After the snafu midyear with USPS taking almost three weeks to get a Three Day Priority Mail package delivered I have been leery of them. Both items were irreplaceable at least to me, a section of brass fire pole from my old station and a hose nozzle from a now out of service truck that was my favorite, a open cab 1957 Mack B Series. Somehow the package was last tracked in Albuquerque, action from my local and from the P.O. where it was sent did nothing, but as I daily checked the status it suddenly showed up on the tracking and lo and behold, two days later it was here.

Two days ago I sent a small item to Santa Fe NM via USPS First Class, a small box. Wednesday at 3 P.M. Allowing for the two hour time difference it was there in 48 hours.

A week before this I ordered a snowblower snowblower starter motor from a Chicago company. They sent it Three Day Priority also, that part was received in two days.

So far, so good. And this close to the holidays also.

We know our Mailman well and yesterday dropped our mail (junk) off and told us the “rush” has started along with the usual mail (junk) he had 89 packages to deliver that day and over 1000 packages in the office to go out in our town of less than 9000.

I normally don't have any problems with USPS, unless it's from or comes through Texas. For some reason, if my USPS letters or package hits Texas, that turns into at least a week and half to three weeks....

But USPS is terrible at tracking a package. You would think that they would have a clue where a package is in their system.

That said, my local USPS office is very good.


ARman

quote:

...But USPS is terrible at tracking a package. You would think that they would have a clue where a package is in their system.

Yes. I had a package (2 day Priority) sent from Phoenix to Tucson tracked as delivered to me...so I went looking for it.

No package...oh wait. 20 minutes later it was tracked as "out for delivery".

But, I did receive it.

I think we expect perfection in this day and age.
The truth be told they do a fantastic job overall.
It's that one time out of a ton of deliveries that something goes wrong that defines our opinion.
Same goes for Fed Ex and UPS - overall excellent service.

Pfft. USPS carriers are lazy, and overpaid. They work 5 years and get a ridiculous retirement all paid by taxpayer dollars. I had mail in my mailbox, and the lazy mailman didn’t get it because I didn’t shovel the snow and ice off of my 4 flights of steps. And he won’t even come in my yard when my dog is out, the dog is harmless even if he growling and snarling, he’s just playing. Then I put in a change of address, and I mis-spelled my last name, and haven’t gotten any of my mail forwarded to my address, but I also put down the wrong number for my new address, and the lazy postal worker didn’t fix it. I ordered a package, and and I got an email saying “notice left, delivery attempted”, even though he’s normally here by 10am, and I got the email at 9pm. And he leaves my packages in my driveway by my mailbox, instead of carrying the 90lbs of dog food up my 4 flights of snow and ice covered steps, so now I have to do it myself, and my dog wasn’t even out. And on trash day, he won’t deliver my neighbors mail because my neighbor likes to put his trash cans in front of his mailbox, all the lazy bastard has to do is get out of his truck, and then walk around his vehicle to make sure none of the neighborhood kids aren’t behind his truck when he backs up. My last vacation I put my mail on hold, and wanted my mail delivered on Sunday, and he didn’t do it!!! I pay his salary with my hard earned tax dollars for him to work on Sundays, so I can spend time with my family. I ordered 18 packages that were mis-delivered by an Amazon driver, and when I spoke with the UPS postal carrier he looked at me like he didn’t know what I was talking about. He told me to call Amazon, and when I asked for the number he told me to look it up on line. What kind of retards does the Post Office hire these days???

They are all lazy, overpaid, union thugs.

(Shovelhead, I appreciate the sentiment, I’m a proud Mail Carrier)

quote:

Originally posted by ASKSmith:
Pfft. USPS carriers are lazy, and overpaid. They work 5 years and get a ridiculous retirement all paid by taxpayer dollars. I had mail in my mailbox, and the lazy mailman didn’t get it because I didn’t shovel the snow and ice off of my 4 flights of steps. And he won’t even come in my yard when my dog is out, the dog is harmless even if he growling and snarling, he’s just playing. Then I put in a change of address, and I mis-spelled my last name, and haven’t gotten any of my mail forwarded to my address, but I also put down the wrong number for my new address, and the lazy postal worker didn’t fix it. I ordered a package, and and I got an email saying “notice left, delivery attempted”, even though he’s normally here by 10am, and I got the email at 9pm. And he leaves my packages in my driveway by my mailbox, instead of carrying the 90lbs of dog food up my 4 flights of snow and ice covered steps, so now I have to do it myself, and my dog wasn’t even out. And on trash day, he won’t deliver my neighbors mail because my neighbor likes to put his trash cans in front of his mailbox, all the lazy bastard has to do is get out of his truck, and then walk around his vehicle to make sure none of the neighborhood kids aren’t behind his truck when he backs up. My last vacation I put my mail on hold, and wanted my mail delivered on Sunday, and he didn’t do it!!! I pay his salary with my hard earned tax dollars for him to work on Sundays, so I can spend time with my family.

They are all lazy, overpaid, union thugs.

(Shovelhead, I appreciate the sentiment, I’m a proud Mail Carrier)

I had logged into ask if you also expected a mowed lawn and waxed car, but then I finally noticed your last admission in parentheses. Funny!

Around here Amazon started delivering most of their own parcels. Big shock when my local carrier went down from 100 parcels a day to 20 or so average. Looks like it will be time for some "minor" adjustments soon.

quote:

Same goes for Fed Ex and UPS - overall excellent service.

Speaking of Fed Ex and UPS, the rumor is they plan to merge...

The new company will re branded as - Fed-UP.

Yes, the Xmas rush is on. I saw a USPS mail carrier truck doing deliveries at 0530 last Wednesday morning.

Amazon doesn't have delivery of their own around here. At one local PO, carriers were told to prioritize the Amazon to get it out of the backroom instead of First Class or their own Priority Mail! At another office, the postmaster was sacked for scanning a bunch of Amazon as delivered to make numbers and then delivering it a day or two later. My local office has a great clerk who is overwhelmed and a postmaster who will tell you to your face that his job description only calls for him to work the counter or stuff PO Boxes 15 hours a week!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Blackmore,

When my father passed away , he was cremated. He was to be buried in another state. The USPS requires use of their special packaging to mail the ashes. We were able to order the materials several weeks ahead of when we had to have them. Never arrived so reordered. Never arrived so my sister brought the urn on the plane with her.

Saturday 12/7, 2 weeks after his funeral and 5 weeks after the first ordered, the packaging was delivered. Today, 2 more sets of packaging arrived. My sister is afraid police are going to show up wanting to know why she is collecting cremation shipping materials.

It’s apparently fairly bulky so she’s going to let her carrier have it back.

I recently had deleted my post in another thread because I didn't want to derail it as it was about another carrier. I posted recently I wrote sent an email praising my route carrier to the Regional Director because I had a bad fall and this young carrier rushed over to help me up and offered assistance if I required medical attention. He later followed up with my neighbors and my wife to make sure I was ok. My balance is kinda skewed due to stroke and I was overwhelmed but this young mans kindness and compassion to help a stranger in need.

The Regional Director emailed and thanked me and said the letter was read in a meeting as well as a letter put in his personnel file.

just1tym, Mail Carriers are often referred to as the "eyes and ears of the neighborhood", as we become very familiar with our customers and their routines.

I have a magistrates office on my route. Just last week, I'm delivering their mail, and one of their "customers" had just left the building. I mentioned I can't believe that guy is already in trouble, as he had just moved here from out of state. The clerk asked how I knew that, I just mentioned "When you control the mail, you control information". An LEO that was there laughed, and commented we are an excellent source of knowledge.

I can't count how many times I have been a "first responder" to my customers. Older customers who have fallen and injured, or forgotten where they live. Same with young children who have wandered off. Or pets who have gotten loose. I've called in quite a few gas leaks and broken water lines. Notified many customers about their neighbors atypical odd behavior, or I hadn't seen them in a few days, sometimes even calling the police to do a welfare check. Being the first on scene to a vehicle accident. One of the more unusual times I've helped was an older lady stuck on her roof (she never did explain how she got up there), and a customer with a broken garage door that I had to bench press open so she could get into her house.

Just last week I notified my local PD about something unusual I saw in a dumpster at an apartment complex on my route. Severed cow legs, all four of them. I had initially thought a deer hunter had shot/stolen a cow, but after investigation, it was determined it more than likely was slaughtered for a ceremonial ritual for a recent refugee population.

Probably my proudest achievement was receiving recognition from both my states Congress and Senate for going "Above and beyond the call of duty" saving a young girls life.

Not all of us are lazy, incompetent, union thugs. We truly care about our customers, and will go out of our way to assist them. I check on my older vets daily. I just lost a Korean vet last week. RIP Mr. F.

Every time I hear Mail Carriers I think of one of mine, a Small black woman out there in ALL types of weather lugging Mail with a Smile on her Face and a kind work for all.... Must be the Exception huh?

quote:

Originally posted by ARman:
I normally don't have any problems with USPS, unless it's from or comes through Texas. For some reason, if my USPS letters or package hits Texas, that turns into at least a week and half to three weeks....

But USPS is terrible at tracking a package. You would think that they would have a clue where a package is in their system.

That said, my local USPS office is very good.


ARman

Same, but I don't have the Texas problem. I am in Texas. Usually stuff gets here as expected, and fairly quickly.

BUT . . . you can't trust the tracking system at all. I have an international package coming, and the tracking system claimed it was in customs in New York for the past five or six days. Until this morning, when I get a message that it is in my local PO, and on the way to me today. There were no notices for almost the entire time it was in USPS hands.

USPS Houston will never get my praise. I've been dealing with them for years, and they will almost always eff me up. And, I'm not exaggerating. The list is too long, but let me tell you about one that really took the cake. Shipped a package Priority to AZ. The next day, Tracking said it was delivered at mailbox. I said, WTF, impossible. Looked again, and true enough, it was delivered to mailbox, MY MAILBOX! And, this was printed out label, clear as day, not some chicken scratches that you can't see. They had zero excuses for it.

And, every single time they missed their guaranteed delivery of their Express Mail, and they did it quite often, it's like having to go war with them to get my refunds.

quote:

Originally posted by golfrjd1:
Every time I hear Mail Carriers I think of one of mine, a Small black woman out there in ALL types of weather lugging Mail with a Smile on her Face and a kind work for all.... Must be the Exception huh?

That lady deserves a nice Christmas gift.

No, I've been lucky over the years. Living out west and in the two cities back here most of the time my carriers always have been great. There have been one or two notable dolts over the years but by and by all really tried to do their jobs well.

One of my uncles was a career letter carrier, motor route in a rural (at the time) Detroit suburb.

We live out in rural area. Last Sat. Debbie looked out and there was a box at our yard gate. I went out to see what it was. It was for a neighbor it was a pretty good size box with mail on top.
I have a nice sign out at the road with my address and a nice sign ON my gate. I have the mail lady on camera looking at my address sign and putting the box under it. They don't give a shit it was delivered as far as she was concerned.