleasantries, a thank you and accepting the package, I asked was there any letter mail? ... The reply: I'm on the other street right now and will be on this street in a few minutes. ... I did not chuckle, swear I didn't.

No idea why they went off route and ahead of schedule just to delivery my package. Only thing I can figure is they would see the package occasionally, forget about it, see and forget etc and finally maybe thought, "I better go ahead and deliver this package to the pain in the bum before I get over there and forget about the package again". Maybe, dunno.

Hobbs,

He probably didn't want to carry the package. On certain days, we have a "third bundle", so honestly it would take a lot longer to go through all 3 bundles to find mail for one address, then just to deliver it in route sequence. We put the mail in order as we deliver. It's not very efficient, and if you aren't familiar with a route, it is a huge pain in the butt. For a walking route with a third bundle, you have a stack of magazines in your arm, a stack of envelopes in your hand, and "full coverage" delivery in your bag that goes to every house. It's almost like juggling as we have to put mail in order as we walk, or stop at a mailbox for driving routes. Not to mention carriers load their trucks in the order of how they do their route, so he may have to reorganize his truck just to find your mail.

Hobbs, this is not on you, but as far as the comments about "carriers being too lazy to get out of their truck, so they leave a notice". It takes a lot longer to write up a notice, then it does to deliver the package. For whatever we don't deliver, we have to bring back at the end of the day. Try this, next time you have your trash pickup, take your trash out to the street, and right before the trash truck gets to you garbage cans, take your trash back to your house, so you have more to deal with next week. I know carriers fail to deliver packages, usually because they are unfamiliar with a route, and may have missed it, and by then they could be miles away. But I don't know a single carrier who will take the time to write up a notice for a package, and then have to deal with the package the rest of the day in their truck, and then carry it back into the office at the end of the day. Only time I'll leave a notice is if it's a safety issue (usually a dog), or it requires a signature. For safety, I'll leave the notice the next day, as you have to train your customers. But for a signature, I try to go back at the end of the day, just so I don't have to deal with it later on in the week. Most packages have a "carrier release" right on the label, that we can leave the package at the "point of delivery". At my office we have to show the on duty supervisor any packages brought back with an explanation.

If your normal mail delivery is at a certain time, and you get a notice that a package was unable to be delivered at a very odd time, more than likely it is not the carrier's fault. He probably never even had it. Our scanners have GPS capability, and you can call and ask when/where a package was scanned, as well as who scanned it. I had a priority express that was on my case when I got back at the end of the day, that's a HUGE delivery error. I brought it to the attention of my supervisor. She told me to scan it delivered. I said NOPE, that's fraudulent. So she got a scanner and did it herself. But it wouldn't be on me.

I understand that mail is sorted/stacked in order of route delivery and it was not my intention to disrupt that delivery system. When the mail person handed me my package, I didn't know they had jumped ahead on their route just to deliver the package. I thought everything was normal.

What was funny, was their response when I asked about letter mail while standing right in front of me ... "I'm on the other street right now" LOL. I KNEW what they meant in terms of route priority but the statement was silly when taken on face value.

My mailbox is on the curb on a post. Mail is delivered via USPS vehicle with a tray of letter mail beside the driver and packages in the back of the vehicle. Still have no idea why they broke route priority just to delivery the package when they would have been on route and in front of my house within 10 minutes anyway. And who cares why they made the exception. I'm just glad I got the package.

As I noted, earlier, our usual carriers have been pretty good, but USPS tracking seems to be getting more-and-more erratic and inaccurate.

E.g.: I bought something Tuesday. It shipped Wednesday. (Yes, really did ship.) Later on Wednesday I get a "Your package has a delivery exception. Your shipment has potentially been delayed due to emergency or other conditions at <post office>" from USPS. Despite the fact tracking indicated the package appeared to be in USPS purgatory at that PO for the next 48 hours, tracking continued to insist "expected delivery" was today. Checked this morning. Package is out of USPS purgatory, but hasn't made it out of that state. Nonetheless, USPS is still claiming the "expected delivery" is today.

I know, from experience, where packages have to be, and by when, for them to show up that day, and the next state over's distribution center ain't it

Then again: I've occasionally seen USPS tracking just plain fail. E.g.: It was last seen in some other state, or half way across mine, and shows up at my door w/o apparently hitting any other stops along the way. It's like magic.

No idea, Hobbs. LOL.

There are certain "triggers" that drive me crazy when dealing with packages. The obvious ones are the packages from Asia, usually dried fish, that stink up your truck all day. Then the toys that make noises every time you bump the box. Or medicine in bags that sound like a tambourine with every step.

Ensigmatic, not sure if this effected you, but there was a mercury spill at a very large sorting facility. I was told it will take up to two weeks to contain. Not sure how or why mercury was being shipped via USPS anyways. It happened in SW PA, and did effect a very large portion of the US, as far as mail distribution.

We are required to scan every package now when loading our trucks with an "out for delivery" notification. And then scan the item "delivered" once we drop it off. A few of my customers are outside their door before I even get there. We also have to carry our GPS scanners at all time, because Big Brother likes to know where we are.

quote:

Originally posted by ASKSmith:
Ensigmatic, not sure if this effected you, but there was a mercury spill at a very large sorting facility. ... It happened in SW PA, ...

Sounds like that's quite possibly what affected my package. Thanks for answering that question in my mind.

That's ok. Stuff happens. What's annoying is USPS' software's stubborn insistence on sticking with "expected delivery by" dates, when clearly there's no way in hell that's gonna happen.

Our carrier came and went about a half hour ago. Nada. The last tracking update still shows the package having arrived at a USPS Regional Facility the next state over. Yet the tracking status still indicates expected delivery by today

Not your fault. Not my carriers' fault. Not any of the Post Offices' faults. USPS' software is brain-dead.

quote:

Originally posted by ASKSmith:
No idea, Hobbs. LOL.

There are certain "triggers" that drive me crazy when dealing with packages. The obvious ones are the packages from Asia, usually dried fish, that stink up your truck all day. Then the toys that make noises every time you bump the box. Or medicine in bags that sound like a tambourine with every step.

HA !!! ... and like picking blackberries all day, at night and eyes closed, all I see is blackberries ... I bet sometimes all you see are addresses. I'm sure long after you retire, you'll still have dreams of mail delivery and the occasional box of smelly fish will still pop up. DOH !!!

A couple years back I got fed up and royally pissed at our contract USPS carrier. He routinely refused to get his ass out of his vehicle to deliver packages too big for the mailbox to my door. I'm retired, handicapped, and home all the time. Instead he's leave those "sorry we missed you" slips which invariably meant i'd have to make the trip into town to retrieve the item.



I went downtown and spoke directly to the Postmaster. Ironically he was with a Postmaster from another close by town who previously had served Ellsworth AFB where I had met him. The two explained that this "lazy" practice was sadly too common and that they would speak to the contract carrier about it. Well funny as it seems the bozo happened to still be in the office area and was brought out in front of the main service counter where we were and dressed down in no uncertain terms about his dereliction and stupidity in front of everyone present.

Needless to say, he has not committed that foul since.

quote:

No idea why they went off route and ahead of schedule just to delivery my package.

Was it a large package? I sometimes have packages that I take out first thing, simply because I can't get to the letters/flats under that, big heavy package.
Or, if that package will crush or destroy other packages etc.

quote:

Originally posted by SevenPlusOne:

quote:

No idea why they went off route and ahead of schedule just to delivery my package.

Was it a large package? I sometimes have packages that I take out first thing, simply because I can't get to the letters/flats under that, big heavy package.
Or, if that package will crush or destroy other packages etc.

Nothing like that. My package would have just about fit in the mailbox. Maybe there was a package like that for someone else on my street and they just dropped mine off too. No idea. Never happened that way before and I've received packages since, but in the normal route manner. Who knows what was going on that day LOL.

quote:

Originally posted by ASKSmith:
Hobbs,

Hobbs, this is not on you, but as far as the comments about "carriers being too lazy to get out of their truck, so they leave a notice". It takes a lot longer to write up a notice, then it does to deliver the package. For whatever we don't deliver, we have to bring back at the end of the day. Try this, next time you have your trash pickup, take your trash out to the street, and right before the trash truck gets to you garbage cans, take your trash back to your house, so you have more to deal with next week. I know carriers fail to deliver packages, usually because they are unfamiliar with a route, and may have missed it, and by then they could be miles away. But I don't know a single carrier who will take the time to write up a notice for a package, and then have to deal with the package the rest of the day in their truck, and then carry it back into the office at the end of the day.

The problem is this: “USPS wasn't able to enter your building to deliver your package." I have a single family house. It’s maybe 40 feet from the street. There is a paved driveway and walkway. There is no “enter your building.” The package did not need a signature. It was leave in the parcel box or at the door.

Toss in we have gang mailboxes which are right across the street. That’s where the note got left.

I’m skeptical that a carrier will deliver mail across the street. Then “take a lot longer to write up a notice,” when he could have walked across the street.

Here’s the kicker. My camera caught the delivery on the third day. A car dries up on the street, a woman gets out and brings the package to my door.

I'm curious about what mail carriers think of the informed delivery system? I signed up over a year ago and I've found it generally very helpful and accurate. I'd think that most carriers that diligently do thier job couldn't care less but I bet it's a real pain in the ass for some that aren't as diligent.

I was waiting on parts a couple weeks ago and "tracking" showed it had been delivered to my post office late Wednesday night. By Saturday it still hadn't showed up so I went to find out why. They told be despite what it said, it hadn't been delivered, it was coming from Florida and "everything from Florida does that" (says it's here when it isn't?)


I shipped gun parts several times a week for 11 years. With one exception, when packages went astray it was because they didn't deliver it, brought it back to the post office, but never bothered to leave notice. They'd sit unbeknownst to the owner, at the PO for days and weeks waiting for someone who didn't know to come get it. This happened several times a year. (the only package to ever go really "lost' was found about a month later in the guys bushes. lol)