JSngry Posted November 17, 2015 Report Posted November 17, 2015 I'm the type of guy who will go out to the mailbox and greet the carrier personally when possible, offer some good words and thank yous, just because, you know, I like to be on good terms with people, they make me happy, I like to do likewise. We used to have more or less the same carriers, and after a while, you know, you get a vibe thing going and it's all good. Perhaps coincidentally or not, this erratic hours thing has been accompanied by a rotation of carriers, never see the same guy two days in a row, or at the same-ish time two days in a row. One guy's really nice, another one's cool (sorta) but obviously green (majorly), and another guy is just an asshole, period. And those are the ones I've seen more than once. I mean, c'mon America, it's ok for not everything to turn a profit. Quality of life and all that, even with its hiccups, used to be that to US Mail was one of the best deals in the world, period. Now it's turning into some sloppyass devolving muck of malignant mediocrity (not unlike the rest of the world). Either charge more and keep the quality, or else accept the losses and be proud of your work. Just don't be so piddly-diddly damn triflin' about it, ok? Case in point, minor, but symbolic - you put the flag out on your mailbox when you have a letter in there to go out, then it gets picked up, the carrier puts it back, hey, the courtesy of communication through consensual mutual silent gesture, right? You can look out your window and say, oh, mail's come? When was the last time I had my flag put back, by even the good guys? Hell if I know, I'm getting too old to count that far back. Motherfuckers got NO class these days, it costs too much, I guess. Quote
johnblitweiler Posted November 18, 2015 Report Posted November 18, 2015 40++ years ago when I was desk clerk at a mainly residential hotel (around 300 rooms or suites) in Chicago, the post office would every day deliver a handful or 2 of pieces to us instead of the correct address. A few times, the majority of the mail we got was misaddressed - usually it was meant for an insurance company several miles away in Chicago. I'm worried - Leo Records tried to mail me a package and it got returned to them by the post office here. Quote
riddlemay Posted March 22, 2016 Report Posted March 22, 2016 I just looked it up. The USPS delivers 509 million pieces each day. I count it a miracle that in the approximately 45 years I've lived independently at my own addresses, maybe 3 pieces of mail which I was expecting failed to show up. To my recollection not a single bill or check has failed to be delivered. To my knowledge, not a single piece of personal mail has failed to be delivered. Two or three parcels in all that time have failed to be delivered. Overall, when considering the enormity of their task, I think the Post Office does an amazing job. Quote
paul secor Posted March 22, 2016 Report Posted March 22, 2016 I believe that I posted this before but, when I worked for the USPS, it was well known that Chicago had the worst mail service of any city in the country. I imagine that was both to and from. Quote
T.D. Posted April 17, 2016 Report Posted April 17, 2016 I've experienced very few lost items over the years, but delivery time for small packages (CDs, books) has really deteriorated over the past year or so. Funny WTF moment today: I bought a couple of CDs on this forum, should have arrived by yesterday, so I tracked. Package shipped on April 8, first went from Columbus OH to Jersey City NJ. At that point it'd ordinarily go to Albany NY and thence to my local post office in upstate NY. Instead, it made an odd excursion to Springfield MA and then back to Jersey City. I should get the stuff by midweek, but have to wonder what gremlin diverted it to Springfield. Quote
7/4 Posted April 17, 2016 Report Posted April 17, 2016 I sent an envelope priority mail to Pittsburgh to arrive by Valentines Day and it took them a week. I think it missed the holiday by five days. Assholes. Quote
JSngry Posted April 18, 2016 Report Posted April 18, 2016 5 hours ago, T.D. said: I've experienced very few lost items over the years, but delivery time for small packages (CDs, books) has really deteriorated over the past year or so. Funny WTF moment today: I bought a couple of CDs on this forum, should have arrived by yesterday, so I tracked. Package shipped on April 8, first went from Columbus OH to Jersey City NJ. At that point it'd ordinarily go to Albany NY and thence to my local post office in upstate NY. Instead, it made an odd excursion to Springfield MA and then back to Jersey City. I should get the stuff by midweek, but have to wonder what gremlin diverted it to Springfield. Probably Mr. Burns' fault. Quote
T.D. Posted April 25, 2016 Report Posted April 25, 2016 (edited) More on the absurd chronicle of folly. Check out this itinerary: DATE & TIME STATUS OF ITEM LOCATION April 25, 2016 , 8:15 am Arrived at USPS Facility  SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152  The package is delayed and will not be delivered by the expected delivery date. An updated delivery date will be provided when available. Your item arrived at our USPS facility in SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 on April 25, 2016 at 8:15 am. The item is currently in transit to the destination. April 24, 2016 , 12:01 am Departed USPS Destination Facility JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 April 19, 2016 , 8:24 pm Arrived at USPS Destination Facility JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 April 19, 2016 , 8:59 am Arrived at USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 17, 2016 , 1:51 pm Arrived at USPS Destination Facility JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 April 15, 2016 , 7:38 pm Arrived at USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 14, 2016 , 12:28 am Arrived at USPS Destination Facility JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 April 8, 2016 , 5:09 pm Departed Post Office COLUMBUS, OH 43210 April 8, 2016 , 10:23 am Acceptance COLUMBUS, OH 43210 The f*g package has now made THREE trips from Jersey City, NJ to Springfield, MA, none of which seem necessary, since the logical next step from Jersey City would be Albany or Kingston, NY! I doubt I'll ever see the damned thing. Edited April 25, 2016 by T.D. Quote
Tom 1960 Posted April 26, 2016 Report Posted April 26, 2016 Friggin' embarrassing if you ask me and I work for the Postal Service. I love to hear the explanation from management for this. Quote
T.D. Posted April 29, 2016 Report Posted April 29, 2016 The weird odyssey continues. One mistaken trip to Woodstock, which was only about 40 miles off, then another bizarre sojourn to Springfield, MA. Finally through Albany, which is somewhat encouraging, but I'll be surprised if I ever receive the package. DATE & TIME STATUS OF ITEM LOCATION April 29, 2016 , 3:55 pm Departed USPS Destination Facility  ALBANY, NY 12288  Your item departed our ALBANY, NY 12288 destination facility on April 29, 2016 at 3:55 pm. The item is currently in transit to the destination. April 29, 2016 , 6:45 am Arrived at USPS Facility ALBANY, NY 12288 April 29, 2016 , 4:59 am Departed USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 29, 2016 , 1:37 am Arrived at USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 28, 2016 , 8:52 am Forwarded WOODSTOCK, NY April 28, 2016 , 8:52 am Arrived at USPS Facility WOODSTOCK, NY 12498 April 28, 2016 , 8:52 am Arrived at Post Office WOODSTOCK, NY 12498 April 27, 2016 , 5:35 am Departed USPS Facility NEWBURGH, NY 12555 April 27, 2016 , 1:18 am Arrived at USPS Destination Facility NEWBURGH, NY 12555 April 26, 2016 , 4:05 am Departed USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 25, 2016 , 8:15 am Arrived at USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 24, 2016 , 12:01 am Departed USPS Destination Facility JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 April 19, 2016 , 8:24 pm Arrived at USPS Destination Facility JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 April 19, 2016 , 8:59 am Arrived at USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 17, 2016 , 1:51 pm Arrived at USPS Destination Facility JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 April 15, 2016 , 7:38 pm Arrived at USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 14, 2016 , 12:28 am Arrived at USPS Destination Facility JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 April 8, 2016 , 5:09 pm Departed Post Office COLUMBUS, OH 43210 April 8, 2016 , 10:23 am Acceptance COLUMBUS, OH 43210 Quote
Tom 1960 Posted April 30, 2016 Report Posted April 30, 2016 (edited) Tom, this is absolutely ridiculous what you're going through. I would suggest calling the local PO but I don't know whether that helps but I would call anyway. That said I also have an 800 number which may or may not help? Call: 1-800-ASK-USPS® (1-800-275-8777) Whomever you talk to I would make it clear your displeasure and I would site verbatim the tracking this package has taken so far and when the hell you're going to get it. Again, I feel for you brother. This is embarrassing for me as a US Postal employee. Clearly we need to do much better than this. Let me also add, if I wasn't on vacation right now I'd have made a print out of your dilemma and showed it to my Postmaster and asked him for his input. Edited April 30, 2016 by Tom 1960 Quote
ejp626 Posted April 30, 2016 Report Posted April 30, 2016 At least in my experience, problems are on the rise. I am having some items shipped to my mother-in-law's house, which is not just in Chicago, but the south side of Chicago where mail service is definitely spottier. In contrast to a poster above, I'm looking at 3-4 items/year going missing (not 3 or so over a lifetime), and often I don't find out in time to request a refund. (Of course, this is all in response to the frankly extortionate rates that USPS is charging to ship anything to Canada...) So I would say I am only a marginally satisfied customer. Quote
jlhoots Posted April 30, 2016 Report Posted April 30, 2016 With all due respect to Tom 1960, calling the USPS (local or 800) in my experience gets you lip service. "we're doing our best", "we'll call you back"(rarely happens), "go to our website", etc., etc. I'm waiting for a package "shipped" Mar. 25 which to add further insult does not have a tracking number. The shipper says if it doesn't arrive by May 2, they'll send a replacement. Quote
T.D. Posted April 30, 2016 Report Posted April 30, 2016 (edited) I'm going to wait it out. At the time of the Woodstock excursion/forwarding, the tracker suggested  there may have been a wrong zip code or misaddressing. It's a small CD purchase from a reliable member of this forum, so I seriously doubt that possibility. On the plus side, Albany's the PO I'd expect it to pass through, and there's little $ value at risk. I'm not going to phone. I'd expect that to waste an hour or more with no tangible result. I'm on good terms with local PO employees, so could print out the tracking history and show it to them. That might be informative, though equally unlikely to make the package appear. Some of the weird itinerary is due to recent USPS changes. I'm in a rural area, and during the past few years USPS has routed all mail (except within the same zip code in certain friendly POs) through semi-local hubs (which can be 75 or more miles away). I think Newburgh is the hub for my outgoing mail, and Albany seems to be a hub for many incoming packages. I assume Springfield is one link out in the hub network. In practice, this hub system often has counterintuitive results, e.g. a letter addressed to the adjoining zip code (less than 10 miles away) has to travel through Newburgh (total distance around 150 miles). Edited April 30, 2016 by T.D. Quote
JSngry Posted April 30, 2016 Report Posted April 30, 2016 21 hours ago, T.D. said: The weird odyssey continues. One mistaken trip to Woodstock, which was only about 40 miles off, then another bizarre sojourn to Springfield, MA. Finally through Albany, which is somewhat encouraging, but I'll be surprised if I ever receive the package. DATE & TIME STATUS OF ITEM LOCATION April 29, 2016 , 3:55 pm Departed USPS Destination Facility  ALBANY, NY 12288  Your item departed our ALBANY, NY 12288 destination facility on April 29, 2016 at 3:55 pm. The item is currently in transit to the destination. April 29, 2016 , 6:45 am Arrived at USPS Facility ALBANY, NY 12288 April 29, 2016 , 4:59 am Departed USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 29, 2016 , 1:37 am Arrived at USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 28, 2016 , 8:52 am Forwarded WOODSTOCK, NY April 28, 2016 , 8:52 am Arrived at USPS Facility WOODSTOCK, NY 12498 April 28, 2016 , 8:52 am Arrived at Post Office WOODSTOCK, NY 12498 April 27, 2016 , 5:35 am Departed USPS Facility NEWBURGH, NY 12555 April 27, 2016 , 1:18 am Arrived at USPS Destination Facility NEWBURGH, NY 12555 April 26, 2016 , 4:05 am Departed USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 25, 2016 , 8:15 am Arrived at USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 24, 2016 , 12:01 am Departed USPS Destination Facility JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 April 19, 2016 , 8:24 pm Arrived at USPS Destination Facility JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 April 19, 2016 , 8:59 am Arrived at USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 17, 2016 , 1:51 pm Arrived at USPS Destination Facility JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 April 15, 2016 , 7:38 pm Arrived at USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 14, 2016 , 12:28 am Arrived at USPS Destination Facility JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 April 8, 2016 , 5:09 pm Departed Post Office COLUMBUS, OH 43210 April 8, 2016 , 10:23 am Acceptance COLUMBUS, OH 43210 Now they're just fucking with you. Quote
T.D. Posted May 2, 2016 Report Posted May 2, 2016 Hot damn, the package finally arrived, just when I had given up hope! It was correctly addressed; the last digit of zip code (5) might have gotten mistaken for a 6 (I'm being charitable), and the bubble-wrap envelope looked like it had gotten jammed in sorting machines more than once. Final itinerary is below. Weirdly, even with the convoluted journey, I don't think the final delivery time of 24 calendar days / 16 business days could be considered an outlier for media mail. May 2, 2016 , 11:33 am Out for Delivery  May 2, 2016 , 11:23 am Sorting Complete  May 2, 2016 , 9:37 am Arrived at Post Office ..., NY 12455 May 1, 2016 , 10:48 pm Arrived at USPS Facility NEWBURGH, NY 12555 May 1, 2016 , 8:15 pm Departed USPS Facility ALBANY, NY 12288 April 29, 2016 , 6:45 am Arrived at USPS Facility ALBANY, NY 12288 April 29, 2016 , 4:59 am Departed USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 29, 2016 , 1:37 am Arrived at USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 28, 2016 , 8:52 am Forwarded WOODSTOCK, NY April 28, 2016 , 8:52 am Arrived at USPS Facility WOODSTOCK, NY 12498 April 28, 2016 , 8:52 am Arrived at Post Office WOODSTOCK, NY 12498 April 27, 2016 , 5:35 am Departed USPS Facility NEWBURGH, NY 12555 April 27, 2016 , 1:18 am Arrived at USPS Destination Facility NEWBURGH, NY 12555 April 26, 2016 , 4:05 am Departed USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 25, 2016 , 8:15 am Arrived at USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 24, 2016 , 12:01 am Departed USPS Destination Facility JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 April 19, 2016 , 8:24 pm Arrived at USPS Destination Facility JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 April 19, 2016 , 8:59 am Arrived at USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 17, 2016 , 1:51 pm Arrived at USPS Destination Facility JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 April 15, 2016 , 7:38 pm Arrived at USPS Facility SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152 April 14, 2016 , 12:28 am Arrived at USPS Destination Facility JERSEY CITY, NJ 07097 April 8, 2016 , 5:09 pm Departed Post Office COLUMBUS, OH 43210 April 8, 2016 , 10:23 am Acceptance COLUMBUS, OH 43210 Quote
Ken Dryden Posted May 4, 2016 Report Posted May 4, 2016 The USPS has lost: several CDs that were mailed to me or sent by me, a mortgage check, a car note payoff check, two consective payments to the same doctor's office, among other things. One funny thing was a book put in my box with a bunch of CDs, but it wasn't addressed to me, anyone on my street or in my subdivision. It did have a delivery confirmation sticker... Quote
jlhoots Posted May 4, 2016 Report Posted May 4, 2016 On April 30, 2016 at 7:36 AM, jlhoots said: With all due respect to Tom 1960, calling the USPS (local or 800) in my experience gets you lip service. "we're doing our best", "we'll call you back"(rarely happens), "go to our website", etc., etc. I'm waiting for a package "shipped" Mar. 25 which to add further insult does not have a tracking number. The shipper says if it doesn't arrive by May 2, they'll send a replacement. Didn't arrive!! Quote
Dan Gould Posted May 18, 2016 Author Report Posted May 18, 2016 Well credit where it is due. Ordered from The Bastards over the weekend, shipped Priority Mail Monday and out for delivery in Plant City two days later. Quote
T.D. Posted July 16, 2016 Report Posted July 16, 2016 More funny stuff: Sent from the Midwest (Ohio) to upstate NY, took five days to get to Washington State??! Odds against this one ever arriving... Product & Tracking Information Postal Product: Media Mail Features: USPS Tracking®  DATE & TIME STATUS OF ITEM LOCATION July 16, 2016 , 7:40 am Arrived at USPS Facility  FEDERAL WAY, WA 98003  Your item arrived at our USPS facility in FEDERAL WAY, WA 98003 on July 16, 2016 at 7:40 am. The item is currently in transit to the destination. July 11, 2016 , 6:06 pm Departed Post Office COLUMBUS, OH 43229 July 11, 2016 , 10:59 am Acceptance COLUMBUS, OH 43229 Quote
Dan Gould Posted August 4, 2016 Author Report Posted August 4, 2016 Two LPs coming, both ended up in Jacksonville before heading to Plant City. They were scanned as arrived at Post Office within three minutes of each other. Looks like one is out for delivery and the other is going to wait until tomorrow. Not the biggest f-up but really, USPS? Quote
JSngry Posted August 4, 2016 Report Posted August 4, 2016 See if they're both packaged the same way, same size, weight, etc.. Might have something to do with sorting. Or not. Quote
Dan Gould Posted August 4, 2016 Author Report Posted August 4, 2016 Actually I jumped the gun and they skipped one scan ... both arrived on my front step, dumping into the PC right now so I can hear Julian Dash and the Harlem One More Time band soon! (For some reason my PC speakers stopped monitoring the line-in so I can only monitor levels then hear when I edit into tracks.) Quote
Dan Gould Posted May 24, 2017 Author Report Posted May 24, 2017 Well I've had issues with our carrier who seems to decide randomly whether to attempt delivery of packages or leave the pink slip in the mailbox. This, after I take a walk in the morning to open the driveway gate. That's been seriously annoying but nothing like this latest: Package coming from France - processed thru NYC and on to Tampa. Departed Tampa so I go to open the gate. Should be in Plant City in a few hours and out for delivery, right? No. Passed me by completely and went to Miami where it has sat for two days. Now its departed Miami, will it magically appear at my former address? Or is it coming back to Tampa again? Only time will tell. Quote
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